November 17, 2009

CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA . . . The Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) announced today that Loras College senior midfielder Santiago Mejia (Cali, Colombia/Colegio Bolivar) has been named the 2009 IIAC Men’s Soccer Most Valuable Player and Loras College head coach Dan Rothert has been named the 2009 IIAC Men’s Soccer Coach of the Year.

Mejia, the fifth Iowa Conference MVP from Loras in the past seven years, becomes just the third player to be named to the First Team four times, joining Verne Houston of Wartburg (2001-04) and current Simpson head coach Mike Wilson (1996-99). He has started all 23 games for the Duhawks through the regional round of the NCAA Division III Championship, registering seven goals and a league-high 16 assists for 30 points. He is part of a Loras squad that led all Iowa Conference teams in goals this season with 65, an average of 2.83 per game.

Rothert led Loras to its fourth consecutive title and its fifth overall with a perfect 8-0-0 league mark. The Duhawks outscored their league opponents 28-4, leading the IIAC in goals scored and fewest goals allowed. Loras, a national semifinalist each of the past two seasons, takes a 20-2-1 record into a November 21 sectional semifinal against Dominican (Ill.). The Duhawks are 63-7-4 since the start of the 2007 season.

The IIAC also announced today the 2009 Men’s Soccer All-Conference Team. The 26-member Team includes 13 repeat All-Conference performers. In addition, three of the 11 honorable mention selections are previous All-Conference performers. Loras teammates Miguel Bonilla and Matt Splittgerber were named to the First Team for the third time. Loras’ Nate Minkel and Nick Rizzo and Wartburg’s Luke Prater received their third All-Conference honors. Iowa Conference tournament champion Wartburg had seven All-Conference performers, including five First Team members. IIAC regular season champion Loras and Dubuque each had six All-Conference performers. The Duhawks also had five First Teamers, while the Spartans hauled in two First Team honors. Central had four players selected, all on the Second Team.

The complete 2009 IIAC Men’s Soccer All-Conference Team can be found here.

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