SAN RAMON, Calif. — San Francisco State men's soccer player
Aydan Bowers has been named the 2018 CCAA Men's Soccer Defender of the Year. The senior was also named to the All-CCAA First Team while teammates
Gustav Fink,
Moses Gutierrez,
Tariq Pulskamp,
Peter Swinkels, and
Carlos Trujeque leal all garnered Honorable Mention.
The 2018 Gators finished with a 10-4-3 record and were ranked as high as No. 7 in the West Region. The Gators reached the postseason in back-to-back seasons, this year securing the No. 5 seed in the CCAA Championships, where they fell 2-0 at No. 4 seed Cal State San Bernardino.
The senior co-captain was named the 2018 CCAA Men's Soccer Defender of the Year and earned All-CCAA First Team honors for a second time. Bowers started all 17 matches this season and appeared in 64 total for the Golden Gators. The Murrieta, California native finishes his career with eight goals, including a career-best four this season, three of which were game-winners, plus six career assists, including one this season. He logged 1,579 minutes, which were second among all field players.
In his first season as a Gator, the redshirt junior started all 17 games en route to All-CCAA honorable mention. The midfielder tallied an assist in a non-conference win at Notre Dame de Namur on September 2. The Copenhagen, Denmark native was fourth on the Gators with 1,380 minutes.
The junior transfer garnered All-CCAA honorable mention in his first season as a Gator. The midfielder appeared in all but one match for the Gators and made 15 starts. He scored the game-winning goal in a non-conference victory over Academy of Art on October 30 and dished out three assists, including on the game-winner to beat Chico State on October 21 and secure a postseason berth.
The team co-captain followed up last season's All-CCAA accolades with an honorable mention in 2018. The defender started all 17 matches and led all players with 1,586 minutes. The Bakersfield, California native scored his twice this season, both of which came in wins — one came September 2 at Notre Dame de Namur and the other came on October 19 at Stanislaus State.
The sophomore goalkeeper had a breakout season. He started all 17 contests in goal and notched 10 shutouts, which is among the Top 10 in all of NCAA Division II. He has also been in the Top 10 in save percentage, where he was the leader in that category for most of October. He finished with an .868 save percentage and a .508 goals against average, both third-best in the conference. The San Francisco native also averaged 3.47 saves per game.
In 16 starts, Trujeque leal led San Francisco State with five goals. The forward powered the Gators to a 3-1 victory over No. 9 UC San Diego with a pair of goals and an assist, and assisted on the game-winner over Chico State on October 21.
