NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- The Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference annual men's soccer awards were announced on Wednesday afternoon and Christopher Newport University featured a league-best six All-Conference selections. The Captains earned three first-team and three second-team honorees after a vote by the league's head coaches. 

For the third consecutive season and the 14th time in the last 16 years that CNU has garnered at least six All-League certificates. The three first team honors matches the most for the Captains since 2017 as senior goalkeeper Ethan Larson, junior defender Jonathon Leiding, and sophomore midfielder Trevor Smith earned the nod. On the second team, junior forward Elton Quintanilla, junior midfielder Mason Field, and senior defender Kyle Stenzel collected their first career All-Conference placards. 

All six of CNU's honorees are first time winners after guiding the 12th-ranked Captains to one of the finest regular seasons, especially defensively, in program history. CNU will enter the 2022 C2C Tournament as the top seed with an overall record of 11-3-1. 

Headlining the dominant defense has been first-year goalkeeper Ethan Larson, who was named the top netminder in the conference in 2022. After serving as a forward and midfielder for the first four years of his tenure, Larson took the reins as the starting goalkeeper this season and manufactured one of the finest years in net all-time at CNU. He has started all 15 games and leads the league while ranking 32nd nationally in goals-against average with a 0.713 mark. He ranks in the top-25 nationally in total shutouts and has contributed to all 10 clean sheets this year. 

Larson has come up in big, clutch situations all season long, turning away would-be game-tying and game-winning goals from opponents late in the game on multiple occasions. He has saved 78.7 percent of shots on frame with 37 stops while facing 113 total shots this year. The Hampton, Va. native was named the C2C Defensive Player of the Week three times this season. 

Joining him on the first team is one of the key components to his strong defense, Jonathon Leiding, who has played all 15 games with 11 starts this season. The 2021 C2C Tournament MVP has turned in another strong season defensively, helping hold opponents to just 10 goals scored for a 0.68 team GAA, ranking 25th nationally. Leiding has also been a dangerous weapon on the offensive end, with two game-winning goals and a pair of assists.

Rounding out the first team picks is defensive midfielder Trevor Smith. The tough sophomore has played in 920 of a possible 1,332 minutes this season in the midfield, helping stymie opposing attacks before they can even build to the back line. He has started all 15 games and has helped control the middle of the pitch with an outstanding second year for the Captains. 

In addition to the aforementioned trio, second team All-Conference star Kyle Stenzel has also helped post the stingy defensive numbers. Stenzel made an impact as a transfer student playing in 10 games with nine starts while working around a mid-season injury. He has also added three goals and one assist for seven points, including two game-winning strikes. 

Offensively, CNU added a couple of offensive All-Conference selections in midfielder Mason Field and forward Elton Quintanilla. Field has been an important player in the attacking third, dishing out a pair of assists with a couple of goals in 14 games played. Quintanilla has stepped in as the team's leading scorer during his first year as a Captain with 11 points on three goals and five assists. 

Christopher Newport will travel to Salisbury University for the 2022 C2C Tournament with first-round action on Thursday. The top-seeded Captains earned a first-round bye and will play in the first semifinal game on Friday, November 4 at 11:00 a.m. against either #4 UW-Whitewater or #5 UC Santa Cruz. 

2022 Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference Awards - Men's Soccer

2022 C2C Offensive Player of the Year: Josh Kirkland - Mary Washington
2022 C2C Defensive Player of the Year: Will Barba - UC Santa Cruz
2022 C2C Rookie of the Year: Danny Gutzwiller - Wisconsin-Platteville
2022 C2C Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Brendan Christian - Finlandia
2022 C2C Coaching Staff of the Year: Sam Koenig - Wisconsin-Platteville

2022 All-C2C Men's Soccer First Team

NAME	YR.	POS.	TEAM	HOMETOWN
Josh Kirkland	Sr.	F	Mary Washington	Richmond, Va.
Jalen Holley	Sr.	F	Wisconsin-Whitewater	Milwaukee, Wis.
Jack Gentilli	Jr.	F	Wisconsin-Platteville	Belleville, Wis.
Carter Berg	So.	F	Mary Washington	Reston, Va.
Trevor Smith	So.	M	Christopher Newport	Richmond, Va.
Danny Gutzwiller	Fr.	M	Wisconsin-Platteville	Peoria, Ill.
Ethan Dolezal	So.	M	Salisbury	Churchville, Md.
Clayton Lautenschlaeger	So.	D	Wisconsin-Platteville	Belgium, Wis.
Jonathon Leiding	Jr.	D	Christopher Newport	Virginia Beach, Va.
Evan Donini	Sr.	D	Wisconsin-Whitewater	Waukesha, Wis.
Jacob Kautzman	Sr.	D	Mary Washington	Springfield, Va.
Will Barba	Sr.	D	UC Santa Cruz	San Diego, Calif.
Ethan Larson	Sr.	GK	Christopher Newport	Hampton, Va.

 

 2022 All-C2C Men's Soccer Second Team

NAME	YR.	POS.	TEAM	HOMETOWN
Sean Barwick	Jr.	F	Salisbury	Fallston, Md.
Chinedu Ikem	Fr.	F	Finlandia	Woodbridge, Va.
Elton Quintanilla	Jr.	F	Christopher Newport	Usulutan, El Salvador
Adrian Jacobs	Fr.	F	UC Santa Cruz	Benicia, Calif.
Abel Luwis	Sr.	M	Mary Washington	McLean, Va.
Itay Rabinovich	Sr.	M	UC Santa Cruz	Cupertino, Calif.
Mason Field	Jr.	M	Christopher Newport	Purcellville, Va.
Konrad Ziaja	So.	M	Wisconsin-Platteville	Lake Forest, Ill.
Christian Mendoza-Huynh	Fr.	M	Finlandia	Fennville, Mich.
Alester Dawson	Fr.	D	Wisconsin-Platteville	Peoria, Ill.
Kyle Stenzel	Sr.	D	Christopher Newport	Staunton, Va.
Max Beldner	Jr.	D	UC Santa Cruz	San Francisco, Calif.
Griffin Hemmendinger	Sr.	GK	Mary Washington	Norfolk, Va.