EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (blugolds.com) — Six members of the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire men's soccer team and head coach Casey Holm earned All-Wisconsin honors this season. Holm was named the Coach of the Year, Nathan Donovan (Sr. - Hazel Green, Wis./Wahlert Catholic) is the Offensive Player of the Year and Max Walters (Jr. - Madison, Wis./Madison Memorial) is the Defensive Player of the Year.
Donovan, Walters, Carter Thiesfeld (So. - Forest Lake, Minn.), Ethan Andersen (Jr. - Burnsville, Minn.), Sam Lynch (Jr. - Verona, Wis.) and Spencer Banks (So. - Stevens Point, Wis.) all earned places on the All-Wisconsin team.
Holm guided the Blugolds to a 19-2-1 record this season, which was the second campaign in program history. Under his leadership, UW-Eau Claire reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time ever and won their first tournament game before falling in a penalty kick shootout in the second round.
Donovan led the attack for a Blugolds team which went 19-2-1 and reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament this season. The forward tied for the fifth-most goals in Division III by scoring 21 times this season for the Blugolds. He added seven assists to finish with 49 points, which tied for third-best in the nation. He had six game-winning goals. This is his second consecutive selection to the All-Wisconsin team.
Walters and Andersen both started all 22 games for the Blugolds. Walters tallied four assists. As defenders, Walters and Andersen helped UW-Eau Claire limit opponents to an average of 0.58 goals per game. Lynch was also part of that defensive group, and started 19 games for the Blugolds. He scored five times and assisted one goal.
Banks had a goals against average of 0.67 this season for UW-Eau Claire. He made 46 saves and had six shutouts. He finished the season with a 15-2-0 record in net. His save percentage was .807%.
Thiesfeld led Division III in total assists with 23, which was six better than anybody else in the country. He also scored five goals to accumulate 33 points this season.
