BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Led by two first-team honorees, the Western Washington University men’s soccer team placed five players on the 2017 Great Northwest Athletic Conference All-League team, announced Tuesday by the conference office in Portland, Ore.

WWU was honored with a pair of first-team selections, one second-team pick and two honorable mention choices. The WWU selections to the 2017 GNAC Men’s Soccer All-Conference Team, as voted on by the conference’s head coaches, are as follows:

  • First Team All-GNAC: Anthony Dean, Tyler Visten
  • Second Team All-GNAC: Luke Olney
  • Honorable Mention All-GNAC: Georg Cholewa, Stephen Jinneman

Dean (Sr., Amsterdam, The Netherlands/Bellevue College) was a unanimous selection to the All-GNAC First Team as a forward after being named a Second Team All-GNAC honoree during the 2016 season. He led WWU and ranked 2nd among GNAC leaders in points (25) and goals (11), while also adding 3 assists. Dean, who started all 17 games for WWU, also led the conference in total shots (67) and shots per game (3.94).

He had at least 1 goal or assist in each of the first eight games of the season to tie for most consecutive games with a point (since year 2000) in program history. The senior forward concluded his two-year WWU career with 46 points, 19 goals and 8 assists to rank 10th in WWU history among leading goal scorers and 12th in points.

Visten (Sr., Mount Vernon, WA/Skagit Valley College) was also a unanimous selection to the All-GNAC First Team as a goalkeeper, and was an All-GNAC honoree for the third consecutive year after being named to the All-GNAC Second Team last season and receiving All-GNAC Honorable Mention consideration in 2015. He played every minute of every game for the Vikings during the season, concluding the season with the best save percentage (.739) among GNAC goalkeepers while also ranking 2nd in goals-against average (1.29), saves (68) and shutouts (5).

A team co-captain, he was named the GNAC Defensive Player of the Week for the week of Oct. 2-8 and concludes his WWU career with a career goals-against average of 1.25 (2nd-best in WWU history) and 15 shutouts (3rd-best in WWU history).

Olney (Sr., Enumclaw, WA) became a four-time All-GNAC choice, named a unanimous selection to the All-GNAC Second Team as a midfielder. He was a First Team selection in 2016, an All-GNAC Honorable Mention choice in 2015 and an All-GNAC Second Team selection in 2014. Ranking 3rd on the team among non-goalkeepers in minutes played with 1,558, Olney scored 3 goals and added 1 assist (7 points) during the season to rank in a tie for 2nd on the team in goals and points.

He concludes his WWU career 10th in program history with 71 games played as well as tied for 10th in assists (12). A team co-captain, Olney started the last 28 games played by WWU in his career and totaled 57 starts over four seasons. He also became the fifth player in program history to be named to the GNAC All-Academic Team three times during a career.

Cholewa (M, Leipzig, Germany/Sportgymnasium Chemnitz) was named Honorable Mention All-GNAC, making an immediate impact during his freshman season while starting 16 games and totaling 2 goals along with 1 assist. One of the goals scored by Cholewa was the game-winner in a 3-2 victory over Saint Martin’s on Sept. 21. He was one of nine true freshmen honored on the All-GNAC Team.

Jinneman (D, Redmond, WA) earned Honorable Mention All-GNAC recognition as a defender, helping anchor the WWU defense while starting all 17 games. He also totaled 3 goals and 1 assist to rank 2nd on the team in both categories. Jinneman played the most minutes of any non-goalkeeper during the season with 1,599 and helped the defense to record 5 shutouts.

Among the goals scored by Jinneman was a golden goal in overtime to complete a come-from-behind 3-2 victory at Seattle Pacific on Oct. 5, which was part of a stretch of four consecutive games with a goal or assist for the junior. Jinneman was also named to the GNAC All-Academic Team for the second consecutive season during 2017.

The Vikings concluded the 2017 campaign 6-6-5 overall with a 5-4-3 record in GNAC play.

 

GNAC champion Simon Fraser was honored with four of the GNAC special awards. The Clan’s Marcello Polisi was named Player of the Year while Magnus Kristensen earned Defensive Player of the Year honors and Matteo Polisi was named Freshman of the Year. Simon Fraser’s Clint Schneider shared Coach of the Year honors with Alex Balog of Montana State billings, while Brandon Madsen of Saint Martin’s was named Newcomer of the Year.