Oilers Pick Up Four All-G-MAC Honors and Elite 26 Winner
Findlay, Ohio - On Thursday, Nov. 3, the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) announced the 2022 Men's Soccer All-Conference selections for this season. Findlay received four all-G-MAC pics and also had the league's Elite 26 Award winner. Sophomore Christian Palushaj and senior Bjoern Gilles each earned second team all-G-MAC while junior Nick McCracken and junior Peyton Trask took home third team honors. Sophomore Brendan Ash earned the Elite 26 Award.
Elite 26 Award
The Elite 26 Award is given out in every sport to the single player whose team earns a berth in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) Championship Tournament and has the highest cumulative GPA. Findlay's Brendan Ash takes home the distinction as he has posted a 3.97 GPA as an Animal Science major. Ash was no slouch on the pitch, as well, as he scored three goals and was second on the team with four assists.
Second Team
Christian Palushaj had a breakout season in his second campaign with the Oilers, scoring a team-high ten goals on the season. His ten scores were fifth-most in the conference. He also led the team with five assists giving him 25 points on the season, third-most in the G-MAC. Palushaj had a pair of game-winners on the year and, in the beginning of September, had a stretch where he was on fire, scoring seven goals in seven games.
Bjoern Gilles also had a solid season for the Oilers as he started all 18 contests this season. He scored five goals and had an assist. He scored the game-winner on Oct. 1 against Ohio Dominican which would be the most memorable game of the season as he picked up the hat trick, scoring three goals on six shots. This is the second consecutive year in which Gilles has earned second team all-conference.
Third Team
Nick McCracken and Peyton Trask each picked up third team honors. McCracken, now a two-time all-conference selection, scored five goals and had two assists after starting all 18 games for Findlay this season. The Findlay, Ohio native has now scored 16 goals in his career. Trask picks up his first all-G-MAC award after a season in which he started all 18 contests for the Oilers. Trask, who came to UF from Ravensdale, Washington, had a goal and an assist this year including the game-winner against Northwood on Sep. 22.