Four men's soccer players receive All-Region honors
The Western Iowa Tech men's soccer team followed its winning inagural season with four postseason awards.
Matias Garcia Castilla (first team), Victor Goscinski (second), Gabriel Avellan and Ryder Delport (both honorable mentions) were each named to the Region 11/Iowa Community College Athletic Conference All-Region team, as voted on by region coaches.
Castilla scored one goal and three assists while establishing himself as a foundational piece of the team.
"Matias came in this fall and was a leader for the program since day one," head coach Alex Scheuler said. "He really came in this fall ready to go from day one and it showed throughout the year."
The midfielder from Argentina had two assists in a 5-0 defeat of Gillette College on October 2.
"He truly was peaking during our latter part of conference season," Scheuler said. "Matias will be a key guy leading us into the next year."
Goscinski recorded four shutouts this season and stopped 92.9% of shots on goal during five conference games. The sophomore from Brazil allowed only one goal during ICCAC play, a second-half tally in a 5-1 win over North Iowa Area CC on October 14.
Goscinski's impressive stats came during earned playing time. WIT's deep well of keepers created a position battle early in the fall.
"(Victor) started the year having to compete for time, but (he) just put his head down and kept working," Scheuler said. "He is a great locker room guy that any four-year will be lucky to have."
Avellan scored four goals and had four assists in 16 matches. The freshman midfielder from Ecuador impressed with his playmaking in training camp and presented the Comets coaches a decision that was part luxury, part dilemma.
"The hardest part as a staff was admittedly finding a position for him early in the year -- as he does so many attacking things well," Scheuler said. "(He) plays the game with true joy and passion, something we'll look forward to seeing next year.
"I believe Gabo can make an even bigger impact next year, with another year in the states under his belt at Western Iowa Tech."
Delport scored two goals in 17 games this season. The English midfielder scored the second goal in a 2-1 win against State Fair CC on September 2 at Bishop Heelan's Memorial Field.
Scheuler praised Delport for his selflessness and toughness. The 5'11" freshman started the season playing out of position and played much of the Comets' ICCAC schedule with a significant ankle injury.
"Yet (he) still was playing 90 minutes per game and helping us get shutouts in our highly competitive conference," Scheuler said. "Really looking forward to the continued growth from Ryder in his play, maturity and skill as we head into next fall."
