The Retort

Yellowjacket Players Named to All-Conference Team

November 19th, 2010 by MSU Billings News Services For The Retort

Four Montana State Billings men’s soccer players were named to the 2010 Great Northwest Athletic Conference All-Star team, the conference office announced Monday, November 8. Senior, captain, Chris Andre, earned first team honors, while sophomore Conner Moe was a second team selection. Sophomore Thomas Sheets and seniors Kyle Moriarty and Matt Mitchell earned honorable mention honors.

Andre, a native of Billings, led the team with 10 goals and six assists this season for 26 points. He was second on the team in shots (51) and led the team with 27 shots on goal. Andre was 4-5 in penalty kicks this season and had two game winners. He was one of four Yellowjackets to play and start all 18 games and was fourth on the team in minutes played with 1614.

“Chris had a quality senior year,” MSUB sixth-year head coach Dan McNally said. “There is no question he was our star player this year. I’m really pleased for him because he has worked so hard over his four years. He deserves the recognition.”

Andre finished second in the conference in scoring with 26 points behind GNAC Player of the Year, Gibson Bardsley, from Western Washington. Andre’s 10 goals tied him for second in the league, and his six assists were tied for fifth. Andre set the school record and tied the GNAC record this season with 24 career assists. He tied Pat Doran of Seattle University (2002-2005). Entering the season, Andre was tied with former Yellowjacket standout, Sam Charles, with 18 assists.

In the classroom, Andre tallied a 3.36 grade point average and earned Academic All-Conference honors and was named CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District VII second team.

Andre earned second team all-conference honors in 2009.

Snohomish, Washington, native, Moe, earned second team honors in his first season as a Yellowjacket. He was a mainstay in the Yellowjacket defense all season. Moe played and started all 18 games and logged 1634 minutes, which was good for third-most on the team.

“Conner had a great season,” McNally said. “I installed him as a team captain halfway through the season because he is a natural leader. I will build our defense around Conner for next season, he has everything you would want in a center back.”

From the center back position, Moe scored two goals this season with one game winner. He tallied 13 shots and seven on goal. His game winner came in a 2-0 win at Saint Martin’s, and he played every minute of 15 games this season.

Moriarty and Mitchell were named to the honorable mention team as they played and started every game and tied for the team-lead in minutes with 1654:13. This is Moriarty’s first all-conference selection, while Mitchell was a second team selection in 2008 and an honorable mention honoree in 2009.

The Bozeman native, Moriarty, has played every game the past two seasons and led the team in minutes each year. He has been a key cog in the Yellowjacket defense all four years and tallied two assists this season. Moriarty fired eight shots with five on goal. He recorded five assists in his career.

Mitchell, a Thornton, Colorado, native, tallied a 1.47 goals against average this season. He stopped a career-high 73 shots in 1654:13 minutes of action. Mitchell’s 73 saves led the conference, his three shutouts were good for fourth in the league and his 1.47 GAA was third-best.

He leaves his mark on the school record book, too. In Mitchell’s career, he logged 4293:27 minutes, the most in school history. He ranks third in career goals against average at a 1.24 clip and leads the record book with 194 saves.

Sheets, a native of Everett, Washington, played in 17 games and started nine in his first season as a Yellowjacket. He finished second on the team in scoring with four goals, three assists and 11 points. He led the team with 53 shots, and had two game winners on the year. Sheets tied for second on the squad with four goals.

Bardsley earned Player of the Year honors, while Max Baessato of Simon Fraser was named Defender of the Year. Teammate, Michael Winter, earned Newcomer of the Year honors. Seattle Pacific’s Blaine Carver was named Freshman of the Year. 2010 saw co-Coach of the Year winners as Alan Koch of Simon Fraser and Mark Collings of Seattle Pacific shared the award.