MIAC Release

COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – Five Saint John's University soccer student-athletes received 2018 Academic All-MIAC honors on Wednesday, Jan. 23.

Those honored (listed alphabetically) include:

-Junior forward Ben Becker (Richfield, Minn./Holy Angels), an economics major with a 3.74 GPA;
-Sophomore defender Andrew Kromer (Edina, Minn.), an economics major with a 3.63 GPA;
-Junior goalkeeper Payton Spencer (Hudson, Wis.), an accounting major with a 3.67 GPA;
-Junior midfielder Nathan Stone (Inver Grove Heights, Minn./Simley), a biology and environmental studies double-major with a 3.63 GPA;
-Senior midfielder Andrew Weiler (Rosemount, Minn.), an accounting major with a 3.65 GPA.

In order to qualify for MIAC Academic All-Conference recognition, student-athletes must be a sophomore, junior or senior with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.5 on a 4.0 scale. Athletically, student-athletes in soccer must compete in 50 percent of their team's varsity regular-season contests to qualify.

For the seventh consecutive year, the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) honored a record number of fall sport student-athletes, 427 total, with Academic All-Conference recognition. 

The Academic All-MIAC honor is the third for Weiler, who played in all 16 games this fall and led the team with four assists. He ended his career with six points (1g/4a) in 50 career games. 

A two-time Academic All-MIAC honoree, Spencer started nine games in net and posted a 4-4-1 record. Spencer recorded four consecutive shutouts to start the season and finished with a 0.87 GAA and .789 save percentage (30 saves). 

Stone played 11 games, with one start, and recorded a goal and an assist. The Academic All-MIAC honor is his second consecutive. 

Becker led the Johnnies in goals (7), game-winning goals (3) and points (15) last fall. He scored a hat trick in the 3-2 overtime win Sept. 2 at Jamestown (N.D.) and appeared in 15 games, starting the final eight of the season. Becker entered the 2018 season with one goal in 22 career games and appeared in only five games in 2017 due to a hamstring injury.

Kromer started 14 games on the backline for the Johnnies but did not record a point. He helped an SJU squad record five shutouts and limit its opponents to 9.6 shot attempts per game in 2018.

Three other Johnnies just missed Academic All-MIAC honors due to the non-GPA-related requirements. An All-MIAC first-team selection this fall, junior midfielder Leighton Lommel (Waite Park, Minn./St. Cloud Apollo) is a biology major with a 3.69. Transfers must complete two semesters at their current MIAC institution before they are eligible for Academic All-MIAC status. Lommel recorded his season total for points (2g/1a) in seven conference games, which tied for the team lead. He tore his Achilles during a late-season practice and missed the final three games.

Senior midfielder Uriel Cordoba (Medford, Ore./South Medford) and junior forward Kagan Foster (Alexandria, Minn.) barely fell short of the games-played requirement. An economics and Hispanic studies double-major with a 3.57 GPA, Cordoba tallied three points (1g/1a) in seven games, one short of the eight needed for Academic All-MIAC honors, due to a broken foot. He ended his career with 14 points (3g/8a) in 51 games.

Foster appeared in six games and is an accounting and economics double-major with a 3.60 GPA. His season was cut short due to a concussion.

The Johnnies saw their streak of consecutive MIAC Playoff appearances end at six, by one point, with a 4-6 record (8-7-1 overall) in 2018.