CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. (Nov. 9, 2015) - On Monday, the East Coast Conference named its 2015 year-end award recipients for men's soccer, and LIU Post senior midfielder Per Forgaard (Stavanger, Norway), junior goalkeeper Jesper Malmstrom (Linkopping, Sweden), freshman forward Charlie Ledula (London, England) and Head Coach Andreas Lindberg were among those honored.

Forgaard, who was selected before the season as the conference's Preseason Offensive Player of the Year, followed through on that prediction by winning the postseason honor as well. The four-time All-ECC honoree finished regular-season play tied for third in the conference with 10 goals and led the league with 11 assists. His 31 points were good for second in the ECC. Forgaard's statistics were also among the national leaders, as he ranked in the Top-25 in Division II in assists (11th), assists per game (0.69 - 14th), points (21st) and points per game (1.94 - 22nd). In addition, Forgaard scored a total of three goals and added an assist in two games during the ECC Championship to earn the tournament's Most Oustanding Player award.

Forgaard had some help getting the Pioneers on the scoreboard from the Rookie of the Year, Ledula. In 13 games, Ledula, an All-ECC second team selection, found the back of the net six times. Those six goals were the most scored by a freshman in the conference and also ranked in the Top-10 in the ECC, coming in at ninth.
 
The Pioneers were outstanding on defense as well, evidenced by Malmstrom taking home the Goalkeeper of the Year honor. In 14 games in front of the net, Malmstrom posted a record of 12-2-2. He finished with three shutouts, one off the conference lead, and ranked fourth in the ECC with 54 saves. In addition, he was listed fourth in the conference with a .761 save percentage and fifth with a 1.19 goals-against average.

For the fourth time in the past five seasons, Lindberg has been named Coach of the Year. Under his guidance, LIU Post has made it four seasons in a row with at least a share of the ECC regular-season championship. The Pioneers also spent the entire season ranked in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America Division II Top-25 poll, climbing as high as No. 10 in the country.

In addition to the three individual honors, the Pioneers had seven of the 11 members on the All-ECC First Team. Joining Forgaard and Malmstrom were junior forward Jason Lampkin (Hawardon, North Wales, U.K.), graduate midfielder Tom Bowen (Aberdovey, Wales, U.K.), senior midfielder Matias Ruiz (Southampton, N.Y.), graduate back Seb Baxter (Saffron Walden, England) and sophomore back David Arvidsson (Gothenburg, Sweden).

Lampkin, the 2014 ECC Rookie of the Year, was second on the team with 23 total points (seven goals, nine assists). Ruiz finished third in points with 18 (six goals, six assists). Bowen added a pair of goals and three assists for a seven-point output. On defense, Baxter and Arvidsson anchored an LIU Post back line that led the conference in fewest goals allowed with 22 through 18 games.

Lindberg and his LIU Post squad return to action on Saturday (Nov. 14), when they take on the winner of Adelphi University and Wilmington University in the second round of the 2015 NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Championship at Pioneer Soccer Park in Brookville. The opening kick is slated for 1 p.m.
 
2015 ECC Men's Soccer All-Conference
First Team
F - Luka Ivanovic, Jr., Bridgeport
F - Jason Lampkin, Jr., LIU Post
F - Kyle Poetszch, Jr., Molloy
M - Tom Bowen, Gr., LIU Post
M - Per Forgaard, Sr., LIU Post
M - Glen Reid, Sr., Queens
M - Matias Ruiz, Sr., LIU Post
B - David Arvidsson, So., LIU Post
B - Seb Baxter, Gr., LIU Post
B - Aitor Gurruchaga, Sr., Queens
GK - Jesper Malmstrom, Jr., LIU Post
 
Second Team
F - Charlie Ledula, Fr., LIU Post
F - Malcolm Shaw, Jr., Roberts Wesleyan
F - Mosiah Whyte, Jr., Molloy
M - Jay Abreu, Jr., Bridgeport
M - Juan Gatti, Gr., Mercy
M - Elio Hernandez, Sr., District of Columbia
M - Ben Wilson, Jr., NYIT
B - Gonzalo Barroso, Sr., NYIT
B - Adil Gowani, Jr., Mercy
B - Calvin Moyes, Sr., Queens
GK - Louis Connor, Sr., District of Columbia
 
Third Team
F - Alex Barbosa, Sr., NYIT
F - Paul Sandoval, Sr., Queens
F - Junior Sanguina, Gr., Mercy
M - Donovan Cesar, Fr., Mercy
M - Carlos Coto, So., NYIT
M - Ivan Gomez, Sr., St. Thomas Aquinas
M - Lucca Lacerda, Fr., Mercy
M - Maurice Schwab, So., District of Columbia
B - Kehinde Aderounmu, Jr., Roberts Wesleyan
B - Oliver Bennett, So., Dowling
B - Victor Salinas Furio, Jr., District of Columbia
GK - Robbie Webster, Jr., Queens
 
Offensive Player of the Year: Per Forgaard, Sr., M, LIU Post
Defensive Player of the Year: Aitor Gurruchaga, Sr., B, Queens
Goalkeeper of the Year: Jesper Malmstrom, Jr., LIU Post
Rookie of the Year: Charlie Ledula, Fr., F, LIU Post
Coach of the Year: Andreas Lindberg, LIU Post