# 2016 Missouri Valley Conference men's soccer season

The 2016 Missouri Valley Conference men's soccer season was the 26th season of men's varsity soccer in the conference.
The SIU Edwardsville Cougars were the defending regular season champions, while the Drake Bulldogs were the defending tournament champions.
The SIU Edwardsville Cougars defeated the host Missouri State Bears in the Missouri Valley Conference Men's Soccer Tournament final 1–0 and advanced to the NCAA tournament. The regular season champion Loyola Ramblers received an at-large bid to the tournament, giving the MVC two entries for the first time since 2011.
Loyola defeated UIC 2–0 in the first round before falling in the second round at 15th ranked and 13th seeded Notre Dame 1–0.
SIUE tied at 13th ranked Michigan State before advancing to the second round in an epic penalty kick battle 9–8. The Cougars then tied at 11th ranked and 15th seeded Butler 0–0 and advanced to the third round on penalty kicks 5–4. SIUE finally fell at 2nd ranked and 2nd seeded Wake Forest 2–1.

## Changes from 2015

The MVC expanded the conference schedule from six games to eight. Each of the seven schools played a home-and-home series with two conference opponents and single games against the other four. The teams playing home-and-home series will change each year.

## Teams

| Team | Location | Stadium | Capacity | Head Coach | Uniform supplier |
| Bradley Braves | Peoria, Illinois | Shea Stadium | 3,800 | Jim DeRose | adidas |
| Central Arkansas Bears | Conway, Arkansas | Bill Stephens Track/Soccer Complex | 300 | Ross Duncan | adidas |
| Drake Bulldogs | Des Moines, Iowa | Cownie Sports Complex | 2,000 | Gareth Smith | adidas |
| Evansville Purple Aces | Evansville, Indiana | Arad McCutchan Stadium | 2,500 | Marshall Ray | adidas |
| Loyola Ramblers | Chicago, Illinois | Loyola Soccer Park | 500 | Neil Jones | Nike |
| Missouri State Bears | Springfield, Missouri | Robert W. Plaster Stadium | 16,600 | John Leamy | adidas |
| SIU Edwardsville Cougars | Edwardsville, Illinois | Ralph Korte Stadium | 4,000 | Mario Sanchez | adidas |

## Season outlook

2016 Preseason MVC Coaches' Poll
| Rank | Team (1st-place votes) | Points |
| 1 | SIUE (4) | 45 |
| 2 | Drake (1) | 39 |
| 3 | Loyola | 34 |
| 4 | Missouri State (2) | 32 |
| 4 | Bradley | 25 |
| 6 | Central Arkansas | 12 |
| 7 | Evansville | 9 |
2016 Preseason MVC All-Conference Team
| Player | School | Position | Class | Hometown (High school) |
| Wes Carson | Central Arkansas | Forward | Senior | Fort Smith, Arkansas (Fort Smith Southside H.S.) |
| Elliot Collier † | Loyola | Forward | Junior | Hamilton, New Zealand (Saint Paul's Collegiate) |
| Jack Griffen | Missouri State | Midfielder | Senior | Beverley, England (Beverley Grammar School) |
| Ivan Gutierrez | SIUE | Midfielder | Senior | Hallandale Beach, Florida (Hallandale H.S) |
| Devyn Jambga | SIUE | Forward | Junior | Harare, Zimbabwe (Harare International School) |
| Logan Ketterer | Bradley | Goalkeeper | Senior | Racine, Wisconsin (The Prairie School) |
| Austin Ledbetter † | SIUE | Defender | Senior | St. Charles, Missouri (CBC H.S) |
| Fabian Lifka | Loyola | Midfielder | Sophomore | Kelkheim, Germany (Taunusgymnasium Koenigstein) |
| Mueng Sunday † | Drake | Midfielder | Senior | Coralville, Iowa (Iowa City West H.S.) |
| Kyle Thomson † | Loyola | Midfielder | Junior | Park Ridge, Illinois (Maine South H.S.) |
| James Wypych † | Drake | Midfielder | Senior | Wellington, New Zealand (St. Patrick's College) |
† = Also on 2015 Preseason MVC All-Conference Team

## Regular season
### Rankings
#### NSCAA National Poll

Source =
Legend :
* Increase in ranking
* Decrease in ranking
* Not ranked previous week or no change in ranking
| | Pre | Wk 1 | Wk 2 | Wk 3 | Wk 4 | Wk 5 | Wk 6 | Wk 7 | Wk 8 | Wk 9 | Wk 10 | Wk 11 | Wk 12 | Final |
| Bradley | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Central Arkansas | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Drake | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Evansville | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Loyola | — | — | rv | 18 | 17 | 12 | 14 | 13 | 15 | 11 | 14 | 13 | 17 | 21 |
| Missouri State | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| SIUE | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 22 |

#### West Region rankings

Source =
| | Wk 1 | Wk 2 | Wk 3 | Wk 4 | Wk 5 | Wk 6 | Wk 7 | Wk 8 | Wk 9 | Wk 10 | Wk 11 | Wk 12 | Final |
| Bradley | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Central Arkansas | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Drake | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Evansville | — | 10 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | — |
| Loyola | 5 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | — |
| Missouri State | — | — | — | 9 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | — |
| SIUE | 9 | 8 | 6 | — | — | — | 9 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 5 | — |

#### NCAA RPI

Source =
| | Wk 5 | Wk 6 | Wk 7 | Wk 8 | Wk 9 | Wk 10 | Wk 11 | Wk 12 | Final |
| Bradley | 144 | 145 | 156 | 167 | 172 | 186 | 187 | 199 | 193 |
| Central Arkansas | 204 | 203 | 203 | 188 | 168 | 165 | 159 | 159 | 161 |
| Drake | 127 | 133 | 139 | 117 | 120 | 137 | 154 | 156 | 157 |
| Evansville | 77 | 95 | 86 | 106 | 92 | 80 | 92 | 88 | 88 |
| Loyola | 4 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 11 | 16 | 21 |
| Missouri State | 158 | 144 | 128 | 138 | 132 | 127 | 142 | 130 | 134 |
| SIUE | 116 | 99 | 108 | 111 | 93 | 84 | 81 | 73 | 48 |

### MVC Players of the Week

| Date | Offensive Player of the Week | Class | Position | School | Defensive Player of the Week | Class | Position | School |
| August 29 | Wes Carson | Senior | Forward | Central Arkansas | Nick Burtenshaw | Junior | Defender | Missouri State |
| September 6 | Niklas Brodacki | Freshman | Forward | Central Arkansas | Grant Stoneman | Sophomore | Defender | Loyola |
| September 12 | Steven Enna | Junior | Forward | Drake | Grant Stoneman | Sophomore | Defender | Loyola |
| September 19 | Jared Robinson | Senior | Forward | Evansville | Grant Stoneman | Sophomore | Defender | Loyola |
| September 26 | Emmerich Hoegg | Senior | Forward | Missouri State | Andrew Chekadanov | Junior | Goalkeeper | Loyola |
| October 3 | Devyn Jambga | Junior | Forward | SIUE | Logan Ketterer | Senior | Goalkeeper | Bradley |
| October 10 | Alec Lasinski | Sophomore | Forward | Loyola | Kyle Dal Santo | Junior | Goalkeeper | SIUE |
| October 17 | Niklas Brodacki | Freshman | Forward | Central Arkansas | Marc Olsen | Freshman | Goalkeeper | Central Arkansas |
| October 24 | Niklas Brodacki | Freshman | Forward | Central Arkansas | Marius Kullmann | Freshman | Defender | Loyola |
| October 31 | Zac Blaydes | Sophomore | Midfielder | Evansville | Austin Ledbetter | Senior | Defender | SIUE |
| November 7 | Niklas Brodacki | Freshman | Forward | Central Arkansas | Marc Olsen | Freshman | Goalkeeper | Central Arkansas |

## Postseason
### MVC Tournament

The second-seeded SIUE Cougars won the tournament, beating the tournament host and fifth-seeded Missouri State Bears 1–0 in the championship match. It was SIUE's second Missouri Valley Conference Men's Soccer Tournament championship.

### NCAA tournament

| Seed | Region | School | 1st round | 2nd round | 3rd round | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Championship |
| — | 4 | SIUE | @ #13 Michigan State Tied 1–1; won PK shoot-out 9–8 | @ #11 Butler Tied 0–0; won PK shoot-out 5–4 | @ #2 Wake Forest Lost 2–1 | — | — | — |
| — | 2 | #17 Loyola | vs UIC Won 2–0 | @ #15 Notre Dame Lost 1–0 | — | — | — | — |

### 2017 MLS SuperDraft

| Round | Pick # | MLS team | Player | Position | College | Other |
| 3 | 53 | FC Dallas | Austin Ledbetter | Defender | SIUE | |
| 4 | 71 | Columbus Crew SC | Logan Ketterer | Goalkeeper | Bradley | |

## Honors
### 2016 NSCAA NCAA Division I Men's All-West Region teams

Source:
| Player | School | Position | Class | Hometown (High school/Previous college) |
| First Team |||||
| Andrew Chekadanov | Loyola University Chicago | Goalkeeper | Junior | St. Louis, Missouri (Parkway Central) |
| Austin Ledbetter | Southern Illinois University Edwardsville | Defender | Senior | St. Charles, Missouri (CBC) |
| Grant Stoneman | Loyola University Chicago | Defender | R-Sophomore | Saint Charles, Illinois (Wheaton Academy/Wisconsin) |
| Ian McGrath | University of Evansville | Midfielder | Junior | New Lenox, Illinois (Lincoln-Way West HS) |
| Elliot Collier | Loyola University Chicago | Forward | Junior | Hamilton, New Zealand (Saint Paul's Collegiate) |
| Second Team |||||
| Ryan Howe | Loyola University Chicago | Defender (Midfielder) | R-Senior | Rockford, Illinois (Boylan Catholic) |
| Brody Kraussel | Loyola University Chicago | Midfielder (Forward) | Junior | Milwaukee, Wisconsin (Muskego) |
| Niklas Brodacki | University of Central Arkansas | Forward | Freshman | Norrkoping, Sweden (IFK Norrkoping) |
| Emmerich "Rick" Hoegg | Missouri State University | Forward | R-Senior | Crestview, Florida (Choctawhatchee High) |
| Devyn Jambga | Southern Illinois University Edwardsville | Forward | R-Junior | Harare, Zimbabwe |
| Third Team |||||
| Kyle Dal Santo | Southern Illinois University Edwardsville | Goalkeeper | R-Junior | Bolingbrook, Illinois (Benet Academy) |
| Rob Oslica | Missouri State University | Defender | Junior | Ozark, Missouri (Ozark) |
| Simon Waever | University of Evansville | Defender | Freshman | Holte, Denmark (Skovlyskolen) |
| Jack Griffin | Missouri State University | Midtielder | Senior | Beverley, England (Beverley Grammar School) |
| Mueng Sunday | Drake University | Midfielder | Senior | Coralville, Iowa (Iowa City West) |
| Jared Robinson | University of Evansville | Forward | Senior | Powell, Ohio (Olentangy Liberty HS) |
| James Wypych | Drake University | Forward | Senior | Wellington, New Zealand (St. Patrick's College) |

### 2016 CoSIDA Academic All-America teams

Source:

#### Second Team

James Wypych. Senior Forward, Drake, 3.57 GPA, International relations

#### Third Team

Clark Emerson. Junior.Defender Bradley; 4.00 GPA, Finance

### 2016 CoSIDA Academic All-District teams

Source:
Only All-District players are eligible for the Academic All-America ballot.

#### District 5 (IL, IN, MI, OH)

Clark Emerson. Junior. Bradley; 4.00 GPA, Finance
Kirill Likhovid, Senior, Loyola,3.53 GPA; Communication networks & security
Jacob Taylor. Junior, Bradley, 3.78 GPA, Mechanical engineering

#### District 6 (AR, IA, LA, MN, MO, MS, ND, SD, WI)

Steven Enna, Junior, Drake, 3.55 GPA, Business studies
James Grunert, Senior, Drake, 3.79 GPA, Health sciences
Chris Holmes, Sophomore, Central Arkansas, 4.00 GPA, Undecided
Ben LeMay, Senior, Drake, 3.78 GPA, Pharmacy MBA
Rob Oslica, Junior. Missouri State, 3.70 GPA, Cell & molecular biology
Liam Priestley, Junior, Missouri State, 3.48 GPA, Finance
Phil Woods, Senior Missouri State, 3.82 GPA, Entertainment management
James Wypych. Senior, Drake, 3.57 GPA, International relations

### 2016 NSCAA NCAA Division I Men's Scholar All-America teams

Source:
Second Team
| Position | Name | Class | School | Major | GPA | Hometown |
| Goalkeeper | Andrew Chekadonov | Senior | Loyola University Chicago | Accounting | 3.61 | St. Louis, Missouri |
| Midfielder | Ian McGrath | Junior | University of Evansville | Exercise Science | 3.35 | New Lenox, Illinois |

### NSCAA 2015-16 College Team Academic Award

Source:
The National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) annually recognizes college and high school soccer programs that have excelled in the classroom by posting a team grade point average of 3.0 or higher. Six of the MVC's seven teams were honored this year. The schools, their head coaches, and their team GPAs are:
Bradley University, Jim DeRose, 3.18
Drake University, Gareth Smith, 3.33
University of Evansville, Marshall Ray, 3.19
Loyola University of Chicago, Neil Jones, 3.20
Missouri State University, Jon Leamy, 3.02
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, Mario Sanchez, 3.26

### 2016 MVC awards

Source=
2016 MVC Men's Soccer Individual Awards :
| Award | Recipient(s) |
| Player of the Year | Austin Ledbetter, SIUE |
| Offensive Player of the Year | Niklas Brodacki, Central Arkansas |
| Defensive Player of the Year | Austin Ledbetter, SIUE |
| Goalkeeper of the Year | Andrew Chekadanov, Loyola |
| Freshman of the Year | Niklas Brodacki, Central Arkansas |
| Coaching Staff of the Year | Loyola (Neil Jones, Nate Boyden, Michael Mauro, Jeff DeGroot) |
| MVC Fair Play Award | Loyola and Missouri State |

### 2016 MVC All-Conference First Team

| Player | School | Position | Class | Hometown (High school/Previous college) |
| Andrew Chekadanov | Loyola | Goalkeeper | R-Junior | St. Louis, Missouri (Parkway Central) |
| Devyn Jambga | SIUE | Forward | R-Junior | Harare, Zimbabwe (Harare International School) |
| Niklas Brodacki | Central Arkansas | Forward | Freshman | Norrkoping, Sweden (IFK Norrkoping) |
| James Wypych | Drake | Midfielder | Senior | Wellington, New Zealand (St. Patrick's College) |
| Jared Robinson | Evansville | Forward | Senior | Powell, Ohio (Olentangy Liberty HS) |
| Emmerich Hoegg | Missouri State | Forward | R-Senior | Crestview, Florida (Choctawhatchee High) |
| Ian McGrath | Evansville | Midfielder | Junior | New Lenox, Illinois (Lincoln-Way West HS) |
| Mueng Sunday | Drake | Midfielder | Senior | Coralville, Iowa (Iowa City West) |
| Elliot Collier | Loyola | Forward | Junior | Hamilton, New Zealand (Saint Paul's Collegiate) |
| Brody Kraussel | Loyola | Midfielder/Forward | Junior | Milwaukee, Wisconsin (Muskego) |
| Austin Ledbetter | SIUE | Defender | Senior | St. Charles, Missouri (CBC) |
| Grant Stoneman | Loyola | Midfielder/Defender | R-Sophomore | Saint Charles, Illinois (Wheaton Academy/Wisconsin) |
| Ryan Howe | Loyola | Midfielder | R-Senior | Rockford, Illinois (Boylan Catholic) |

### 2016 MVC All-Conference Second Team

| Player | School | Position | Class | Hometown (High school/Previous college) |
| Kyle Dal Santo | SIUE | Goalkeeper | Junior | Bolingbrook, Illinois (Benet Academy) |
| Alec Lasinski | Loyola | Forward | Sophomore | Ann Arbor, Michigan (Skyline) |
| Wes Carson | Central Arkansas | Forward | Senior | Fort Smith, Arkansas (Fort Smith Southside) |
| Kyle Thomson | Loyola | Midfielder | Junior | Park Ridge, Illinois (Maine South) |
| Jack Griffin | Missouri State | Midfielder | Senior | Beverley, England (Beverley Grammar School) |
| Zac Blaydes | Evansville | Forward | Sophomore | Midway, Kentucky (Woodford County) |
| Mohamed Awad | SIUE | Midfielder | Junior | Hamilton, New Zealand (Hamilton Boys'/St. John's) |
| Kirill Likhovid | Loyola | Midfielder/Defender | Senior | Arlington Heights, Illinois (Buffalo Grove) |
| Andrew Kendall-Moullin | SIUE | Defender | Senior | Faribault, Minnesota (Shattuck St. Mary's) |
| Robbie Oslica | Missouri State | Defender | Junior | Ozark, Missouri (Ozark) |

### 2016 MVC All-Freshman Team

| Player | School | Position | Hometown (High school) |
| Niklas Brodacki | Central Arkansas | Forward | Norrkoping, Sweden (IFK Norrkoping) |
| Jonathan Gilkes | Central Arkansas | Midfielder | Boras, Sweden (Byttorps IF) |
| Marc Olsen | Central Arkansas | Goalkeeper | Copenhagen, Denmark (Brondby Gynamsium) |
| Antonio Sanchez | Drake | Midfielder | Coralville, Iowa (Iowa City West) |
| Simon Waever | Evansville | Defender | Holte, Denmark (Skovlyskolen) |
| Marius Kullmann | Loyola | Defender | Fulda, Germany (Marianum Fulda) |
| Lachlan McLean | SIUE | Forward | Sydney, Australia (St. Augustines College Sydney) |

#### 2016 MVC All-Tournament Team

Source=
2015 Missouri Valley Conference Men's Soccer Tournament MVP— Austin Ledbetter, SIUE
| Player | School | Position |
| Richard Olson | Bradley | Forward |
| Wes Carson | Central Arkansas | Forward |
| Mueng Sunday | Drake | Midfielder |
| Ian McGrath | Evansville | Midfielder |
| Zac Blaydes | Evansville | Forward |
| Ryan Howe | Loyola | Midfielder |
| Kevin Engesser | Loyola | Midfielder/Defender |
| Rob Oslica | Missouri State | Defender |
| Jake Buckle | Missouri State | Midfielder/Forward |
| Emmerich Hoegg | Missouri State | Forward |
| Kyle Dal Santo | SIUE | Goalkeeper |
| Devyn Jambga | SIUE | Forward |
| Keegan McHugh | SIUE | Midfielder |
| Austin Ledbetter | SIUE | Defender |

#### 2016 MVC Men's Soccer Scholar-Athlete teams

Source=
The criteria for the All-MVC honor parallels the CoSIDA (College Sports Information Directors of America) standards for Academic All-America voting. Nominees must be starters or important reserves with at least a 3.20 cumulative grade-point average (on a 4.00 scale). Also, students must have participated in at least 75 percent of the regular-season matches or played in the league tournament. Student-athletes must have reached sophomore athletic and academic standing at their institution (true freshmen and redshirt freshmen are not eligible) and must have completed at least one full academic year at their institution.
| Player | School | Class | GPA | Major | Hometown (High school/Previous college) |
| First Team ||||||
| Zac Blaydes | Evansville | Sophomore | 3.75 | Exercise Science | Midway, Ky. (Woodford Co.) |
| Andrew Chekadanov | Loyola | Junior | 3.61 | Accounting | St. Louis, Mo. (Parkway Central) |
| Clark Emerson # | Bradley | Junior | 4.00 | Mechanical Engineering | Grand Prairie, Texas (Mansfield Lake Ridge) |
| James Grunert #% | Drake | Senior | 3.79 | Health Sciences | Muskego, Wis. (Muskego) |
| Ben LeMay # | Drake | Senior | 3.78 | Pharmacy | Hugo, Minn. (St. Thomas Academy) |
| Ian McGrath | Evansville | Junior | 3.75 | Athletic Training | New Lenox, Ill. (Lincoln-Way West) |
| Rob Oslica # | Missouri State | Junior | 3.70 | Cell & Molecular Biology | Ozark, Mo. (Ozark) |
| Mueng Sunday # | Drake | Senior | 3.65 | Finance | Coralville, Iowa (Iowa City West) |
| Jacob Taylor | Bradley | Junior | 3.78 | Mechanical Engineering | Dunlap, Ill. (Dunlap) |
| Phil Woods * | Missouri State | Senior | 3.82 | Entertainment Management | Sheffield, England (Tapton Secondary School) |
| James Wypych # | Drake | Senior | 3.57 | International Relations | Wellington, New Zealand (St. Patrick's College) |
| Honorable Mention ||||||
| Steven Enna | Drake | Junior | 3.55 | Business | Overland Park, Kan. (St. James Academy) |
| Chris Holmes | Central Arkansas | Sophomore | 4.00 | Undecided | Conway, Ark. (Little Rock Catholic) |
| Ryan Howe | Loyola | Senior | 3.56 | Accounting | Rockford, Ill. (Boylan Catholic) |
| Logan Ketterer % | Bradley | Senior | 3.35 | Accounting | Racine, Wis. (The Prairie School) |
| Kirill Likhovid | Loyola | Senior | 3.53 | Communication Networks & Security | Arlington Heights, Ill. (Buffalo Grove) |
| Darrin MacLeod | Drake | Senior | 3.50 | Health Sciences | Waterloo, Ontario (Resurrection Catholic) |
| Liam Priestley | Missouri State | Junior | 3.48 | Finance | Essex, England (St. Thomas More) |
* # = First Team in 2015; * = Honorable Mention in 2015; % = Honorable Mention in 2014