CLAREMONT, Calif. - Sophomore forward
James Gomez, junior defedner
Shaan Malik and senior midfielder
Rafael Otero earned spots on the All-SCIAC first team, while junior forward
John Laidlaw captured second-team accolades in a vote of the league's coaches, the conference office announced today.
Malik and Otero repeat as first-team selections, while Gomez moves up from the second team a year ago as a freshman to first-team distinction this year. Laidlaw earned his first selection to one of the all-conference teams.
Gomez enters postseason play with five goals and seven assists on the year, with all but one goal coming in conference games. He scored the game-winner in a home win over Redlands, and added goals in both meetings with Occidental, who the Stags face in the SCIAC Semifinals on Thursday. He also had two-assist games in a win over Chapman and a defeat at Redlands.
Malik has been a regular in the starting lineup on the CMS defense, and has contributed a goal and an assist offensively. He scored his goal in a 3-2 win over then-No. 1 and defending national champion St. Olaf, and added an assist in a 3-2 win over La Verne. His defensive efforts have helped CMS to nine shutouts and a 1.17 team goals against average.
Otero has scored a team-high 10 goals on the year, giving him 25 in his career, to go along with four assists. He scored twice in the win over St. Olaf, earning him SCIAC Offensive Player of the Week honors, and added two goal-games in a 2-0 win over Wheaton (Ill.) and a 3-0 win over Chapman. He also had the game's only goal in wins over Pomona-Pitzer and La Verne.
Laidlaw scored seven goals in SCIAC games after missing the non-conference schedule with an injury. He started out with goals in three straight games against Cal Lutheran, Chapman and Redlands, and had another three-goal streak in wins over La Verne, Caltech and Occidental. He added the game's only goal in a 1-0 win over Cal Lutheran in the 86th minute that secured the No. 2 seed for the Stags.
CMS will open its SCIAC Tournament against defending champion Occidental, which reached the NCAA Round of 16 last year, on Thursday at 7 p.m. at Pritzlaff Field. Tickets may be purchased in advance through TicketLeap at the following link:
SCIAC Tournament Tickets
