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Stihler repeats as top defender, 5 Hawks named All-Conference
NORCROSS, Ga. - Sebastian Stihler was named the
Southern States Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year
for the second consecutive season and four other Hawks garnered
SSAC All-East Division honors according to the 2010 All-SSAC squads
released by the league on Monday.
Shorter placed six players on the league's All-Academic team: Stihler, Sam Franz, Elliot Livesey, Stan Nizamutdinov, Preston Watson and Trae Zablan.
Stihler, a 2009 NAIA and NSCAA All-American, positioned himself for a second straight All-America honor by once again being named the SSAC's top defender.
The Mannheim, Germany native scored eight goals and dished out two assists while missing the Hawks' final four matches due to injury. Stihler departs the program tied for second all-time on the Shorter goal scoring list with 21 strikes and is a three-time SSAC All-Academic selection while also being named an NAIA Scholar-Athlete in 2009.
Stihler, a co-captain this season, was the only Shorter representative on the All-SSAC team, but four other Hawks were named to the SSAC All-East Division roster.
Highlighting that group was senior co-captain Lewis Kwai, who closed out his Shorter career with his best season in a Hawk uniform.
Kwai, who hails from Bamenda, Cameroon, proved to be one of the league's top central defenders and scored his lone career goal this season - a game winning goal in the 79th minute in Shorter's 2-1 victory over Tennessee Wesleyan.
Junior Garry Perks also garnered All-East Division honors after leading Shorter with a career-high 12 goals. Perks added three assists to finish with a team-high 27 points and now has 18 goals for his career, a total that ranks third all-time in Shorter history.
Perks was at his best when it mattered most. The Tain, Scotland native scored seven of his goals in conference play - four of which came in one game against Truett-McConnell College - and added two goals and an assist in Shorter's 3-2 win over No. 18-ranked William Carey University in the quarterfinals of the SSAC Tournament.
Freshmen Adrian Burns and Marcus Stallechner rounded out the Hawks' All-East Division selections.
Burns had a phenomenal season as an attacking center midfielder, using his superior speed and playmaking ability to notch four goals and six assists. He scored twice in Shorter's season-opening 3-1 win over then No. 17-ranked Auburn-Montgomery and had a career-best three assists in Shorter's win over Truett-McConnell.
Stallechner was solid in goal for the Hawks in his inaugural season. The Munich, Germany, native appeared in 19 matches for Shorter and finished one shutout short of tying the school's single season record, posting four clean sheets on the season.
The Hawks, who fell to eventual SSAC Tournament champion and No. 8-ranked University of Mobile in the conference semifinals, also saw Perks and senior John Calderwood named to the 2010 All-Tournament team.
Calderwood, a right back who hails from Kirkmuirhill, Scotland, was an All-SSAC selection in 2009 and had another All-Conference worthy season in 2010. Calderwood scored twice and led the Hawks in assists with seven. His 16 career assists rank second on Shorter's all-time list behind former standout Ciaran Traquair's 17.
