Texas Lutheran Men's Soccer named SCAC Sportsmanship award winner
LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. - Texas Lutheran Men's Soccer was one of five Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference fall sports programs recognized by the league as a recipient of the SCAC Student-Athlete Advisory Committee Team Sportsmanship award. The awards were announced after balloting conducted after each sport's respective season.
The SCAC Student-Athlete Advisory Committee instituted the award prior to the 2016-17 academic year in an effort to honor the team that best portrays good sportsmanship and fair play from the players and coaches during the season.
The fall SCAC awards are presented in men's and women's cross country, men's and women's soccer, and women's volleyball.
Every program receiving recognition this fall is a first-time Team Sportsmanship honoree - the first time this has happened since the award was created four years ago.
In soccer, both SCAC tournament champions received Team Sportsmanship recognition - a first since the inception of the award.
On the men's side, Texas Lutheran took top sportsmanship honors, followed by Colorado College and Schreiner.
TLU won its first-ever Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Men's Soccer Championship in 2019 and grabbed its second-ever NCAA Division III playoff berth.
Led by 14th-year Head Coach Eddie Salazar, the Bulldogs won a school-record 15 matches, going 15-6 overall and 7-2 in the SCAC.
The Bulldogs, the No. 2 seed in the SCAC Tournament, defeated tournament host Trinity 2-0 and top seed Colorado College 3-1 to claim the conference title and the conference's automatic berth to the NCAA DIII playoffs.
TLU played Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (Calif.) in the NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Championship (first round) and fell 2-0 to the Stags. CMS advanced to the NCAA DIII third round, falling to eventual national semi-finalist Centre (Ky.).
For the women, Southwestern University earned the SAAC team sportsmanship award with Texas Lutheran taking second. Schreiner and Trinity tied for third place.
In cross country, Dallas swept the team sportsmanship honors on both the men's and women's side. The Crusader men were the top choice with Johnson & Wales and Colorado College finishing second and third, respectively. For the women, UD earned top honors followed by Colorado College in second place and Trinity third in the balloting.
UD's sweep of the cross country Team Sportsmanship awards marks the fourth consecutive year one program has received both men's and women's recognition.
And in the sport of volleyball, Johnson & Wales received top honors with Trinity coming in second. Colorado College and Schreiner followed closely in a tie for third.
Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference
Fall 2019 Team Sportsmanship Award Winners
Men's Cross Country: University of Dallas
Women's Cross Country: University of Dallas
Men's Soccer: Texas Lutheran University
Women's Soccer: Southwestern University
Volleyball: Johnson & Wales University (Denver)
The awards were voted on by each member institution's SAAC, with each individual group ranking the top three teams in each sport. The first place selections were awarded five points, second place earned three points and third place earned one point. Points were then totaled to select the conference's overall winner.