Three Highlander
Men Earn Regional Honors in Soccer
#1 Erik Lefebvre
#18 Josiah Snelgrove
#7 Tyler Haggerty
HOUGHTON, N.Y.
— Three members of the Houghton College men’s soccer team have been
named to the All-Region IX team of the National Association of
Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Goalkeeper Erik Lefebvre, midfielder
Josiah Snelgrove and defender Tyler Haggerty were the Highlander players
honored.
As
All-Region selections, the players are automatically named to the NAIA’s
honorable mention list as well.
Highlander
Head Coach Matthew Webb cited all three for their work throughout the
year in establishing Houghton’s defense and contributing to the
Highlanders season.
Webb said
that Haggerty, a senior from Warren, N.J., “came into his own this
season as a defender.” Haggerty had two goals and an assist during the
year, and was the American Mideast Conference (AMC) defensive player of
the week for the second week of October. “Since we didn’t play him in
any other positions this year, he finally had an entire season to settle
in as our general in the back,” said Webb, “and he showed that he can
compete with the best in the country.”
Lefebvre,
a junior from Ottawa, “anchors our defense,” Webb said. “We have allowed
fewer and fewer goals each year he has been here.” The team gave up just
15 goals in 17 games for a 0.82 goals against average this year.
Lefebvre played every minute in goal for the Highlanders, made 92 saves
and had seven shutouts. He was the AMC defensive player of the week in
the third week of September. “He is more than deserving of this honor,”
Webb said.
Snelgrove
had five assists, the second-highest total on the team, playing
predominantly on the left side of the midfield. The senior from
Coldstream, New Brunswick, “may be the hardest worker and fittest player
in Houghton College soccer history,” said Webb, “His relentlessness has
earned the respect of coaches on the national scene. The opportunities
that he is being presented with at this point to play at the next level
are simply evidence of how good Josiah is and still can be.”
Houghton
won a playoff game to reach the semifinals of the AMC before losing to
conference champion Rio Grande and finishing the season at 9-3-5.
