Monday, November 08, 2010

Senior Adrian Ortiz (Berwyn, Ill./Morton West) and redshirt junior Stefan Antonijevic (Buffalo Grove, Ill./Stevenson [College of Lake County/Marquette]) both repeated as Second Team All-Horizon League honorees, while junior Guy Shabtay (Ramat-Gan, Israel/Blich [Prairie State C.C.]) earned a spot on the All-Newcomer Team as the league announced its postseason award recipients Monday afternoon.

Ortiz earns Second Team honors for the second straight season after tallying a goal and four assists in 2010.  The senior, who played in all 75 of Valpo’s games over his four-year career, netted his third career goal late in the season against Western Michigan and also led the Crusaders with his four helpers.  Ortiz’s last assist, which came in the season finale against Detroit, gave him 13 career assists, tied for third-most in program history.

Antonijevic also repeats as a Second Team honoree after scoring four goals, tied for second on the team, and adding an assist in 2010.  The redshirt junior, who appeared in 16 games this year, was a physical presence in the midfield for the Crusaders all season long.  He was named MVP of the Marquette Invitational after scoring the match-winner in a win over Santa Clara and also tallied goals in Horizon League action against Wright State and UIC.

Shabtay represented the Crusaders on the All-Newcomer Team after appearing in 15 matches, including four starts, in his first season in the Valpo kit.  The junior-college transfer kicked off his Crusader career with a bang, scoring the lone goal in a 1-0 win in the season opener at UNLV.  He also scored a match winner in Horizon League play against Wright State, and added goals in non-league action late in the year versus Western Michigan and Eastern Illinois.  Shabtay’s four goals tied with Antonijevic for second-most on the squad.