Rose-Hulman’s Rhys Earns Second Straight Men’s Soccer MVP

GREENWOOD, IN - Rose-Hulman's Rhys Evans (Lake Bluff, Ill./Lake Forest) has been named the 2009 Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Most Valuable Player.  Evans guided the Engineers to their second straight HCAC men's soccer championship with an 8-0 conference mark and a 12-6-1 overall record.  Evans becomes the first men's soccer player in school history to earn back-to-back conference Player of the Year honors, and the Engineers have earned league Player of the Year honors for four straight years.

Evans led the Rose offense this season, leading the team in goals and points.  The senior forward scored eight goals to lead the Engineer offense that ranked second in the HCAC in scoring with 31 goals this season.  His eight goals and 17 points scored this season ranked him third in the league.  In conference games, Evans led the conference with six goals and ranked second with 12 points scored in eight matches.  Evans becomes the first Rose-Hulman male athlete to win consecutive league Most Valuable Player honors since Pat Thomas was named football Defensive Player of the Year in 1987 and 1988 for the Engineers.

Anderson University's Ruben Oliva (Anderson, Ind./Highland) has been selected as the 2009 HCAC Freshman of the Year.  Oliva, a forward for the Ravens, was second on the team with five goals and 11 points scored this season.  He ranked seventh in the conference with three goals during conference action, contributing seven points during the HCAC schedule.  Oliva helped the Ravens finish third in the conference standings and earn a berth in the conference tournament.

Rose-Hulman's Sean Helliwell has been named the 2009 HCAC Coach of the Year.  Helliwell earns his second straight HCAC Coach of the Year honor in his second year as head man of the Engineers.  He led Rose to a 12-6-1 record, including the school's second consecutive HCAC title. 

Sixteen players join Evans as All-HCAC First Team members. Those players include Anderson's David Droeger (So., Lebanon, Ind.), Austin Fridley (Fr., Anderson, Ind.), and Matthew Young (Jr., Westerville, Ohio), Bluffton's Nolan Phelps (Jr., Monroe, Ohio), Hanover's Jake Stawick (So., Indianapolis, Ind.) and Andrew Ilnick (Sr., Prospect, Ky.), Mount St. Joseph's Peter Cahall (Sr., Cincinnati, Ohio), Rose-Hulman's Clint Vatterrodt (So., Bloomington, Ill.), Corbin Clow (Jr., Martinsville, Ind.), and Cameron Hazel (Sr., Danville, Ill.), and Transylvania's Brian Williams (Jr., Lexington, Ky.), Pierre Manga (So., Lexington, Ky.), Tony Spero (Jr., Lexington, Ky.), Kyle Jordan (Jr., Louisville, Ky.), Kevin Jones (Jr., Middletown, Ohio), and Trey Kramer (Sr., Versailles, Ky.)                                                        

Second-team All-HCAC selections are listed below.  

Most Valuable Player: Rhys Evans, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology

Freshman of the Year: Ruben Oliva, Anderson University

Coach of the Year: Sean Helliwell, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology

All-HCAC Team 

Second Team All-HCAC