The Ohio State men’s soccer team saw seven players receive conference honors this season. Credit: Zachary Rilley | Photo Editor
The Ohio State men’s soccer team was well-represented in the Big Ten Conference post season honors announced Friday.
The Buckeyes saw four players represented on the All-Conference Teams and two on the All-Freshman Team. One player was also named a sportsmanship award honoree.
Junior midfielder Laurence Wootton was named Big Ten Midfielder of the Year, leading the Buckeyes to a top-50 scoring offense in the nation, according to NCAA statistics. His five goals ranked ninth in conference on a 73 percent shot on target clip.
The team captain was named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week Aug. 30 and the No. 9 player on the TopDrawerSoccer Midseason Top 100 Players List.
Redshirt senior goalkeeper Keagan McLaughlin was named Big Ten Goalkeeper of the Year after ranking first in the conference with a 77.4 save percentage, one goal average allowed per match and four shutouts. McLaughlin also ranked fourth with 3.4 average saves per match.
He was named conference Defensive Player of the Week for the weeks of Sept. 6 and 13.
Both Wootton and McLaughlin were named to the All-Big Ten First team.
Senior midfielder Xavier Green and sophomore midfielder Anthony Samways were named to the All-Big Ten Second team.
Green ranked second on the Buckeyes with 10 points and 12 shots on goal and recorded 35 shots, the latter good for fifth in the conference. Green was named Big Ten co-Offensive Player of the Week Sept. 20.
Samways led Ohio State with six assists, tied for sixth in the Big Ten.
Midfielder Luciano Pechota and forward Tanner Creech were named to the All-Conference Freshman team.
Pechota, one of four unanimous choices, ranked among the top-10 in game-winning goals in the Big Ten and ranked third on the Buckeyes with three assists. Creech started in all but two matches he played in, recording one goal and one assist on the season.
Senior midfielder Brayden Durbin was one of nine Big Ten Sportsmanship Award Honorees. Durbin recorded two goals this season.
