Sophomore Stuart makes first team, senior Spencer snags spot on second team
AVON, Ohio — The Goshen College men’s soccer team picked up a pair of all-conference accolades Monday as the Crossroads League tabbed brothers Spencer and Stuart Aeschliman to the all-league teams.
Stuart Aeschliman, a sophomore forward, made the first team for the second straight season, and Spencer Aeschliman, a senior midfielder, made the second team. The Aeschlimans hail from Salem, Oregon.
The Aeschliman brothers are the first set of Maple Leaf teammates with the same last name to win all-conference honors in the same year in men’s or women’s soccer.
Stuart Aeschliman paced the Maple Leafs with 10 goals and 45 shots this season while starting 8 games and coming off the bench 7 more times. His 45 shots and 24 attempts on target both led the team. In the nine-game conference round robin, he scored 4 times and again led the team with 22 shots and 10 shots on goal.
With the first half of his collegiate eligibility exhausted, Stuart has 22 goals in 33 games to go along with 6 assists. He has averaged more than 3 shots per game and tested goalkeepers with shots on goal 60 times. Seven of his goals have been game-winners and he has 5 multi-goal games, including a hat trick.
Spencer Aeschliman adds his first career all-conference honor to a mantle that includes two Academic All-District awards and one Academic All-America plaque. He transitioned from a defensive role to a midfield role this season and it paid off to the tune of a career-high 3 goals and 5 assists, including one to Stuart. His three assists in a September game at Lourdes were the most by a Maple Leaf athlete in more than a decade.
Over the past four seasons, Spencer has recorded 71 appearances and 64 starts in a Maple Leaf uniform, logging more than 6,000 minutes on the field. His 1,731 minutes in 2017 were the most by any GC field player in a season since at least 2010. The four-year captain graduates with 5 goals and 7 assists to his credit.
The loop honors continued a family affair as Spencer and Stuart follow in the footsteps of their parents. Their father, Jeff Aeschliman, was a two-time all-Mid-Central College Conference soccer player in 1985 and 1986; their mother, the former Margaret Fisher, was an all-conference tennis player in the Hoosier Conference for Women in 1986.
While Goshen’s season on the field has concluded, the awards race is far from over; the all-conference awards serve as a preliminary round for NAIA All-American honors, which will be announced on December 4.
In addition, Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athlete winners are unveiled on November 30 during the men’s and women’s soccer national championships. Finally, by virtue of his second straight Academic All-District nod, Spencer Aeschliman will be considered for the NAIA’s Academic All-America team, which is announced on December 3.
The Crossroads League selects all-conference teams in each of the league’s 17 sponsored sports. In soccer, as in many sports, the winners are determined by the votes of the 10 head coaches.
Regular-season champion Spring Arbor played host to the league player of the year, Jacob Crull, as well as the offensive and defensive players of the year in Mo Kamara and Alex Sokalski. Indiana Wesleyan’s Sammy Conti was named midfield player of the year, while SAU head coach Nate Miller was voted coach of the year by his peers.
The all-conference first and second teams, comprising 13 members apiece, can be found below.
2018 First-Team All-Crossroads League
Stuart Aeschliman, Goshen
Cody Boerema, Grace
Colin Cape, Grace
Ciro Castro, Indiana Wesleyan
Romain Chantrel, Grace
Sammy Conti, Indiana Wesleyan
Jacob Crull, Spring Arbor
Roderic Green, Spring Arbor
Kurt Hamlin, Grace
Morris Kamara, Spring Arbor
Matheus Louzada, Huntington
Ivan Santagiuliana, Grace
Alex Sokalski, Spring Arbor
2018 Second-Team All-Crossroads League
Spencer Aeschliman, Goshen
Jake Erlandson, Huntington
Tanner Gibson, Bethel
Tyler Green, Spring Arbor
Tim Kasparek, Mount Vernon Nazarene
Finn Luben, Bethel
Filipe Mendonca, Indiana Wesleyan
Sidney Miranda, Marian
Ulisses Miranda, Grace
Douglas Oliveira, Indiana Wesleyan
Josh Orecchio, Mount Vernon Nazarene
Jeremiah Rader, Taylor
Michael White, Spring Arbor