A trio of Grinnell College men have earned spots on the National Soccer Coaches Association of America/adidas Division III All-North Central Region Team.

Forward Andrew Walsh '09 (left) was a second-team selection, while defender JP Prouty '10 (center) and midfielder Alex Exarhos '10 (right) were third-team picks. Prouty is a past all-region selection, while Walsh and Exarhos received the honor for the first time in their careers.

Walsh led the Pioneers in numerous offensive categories, including goals (nine), assists (five) and points (23). He ranked fourth in the conference in goals and points and ninth in assists. Prouty finished the campaign with three goals, while Exarhos had two.

Their efforts helped Grinnell to a record of 12-6-1 overall mark in 2008. The Pioneers were also 6-2-1 in Midwest Conference play and advanced to the league tournament championship game.
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A total of 361 teams earned the award, 259 women's squads and 102 on the men's side. Squads must have a team grade point average of 3.0 or higher to be honored. Grinnell's women ranked 28th among all teams, while the Pioneer men were 32nd.

The Grinnell women are coached by Heather Benning and the men by Brian Jaworski.
See national academic teams

Three Grinnell College men's soccer players have been named to the All-Midwest Conference first team for the 2008 campaign.

Those being named to the elite squad were forward Andrew Walsh '09 (upper left), defender JP Prouty '10 (upper right) and midfielder Alex Exarhos '10 (lower left). Defender Andrew Mullins '11 (lower right) earned a spot on the All-MWC second team.

Walsh led the Pioneers in numerous offensive categories, including goals (9), assists (5) and points (23). He ranked fourth in the conference in goals and points and ninth in assists. Prouty finished the campaign with three goals, while Exarhos had two.

Prouty was also a first-teamer last year, while Exarhos and Mullins were second-teamers in 2007. Walsh, Prouty and Exarhos were second-teamers in 2006.

Craig Carlson of Carroll University was named the 2008 MWC Player of the Year, while Carroll's Rick Mobley was tabbed Coach of the Year.
2008 All-Midwest Conference Soccer Team

The Grinnell College men's soccer team fell just short of its goal of winning a Midwest Conference Tournament title with a 4-1 setback to Carroll University Saturday afternoon in Waukesha, Wis.

The third-seed Pioneers, who were playing in their first MWC Tourney championship game since 1995, finished their 2008 campaign with a 12-6-1 mark. Top-seeded Carroll moved to 17-3 and earned the league's automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.

Carroll jumped out to a 3-0 lead through the game's first 22 minutes on goals by Derek Marie, Scott Pease and Dona Labo. But Grinnell made things interesting when Justin Koester '10 scored in the 24th minute for his second goal of the year. Mark Rosenberg '11 had the assist, his third of 2008.

But Carroll got a goal from Marc Hietpas in the 40th minute for a 4-1 halftime lead, and then the teams battled to a scoreless second half. Carroll outshot Grinnell 11-6, although the visitors held a 4-3 edge in that department in the second half. Koester had three of Grinnell's shots, while the others came from Andrew Stephenson '10, Andrew Walsh '09 and Andrew Mullins '11. Grinnell keeper Ben Schemper '11 had four saves.

"Let me first congratulate Carroll," said Grinnell coach Brian Jaworski. "They are a very experienced team and they punish you for making mistakes all over the field. Best of luck to them in the NCAA Tournament. They're going to be a great representative for the Midwest Conference.

"The game itself was an attractive game to watch and we did nothing to tarnish our well-earned reputation of being a tough and demanding team to play against," he added. "We had some unfortunate plays go against us but never lost confidence and we played the full 90 minutes. We're disappointed and I think most of that disappointment comes from knowing that we didn't play bad, but we could have certainly played a more complete game."
Box Score

The Grinnell College men's soccer team put itself in position to win its first Midwest Conference Tournament title in 14 years by posting a 1-0 win over St. Norbert College in semifinal action on a Friday afternoon at Waukesha, Wis.

The third-seeded Pioneers, who improved to 12-5-1 overall and avenged an earlier overtime loss to the Green Knights, will play top-seeded and host Carroll University at noon Saturday for the title. The winner earns an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament. Carroll advanced with a 6-1 win over fourth-seeded Lake Forest earlier in the day, which saw weather conditions ranging from rain to snow to wind to cold.

Grinnell, which hadn't won a MWC Tourney game since 1995 and hasn't won the title since 1994, got the only goal it needed in the 31st minute from Mark Rosenberg '11. It was his sixth goal of the season. Ben Schemper '11 had another flawless effort in goal for the Pioneers, as he recorded his third shutout of the season while recording five saves.

The teams tied each other in shots with nine apiece. Rosenberg had three of Grinnell's shots, Andrew Walsh '09 and Justin Koester '10 had two each and Alex Exarhos '10 and Stephen Craig '11 tallied one apiece.

"This is one of the best team wins I've been a part of," said Grinnell coach Brian Jaworski. "From Schemper to Rosenberg to Parker Koester to JP Prouty, everybody on this team was ready to play and contributed to this win. We'll enjoy this win for the next few hours and somewhere around 9 p.m., our focus will shift to what it will take to beat Carroll. We came here to win two games … we've got one down and one to go."

Second-seeded St. Norbert finished its campaign with a 13-6 record.
Box Score

The Grinnell College men's soccer team geared up for next weekend's Midwest Conference Tournament by topping Knox College 3-1 Saturday in Galesburg, Ill.

Matti Sahel '11, Charlie Kessner '12 and Justin Koester '10 all scored goals for the Pioneers, who wound up Midwest Conference play with a 6-2-1 mark and improved to 11-5-1 overall.

Andrew Walsh '09 had two assists for the Pioneers, including one on the first goal when he beat a defender to the end line and slotted the ball across to Sahel, who had a perfectly-timed run and placed the ball in the corner of the net for his second goal of the season.

Grinnell's second goal began on a corner kick by Mark Rosenberg '11, who served it to the six-yard line. Aaron Swaney '11 went for the ball and barely missed it, but Kessner got control and fired it with a hard left-footed shot into the back of the net for his first goal of the season. The third score came when Walsh found Koester on a quick counter attack and Koester shot a laser to beat the goalie for his first goal of 2008.

"We had some guys banged up, so we put some younger players into big roles and they stepped up," said captain Andrew Stephenson '10. "We saw some things we needed to see heading into the conference tournament. We tried out a few things and got the win under some tough circumstances."

"That is the best I have ever seen Knox play," added Grinnell coach Brian Jaworski. "I'm proud our guys didn't give in. There were some tense moments, but I never felt like we were going to tie or lose this game. It's rather obvious we're looking forward to our semifinal match against St. Norbert."

Grinnell is the third seed in the MWC Tourney and will play second-seeded St. Norbert at 2 p.m. next Friday at Carroll University.
Box Score

Grinnell College's Andrew Walsh '09 (left) and JP Prouty '10 (right) have been named to the College Division District 7 Academic All-District men's soccer second team.

The award is presented by ESPN the Magazine and the College Sports Information Directors of America.

Walsh, a forward from Madison, Wis. (West HS), is a Spanish major and Prouty, a defender from Stilwell, Kan. (Blue River HS), is majoring in biological chemistry.

Walsh leads the Pioneers in goals (nine) and points (21) this season while also coming up with three assists. He has earned second-team All-Midwest Conference honors in his career as well as Academic All-Conference recognition.

Prouty has three goals and six points on the season and has also been a key cog in Grinnell's strong defense. He has been named All-MWC twice in his career, including first-team last year, plus has earned Academic All-Conference recognition.

Both players have also earned MWC Performer of the Week honors this season.
Click to see Academic All-District Men's Teams