Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Fifth-year senior goalkeeper Kyle Zobeck (Coralville, Iowa/Iowa City West) has been named one of 10 nationwide finalists for the 2012 men's soccer Senior CLASS Award. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence – community, classroom, character and competition. Fans can vote for Zobeck to win the award through November 19.

An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School ®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities. The finalists were chosen by a media committee from the list of 30 candidates announced in September. Fans are encouraged to vote on the Senior CLASS Award website (http://www.seniorclassaward.com/vote) through November 19. Fan votes will be combined with media and Division I head coaches’ votes to determine the winner.

Zobeck has excelled in all four C’s during his time at Valparaiso. The fifth-year senior helped the Crusaders win the Horizon League regular season title in 2011 and was named league Goalkeeper of the Year, while he also holds the program’s career records for goals against average (0.93) and shutouts (21). This season, he has posted a 0.76 GAA, which paces the Horizon League and ranks 26th nationally. In the classroom, he maintains a 3.969 cumulative GPA as a mechanical engineering major, was a Third Team Scholar All-American last year and was named one of just 83 Tau Beta Pi Laureates in the last 30 years, the highest honor for a senior engineering student in the United States.

A two-year captain for the Crusaders, Zobeck goes above and beyond both on and off the field as well as outside the classroom. He also has been involved with numerous soccer camps during his time at Valpo, as well as contributing his time and energy to the myriad of community service initiatives the men’s soccer program has taken on during his career, including TOCO and St. Baldrick's.