INDIANAPOLIS - Oakland head coach Eric Pogue was named the Horizon League Coach of the Year, Joey Tinnion, Matt Dudley and Shawn Claud Lawson were selected to the All-Horizon League first team, while Cody Archibald and Wes Mink were named to the all-league second team, as voted on the by league's nine head coaches and announced by the league office on Monday.

"I think individual league awards are a reflection of how well the team did as a whole all season," said Pogue. "It's nice for these men to get honored for their hard work and they have been working extremely hard since our season ended last November to make sure that we were successful as a team this Fall. Individual awards are great, but the only trophy that we are focused on gets awarded on Saturday evening, which is a conference tournament title and trip to the NCAA Tournament, and that is no easy task in the Horizon League with these six teams, so we will just stay focused on one day at a time and get ready for Thursday night in the semis.

"Even though it's the Horizon League Coach of the Year award, I really have to thank our entire staff: Stephen Gorton, Andrew Wagstaff, Peter Langens, John Timm, Sean Lewis, Josh Pokrefky and our athletic trainer, Claire Coates, as it's a total team effort, not just one person," added Pogue. "I believe the award should be a coaching staff award because I'm just one piece of the puzzle. Like I said, it's truly a reflection of how well our team has done and I'd be remiss if I didn't thank our entire coaching staff for all their hard work, passion, dedication, and countless hours they spend helping Oakland men's soccer and our 29 men be as successful a team as possible."

Pogue is in his sixth season at the helm of the men's soccer program and collects his first-ever Horizon League Coach of the Year honor and the third award of his career, having previously won in 2009 and '12. He led the Golden Grizzlies to their first-ever Horizon League regular-season title with a 5-0-3 league record, the first undefeated season in conference play since 2009. Pogue also coached Oakland to its first win over a ranked opponent since 2010 with a 2-0 victory over No. 10 Michigan State on Oct. 22 at the Oakland Soccer Field.

Tinnion, a senior from Macomb, Mich., earns his second all-league selection in as many seasons and first on the All-Horizon League first team. He finished second on the team with three goals, including two in league with an assist. Tinnion scored the lone Oakland goal in a 1-1 draw to Wright State and assisted on the game winner against Belmont. He also netted the only goal in a 1-0 victory over Ohio State at home.

Dudley, a junior from Preston, England, led the Golden Grizzlies with 10 points and four assists in league play, with three game-winning goals. He scored on a free kick in double overtime to defeat the University of Detroit Mercy, and netted goals versus Green Bay and Belmont. He also assisted on both goals at Valparaiso to help clinch the regular-season title. Dudley ranks 40th in the NCAA in game-winning goals and 89th in assists.

Lawson, a junior from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, led Oakland with four goals with all of them coming during the Horizon League season. He scored both goals in the 2-0 win at Milwaukee and the equalizing goal in the 2-1 double-OT win at UDM. He also netted the final regular season goal of the season at Valpo on Saturday.

Archibald, a senior from Marine City, Mich., earns second-team honors after leading an Oakland backline that only allowed five goals in league play this season. He was named the Horizon League Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 13 when the defense posted consecutive shutouts against Ohio State and Cleveland State. He scored the first goal in the Valpo game and also forced CSU's own goal on Oct. 11.

Mink, a freshman from West Chester, Ohio, was selected to both the second team and the all-freshman team. He was named the Horizon League Defensive Player of the Week three times and was also selected to the College Soccer News National Team of the Week on Oct. 20 after posting shutouts against Milwaukee and Belmont. During the season, Mink had a streak of six-straight shuouts including over 500 minutes of action without allowing a goal. Mink was undefeated in league play allowing only five goals, with four shutouts and a 0.57 goals-against average.

2014 Horizon League Men's Soccer Superlatives
Player of the Year: Eric Lynch, Wright State
Freshman of the Year: Spiro Pliakos, Detroit
Offensive Player of the Year: Eric Lynch, Wright State
Defensive Player of the Year: Nathan Steinwascher, Detroit
Goalkeeper of the Year: Nathan Steinwascher, Detroit
Coach of the Year: Eric Pogue, Oakland

First Team All-League
Spiro Pliakos, Detroit (Fr., F)
Joey Tinnion, Oakland (Sr., F)
Peguy Ngatcha, Wright State (So., F)
Laurie Bell, Milwaukee (Sr., MF)
Matt Dudley, Oakland (Jr., MF)
Shawn Claud Lawson, Oakland (Jr., MF)
Eric Lynch, Wright State (So., MF)
Luke Goodnetter, Milwaukee (Sr., D)
Thomas Villamil, UIC (Jr., D)
Emeka Ononye, Wright State (Sr., D)
Nathan Steinwascher, Detroit (Jr., GK)

Second Team All-League
Sergio Manesio, Cleveland State (So., F)
Lawrence Talery, Green Bay (Sr., F)
Jorge Alvarez, UIC (Jr., F)
Jesus Torres, UIC (Sr., F)
Matt Yabarra, Detroit (Sr., MF)
Declan Rodriguez, Milwaukee (Jr., MF)
Zev Taublieb, Valparaiso (Sr., MF)
Trevor Flynn, Detroit (Sr., D)
Cody Archibald, Oakland (Sr., D)
Omar Lawrence, Valparaiso (So., D)
Wes Mink, Oakland (Fr., GK)

All-Freshman Team
Rashad Hyacenth, Belmont (F)
Spiro Pliakos, Detroit (F)
Reid Stevenson, Milwaukee (F)
Petter Ingebrigtsen, Milwaukee (F)
Alec Nagucki, Cleveland State (MF)
Sidney McClain, Green Bay (MF)
Nick Moon, Milwaukee (MF)
Jose Fuentes, UIC (MF)
Ramone Howell, Valparaiso (MF)
Kevin Blackwood, Cleveland State (D)
Austin Polster, Wright State (D)
Wes Mink, Oakland (GK)

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