BRENTWOOD, Tenn. – The Ohio Valley Conference announced their 2024 Men’s Soccer award winners on Friday afternoon before the start of the OVC Championships on Sunday, Nov. 10th. Lindenwood garnered five awards including two first-team All-OVC selections.
Ethan Blake and Noe Bijou headline the awards for Lindenwood after both being honored for their performances this season. Enzo Gil, Cameron Caldwell and John Gates also earned All-OVC Second Team honors with Gates also being named to the All-OVC Newcomer team.
Blake, a 2023 First Team selection, capped off his senior season leading the OVC in points with 25. In 2024, Blake led an offense that averaged over two goals a game. On this year’s team, Blake led the group with eight goals and nine assists while taking 42 shots with 19 landing on goal. He also went 3-4 on penalty kicks during the regular season.
The Jefferson City, Mo. native started 16 of 18 games this season and played in a total of 1,122 minutes. In the OVC, he ranked first in points (25), first in shots (42), second in shots on goal (19), second in goals (8) and first in game-winning goals (4). His six conference goals ranked second.
Bijou, a 2023 Second Team selection, played in 14 games this season on defense making 10 starts. He played a total of 821 minutes for the Lions in 2024 and helped an LU defense which allowed .70 goals per game in OVC play.
Not only was Bijou excellent on defense, he also game LU’s offense a spark scoring three goals this season on six shots on goal. In Lindenwood’s last four game, Bijou scored in three of them including a game-winning goal against Liberty in a 1-0 victory.
Gil made his presence felt in net for the Lions helping Lindenwood to eight total shutouts. In 2024, Gil made the All-OVC Second Team leading the Lions to a 6-2-2 conference record. In net, Gil started 17 games for Lindenwood posting 56 saves and allowing an average of 1.19 goals per game. His overall save percentage of 73.7% ranked fourth in the OVC among goalkeepers.
Of his seven shutouts this season, six of them came during OVC play. All six of Lindenwood’s victories in conference play were shutouts. LU allowed under a goal allowed during OVC competition. Gil allowed just seven goals against OVC foes. His .829 save percentage against OVC teams ranked third.
Caldwell did a lot of the dirty work on defense for Lindenwood helping him earn All-OVC Second Team. He played in 16 games making 14 starts defensively. Caldwell played in 913 minutes in 2024 going over 75 minutes four times. He had two assists this season. Caldwell helped a Lindenwood defense surrender just seven goals against OVC schools.
Gates in his lone year with the Lions earned All-OVC Second Team and All-OVC Newcomer Team. A St. Louis, Mo. native, Gates was second on the team in goals (4) and assists (7) behind Blake. Gates played and started all 18 games playing in 1,127 as a forward.
In overall OVC stats, Gates ranked eighth in goals (4), second in assists (7), fifth in shots on goal (18) and fourth in points with 15. He scored his first Lindenwood goal against Utah Tech in a 2-1 victory and scored nine total points in OVC play.
2024 Men’s Soccer Awards
OVC Forward of the Year: Michael Huss, Liberty
OVC Midfielder of the Year: Yasha Schaerer, SIUE
OVC Defender of the Year: Sam Zeeman, HCU
OVC Goalkeeper of the Year: Rob Gjelaj, SIUE
OVC Freshman of the Year: Morgan Worsfold-Gregg, HCU
OVC Coach of the Year: Cale Wassermann, SIUE
ALL-OVC FIRST TEAM
Rob Gjelaj, SIUE GK Grad. Romeo, Mich.
Sam Zeeman, HCU D Sr. The Hague, Netherlands
Nic Muench, SIUE D Sr. Heidelberg, Germany
Carlos Trott, Liberty D Sr. Campo Bom, Brazil
Noe Bijou, Lindenwood D Sr. Nancy, France
Yasha Schaerer, SIUE MF So. Zurich, Switzerland
Gabe Findley, Liberty MF Sr. Lynchburg, Va.
Morgan Worsfold-Gregg, HCU MF Fr. London, England
Michael Huss, Liberty F Sr. Phoenix, Ariz.
Ryan Okerayi, HCU F So. Houston, Texas
Ethan Blake, Lindenwood F Sr. Jefferson City, Mo.
ALL-OVC SECOND TEAM
Enzo Gil, Lindenwood GK So. Sao Paulo, Brazil
Alex Aitken, HCU GK Jr. Great Barford, Bedfordshire, England
Rochaine Baker, UIW D Jr. Kingston, Jamaica
Wes Gibson, SIUE D Grad. Morton, Ill.
Cameron Caldwell, Lindenwood D Grad. Kansas City, Mo.
Miles Merritt, UIW MF So. Albuquerque, N.M.
D’Alessandro Herrera, HCU MF Jr. Houston, Texas
Luke Eberle, Liberty MF Sr. Arnold, Md.
John Gates, Lindenwood MF Sr. St. Louis, Mo.
Nacho Abeal, SIUE F Sr. A Coruña, Spain
Ethan Giwa-McNeil, HCU F Sr. London, England
Jacobo Sanfeliu, SIUE F Sr. Barcelona, Spain
ALL-NEWCOMER TEAM
Morgan Worsfold-Gregg, HCU MF Fr. London, England
Theo Butterworth, HCU D Fr. Lancaster, England
Aidan Morrison, Liberty MF Fr. Katy, Texas
John Gates, Lindenwood MF Sr. St. Louis, Mo.
Rob Gjelaj, SIUE GK Sr. Romeo, Mich.
Yasha Schaerer, SIUE MF So. Zurich, Switzerland
Carles Zomeno, SIUE MF Jr. Valencia, Spain
David Davila, Southern Indiana F Fr. Elkhart, Ind.
Rochaine Baker, UIW D Jr. Kingston, Jamaica
Giovanni Padilla, UIW D Fr. New Braunfels, Texas
Ryan Wrobleski, Western Illinois D Fr. Sussex, Wis.
Lindenwood will battle Western Illinois to start the OVC Tournament in the Quarterfinals on Sunday, Nov. 10th at 1:00 p.m. CT in Edwardsville, Ill. on the campus of SIUE. For more information go to lindenwoodlions.com.
