LEBANON, Tenn. - - Philipp Schmidtke was named the Mid-South Conference Player of the Year, Miquel Gelabert picked up Freshman of the Year honors, and both Luis Cerejo and Mark Donaldson were named Second Team All-Conference, as was announced by the league office this morning.

Schmidtke, a junior forward from Gifhorn, Germany, caps off a tremendous season with the MSC's top individual honor, being named as Cumberland's first ever Player of the Year. His impact was evident from the start, where in the season opener the Phoenix upset No. 6 Mobile, and Schmidtke helped ignite that momentum, producing multiple goals and assists.

Schmidtke continued to set that same tone as two days later he scored twice and assisted on a third goal to beat Faulkner on the road.The forwards 16 goals rank him as one of the top scorers in the country, while his 11 assists shows just how complete the Phoenix frontline was this season.

As for Gelabert, the freshman showed the tremendous upside and talent that he had in his first campaign, scoring 14 goals to go along with 11 assists. The Spaniard only trailed his teammate Schmidtke for goals scored in the conference, while also coming in third in total number of assists.

Luis Cerejo picked up the first Second Team honor of his career, producing 10 goals, fifth most in the conference, though he truly shone with his creativity. Cerejo recorded 15 assists in 18 games, a tally that was just shy of leading the nation, though he did lead the MSC.

Finally, Mark Donaldson also picked up the second Second Team award in his three seasons with the Phoenix. Donaldson picked up a slightly more defensive role this season, but recorded two assists and led one of the best backlines in the conference, all while captaining the side all season long.

Cumberland are now set to take on the No. 2 seed Bethel University next Tuesday in the Mid-South Conference Championship in McKenzie, Tennessee.

After winning Player of the Season the past two seasons, Michael Rempel took home the Defensive Player of the Year award as he anchored a Lindsey Wilson backline that surrendered a conference-leading 0.80 goals per match this season. He has also scored three times and assisted on seven more for the Blue Raiders. The award is the second straight for Rempel.

Cumberlands' Paulo Neto was selected by his peers as the MSC Coach of the Year, while Cumberlands' Jack Smith was named the MSC Assistant Coach of the Year.

First Team All-Conference (Listed in Alphabetical Order by Positions)

Name Position School
Francois Djiba Goalkeeper Lindsey Wilson (Ky.)
Bruno Garcia Defender Cumberlands (Ky.)
Michael Rempel Defender Lindsey Wilson (Ky.)
Mao Wong Defender Lindsey Wilson (Ky.)
Souleymane Balde Midfielder Bethel (Tenn.)
Mario Fernandez Midfielder Cumberlands (Ky.)
Miquel Gelabert Midfielder Cumberland (Tenn.)
Horace Avila Jr. Forward Bethel (Tenn.)
Dominic Ayella Forward Lindsey Wilson (Ky.)
Gregory Cousins Forward Bethel (Tenn.)
Philipp Schmidtke Forward Cumberland (Tenn.)

Second Team All-Conference (Listed in Alphabetical Order by Positions)

Name Position School
Javiero Izquierdo Goalkeeper Cumberlands (Ky.)
Juan Diego Corral Defender Bethel (Tenn.)
Mark Donaldson Defender Cumberland (Tenn.)
Roberto Rangel Defender Bethel (Tenn.)
Luis Cerejo Midfielder Cumberland (Tenn.)
Enock Owusu Midfielder Bethel (Tenn.)
Emil Skursch Midfielder Cumberlands (Ky.)
Prince Badu Forward Bethel (Tenn.)
Mihlali Blesi Forward Campbellsville (Ky.)
Milan Diao Forward Lindsey Wilson (Ky.)
Nico Romero Forward Cumberlands (Ky.)