By FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION
Fort Hays State Men’s Soccer had seven individuals selected to the 2021 D2CCA All-Central Region Team, announced on Tuesday (Nov. 23). FHSU and Rogers State led the team in representation, each with seven, while FHSU had the most first-team selections with five. Earning first-team selections were Taisei Arima, Blake Arndt, Kieran Brown, Alec Bevis, and Viktor Robertsson. Second-team selections went to Antonio De La Torre and Haruya Iwasaki. The team is voted on by Sports Information Directors and Athletic Media Relations Directors throughout the region.
After receiving GAC/MIAA Offensive Player of the Year honors, Taisei Arima was also dubbed the D2CCA Central Region Player of the Year to go along with his first-team selection. He generated all 21 of his regular season points (8 goals, 5 assists) in GAC/MIAA matches. He now has 22 after providing an assist in Fort Hays State’s Round of 32 win over Wisconsin-Parkside in the NCAA Tournament.
Arndt is a first-team selection at forward. He currently leads all Central Region players in points this year with 27, now with 12 goals and three assists on the season. Arndt went into the postseason tied with Arima for the region lead in points, each with 21, but Arndt has netted three goals since. He had a goal in Fort Hays State’s 2-0 win over Northeastern State in the GAC/MIAA Tournament Championship Game to secure Fort Hays State’s ninth straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament. He then lifted the Tigers past Wisconsin-Parkside in the NCAA Tournament Round of 32 with a pair of goals in a 2-1 win. Arndt was the GAC/MIAA Offensive Player of the Year back in the shortened spring season of 2020-21. He has scored two goals in a match four times this season and has five game winners to his credit.
Brown receives first-team honors at goalkeeper. He owns a 0.73 goals against average for the season and an .831 save percentage, while posting eight shutouts. Both his goals against average and save percentage rank ninth nationally in Division II, while he ranks 10th in shutouts. Two of his eight shutouts came in the GAC/MIAA Tournament as the Tigers held the opposition scoreless to punch their ticket to the NCAA Tournament. He adds this honor to his all-conference first team selection this season.
Bevis receives first-team honors at defender. The 2021 GAC/MIAA Defender of the Year notches another honor to his long list of accomplishments at FHSU. He is now a two-time D2CCA All-Central Region selection after earning second-team honors in 2019. He was the GAC/MIAA Freshman of the Year that season. Bevis is Fort Hays State’s captain and steadying presence at the back of the Tiger defense that has time and time again shut down offensive opportunities for opponents. He has helped the Tigers to an 0.79 goals against average, which ranks 16th nationally, and eight shutouts.
Robertsson is a first-team selection at midfielder. He adds this to his All-GAC/MIAA First Team selection for the season. Robertsson ranks fourth on the team in points generated with 10 (4 goals, 2 assists). He has one game-winning goal and 1,622 minutes logged on the pitch.
De La Torre is a second-team selection at defender, which goes along with his second-team selection to the All-GAC/MIAA Team. Often sent forward to be used on attacking opportunities, De La Torre ranks third on the team in points this season with 14 (5 goals, 4 assists). He generated 12 of his 14 points in conference matches.
Iwasaki is a second-team selection at defender, which goes along with his second-team selection to the All-GAC/MIAA Team. He played every minute possible this season through 20 matches and has been an integral part of the Tigers holding opponents to an 0.79 goals against average this season with eight shutouts.