ST. LOUIS -- For the first time in the league’s 17-year men’s soccer history, the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year is from Bradley, as senior defender Joe Donoho headlines a list of 25 student-athletes named to the 2007 MVC All-Conference men’s soccer teams.  Creighton GK Matt Allen becomes the first player in league history to repeat as Defensive Player of the Year.  The all-conference units, selected by the coaches, were announced by the league office Thursday.

 Donoho aided the Braves to a third-straight Missouri Valley Conference regular-season championship and a No. 1 seed in this week’s State Farm MVC Tournament.  In 2007, for the second-straight year, the Braves tied for the regular-season title with Creighton.  And for the second-straight year, the co-champs have the most players on the league’s first- and second-team units.  The Braves (4) and Creighton (6) combined to place 10 student-athletes on the league’s top two units.  Evansville, which placed third in the league standings, and Drake, fourth, also placed four players apiece on either the first or second teams.

 Although the first Bradley player to be named Player of the Year, Donoho is not the first Brave to earn a top honor in men’s soccer, as three previous Braves (Adam Gross-1998, Tim Regan-2002 and Chris Dunsheath-2005) earned the league’s Defensive Player of the Year honor, while three others (Gavin Glinton-1998, Chris Dunsheath-2002, and Chris Cutshaw-2006) earned the league’s Freshman of the Year award.  The starting sweeper in all 20 games this season, Donoho leads all Missouri Valley Conference participants by playing 1854 minutes this season, coming out of just two games for a total of 11 minutes.  While leading a defense that is second in The Valley in goals against average in all games (0.92) and first in league play (0.78), Donoho also is the second-leading scorer in conference play.  Overall, his six goals and 14 points rank second on the team, and he leads the Braves with four game-winning goals.

 The Valley’s most dominant program produced the league’s Defensive Player of the Year for the seventh time in its history, but for the first time in league history a player earned the MVC’s top defensive honor in back-to-back seasons.  Matt Allen led the conference in goals against average this year with a 0.86 figure through 16 matches.  His five shutouts tied for the league leadership, while his 0.85 career goals against average is better than any other active goalkeeper in the MVC.  Allen is the seventh Bluejay to win the league’s Defensive Player of the Year award.   He joins SMU’s Diego Walsh (Player of the Year in 2000 and 2002) and Tulsa’s Ryan Pore (Player of the Year in 2003 and 2004) as the only repeat winners of one of the league’s top awards.

 The league’s Freshman of the Year, Robby Lynch, is a potent part of Evansville’s attack.  Entering the tournament, he ranked third on the team with five points and five assists for 15 points this season for a club which leads the conference with 43 goals.  He joins Pedro Delgado (1995), Shawn Beyer (1996) and Terence Gargantini (1999) as previous Aces to earn The Valley’s honor for top newcomer.  (The award was a Newcomer of the Year award from 1991-95 and Freshman of the Year from 1996-present.)

 For the second-straight year, Bradley’s coaching staff has earned the MVC’s Coaching Staff of the Year honor.  The award took a new name for the first time in 2006, as the honor was previously called “Coach of the Year.”  It’s the fourth honor for Bradley as coach Jim DeRose earned The Valley’s top coaching honor in 1996 and 1998.  Bradley, meanwhile, earned its third-straight regular-season crown and fourth in its history (1998, 2005, 2006, 2007), sharing a co-championship with Creighton in 2006 and 2007.  Bradley joins Creighton (1992-96) and SMU (2000-02) as the only teams to win at least a share of three-straight Valley regular-season championships.  Jim DeRose is assisted by Brad Ruzzo and Preston Good.

 Bradley is also the winner of the Valley’s Fair Play Award, which is structured after the FIFA Fair Play honor.  It’s given to the Valley squad that has the fewest penalty cards during conference play. 

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