Eight different Hoosiers were given end of season awards by the Big Ten Conference, as announced Friday morning.
IU tallied four first team All-Big Ten players, the most in the conference. IU senior defender Grant Lillard was a unanimous choice, while freshman forward Mason Toye, junior midfielder Francesco Moore and junior defender Andrew Gutman also received the first team honor.
On the second team, the Hoosiers saw three of their names called. Freshman forward Griffin Dorsey, freshman goalkeeper Trey Muse and junior defender Timmy Mehl were all selected to the second team.
Junior midfielder Jack Griffith also was named a Sportsmanship award nominee.
The Hoosiers also received two individual awards. Lillard was unanimously named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and Toye was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year.
Toye, Dorsey and Muse were also named to the Big Ten All-Freshman team. Toye and Dorsey were unanimous selections. The three All-Freshman Team selections match a program-best set in 2003, 2006 and 2010, per IU athletics.
"It's great to have eight of our players receiving all-conference honors," IU Coach Todd Yeagley said in an IU athletics statement. "They have all had very good years and been instrumental in helping us have an excellent regular season. It's certainly a reflection upon all the good work put in by our entire team. All of our recipients are very deserving of these distinguished honors."
Toye leads the Hoosiers with nine goals on the season to lead the Hoosiers. The freshman from South Orange, New Jersey has been an instant impact for the Hoosiers. He scored his first goal of the season in the first game of the season. Toye has also added one assist to his stat-line this season.
Lillard had another stellar season, helping the Hoosiers climb to fourth all-time in NCAA history for a 966-minute shutout streak.
IU’s eight players that earned awards was the most by any team in the conference.
It is the most for the Hoosiers since 2012.
After receiving four Big Ten awards last season, the Hoosiers were able to double that number in 2017. Also, Gutman was able to elevate himself from the second-team last season, to the first team in 2016.
The Hoosiers will begin the Big Ten Tournament against Penn State Sunday at 4 p.m. in a Big Ten quarterfinal matchup in Bloomington.
Josh Eastern
