LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. – In exclusive voting by the league’s head soccer coaches, Christian Sakshaug of Trinity University was selected 2017 SCAC Offensive Player-of-the-Year, while Trinity’s Guy Harris and Colorado College’s Theo Hooker were tabbed as SCAC Defensive Co-Players-of-the-Year. Complete Release
In that same balloting, Nat Kajiwara of the University of Dallas earned Newcomer-of-the-Year honors while his head coach, David Hoffmann, was named SCAC Coach-of-the-Year.
A junior forward from San Antonio, Texas, Christian Sakshaug led the SCAC in assists (9), was tied for third in goals scored (10) and second in points (29). The two-time All-American was a creative force in the attack that, at times, was nearly impossible to contain. He had two goals in the 2017 conference tournament to earn his second consecutive SCAC Men’s Soccer Championship MVP award and become just the second player in league history to win that award twice. A three-time First Team All-SCAC selection and the 2015 Newcomer-of-the-Year, Sakshaug’s selection as SCAC Offensive Player-of-the-Year represents the 10th time a Trinity student-athlete has won the award and the fourth time in the last five years.
Sakshaug received four votes in the balloting for Offensive Player-of-the-Year honors while senior forward Thomas Quick of Austin College followed closely with three first-place votes. Senior midfielder Joel Frykholm of Colorado College received the remaining first-place vote.
Guy Harris, a senior defender from Dallas, Texas, spearheaded a Trinity defensive effort that led the SCAC during the regular season in goals against average (0.61) and shutouts (12) and tied for the fewest goals allowed (13). The Tigers also allowed the fewest goals during regular season conference play (9) – the fifth consecutive year Trinity has led the SCAC in that category. The senior captain, who was the league’s Defensive Co-Player-of-the-Week the week the Tigers clinched the SCAC regular season title, earned All-Tournament honors while leading a Trinity defense that allowed just one goal during the conference championships. Harris is the third consecutive Trinity player to earn at least a share of the DPOTY award and the seventh overall.
Theo Hooker, a senior all-America goalkeeper from Albuquerque, N.M., finishes his career in Colorado Springs as the holder of nearly every CC keeper record. For the third time in his career he led the SCAC in goals-against-average (0.63) and currently sits sixth all-time on the league’s career list in that category. Hooker also led the league in save percentage (.846) and shutouts (9) during the 2017 season. He earned SCAC Defensive Player-of-the-Week honors a league-high four times during the regular season. Hooker is just the second goalkeeper in league history to earn first or second team All-SCAC honors all four years, following Matt Cardone of Trinity (2011-14). He is the third Colorado College player to earn SCAC DPOTY honors and the first since 2014 when Andrew Worthington received the honor.
Harris and Hooker both received three votes to share the SCAC Defensive POTY honor. Eric Haigh of the University of Dallas received the remaining two votes.
Nat Kajiwara, a first-year forward from Southake, Texas, led all first-year players with 10 goals (tied for third in the SCAC) and points with 23 (fifth in the SCAC). He had three game-winners during the season and earned All-Tournament honors as Dallas made its first-ever appearance in a SCAC soccer tournament final. A creative attacking player that can make his own shot, Kajiwara was SCAC Offensive Player-of-the-Week in Week 7 when he posted two goals and an assist in a 4-0 win at Austin College. He is the first player in the history of the UD men’s soccer program to earn SCAC Newcomer-of-the-Year honors.
Kajiwara received six votes in the Newcomer-of-the-Year voting while first-year midfielder Jacob Hallenberger of Trinity and sophomore midfielder Aidan Longhurst of Colorado College each received one first-place vote.
In his 15th season at the helm at the University of Dallas, Hoffmann led the Crusaders to the program’s best finish since joining the SCAC prior to the 2011 season as the team produced a 10-2-2 conference record for a second-place regular season finish and a 13-4-2 overall mark. The overall mark represents a 5 1/2 game improvement from the 2016 season and the team’s trip to the SCAC tournament final was a program first. In a season filled with highlights, Dallas posted a 3-2 overtime win over then No. 4 Trinity on September 15 which snapped the Tigers’ NCAA all-divisions record of 47 consecutive home victories. With a career mark of 140-112-21 (.551), Hoffmann is the program’s all-time winningest coach in regards to both total wins and winning percentage. The SCAC Coach-of-the-Year honor if the first for Hoffmann.
To view the entire 2017 All-SCAC Men's Soccer Team, click here.