CONWAY, Ark. – The ASUN continues to release its postseason awards, this time the athletic honors, and the No. 2 seed Bears were rewarded for their excellent season, racking up six All-ASUN selections, two postseason superlatives, and one all-freshman honor.
 
"It takes a village, so even for the guys that didn't win anything, we couldn't be where we are without them. It took every single member of our team buying in, staying focused, and it's incredible to get to see some of the fruits of our labor," Head coach Kyle Segebart said of his team. "We're all super happy for these guys that did win awards, it speaks to their level of dedication to not only their team, but to themselves: staying ready, taking care of their bodies, doing the little things."
 
Sophomore forward Vaclav Kozeny was named the ASUN Player of the Year, the second such award for Central Arkansas, as well as First Team All-ASUN, after finishing the season as one of two players in the ASUN to finish in the top-five in both goals and assists. He led the Bears this season with six goals and five assists, tallying 17 points on the year. His six goals were good for fourth in the ASUN, and his five assists ranked fifth. In ASUN matches, he tallied three goals and five assists, the only player in the ASUN to reach both of those numbers. His three goals ranked seventh in the conference, and his five assists were tied for first.
 
"We came in last year and definitely saw his potential, and he's gone into his second year as someone we've been able to build around. That's really allowed him to get his best play game in and game out, and you see the results and how he's impacted games. And for this type of award to be given to him by the other coaches in this league, it really shows how impactful he's been." – Coach Segebart
 
The other superlative for the Bears goes to Merrick Cook, who was named the ASUN Goalkeeper of the Year and First Team All-ASUN. He finished the regular season with a 1.29 goals against average, and held a 1.00 GAA in ASUN games, the third-best in the conference. He was first in the ASUN in total saves this year (69) and save percentage (.793), and recorded three shutouts, one of four keepers to log three clean sheets. During ASUN matches, the senior goalkeeper was the only keeper in the ASUN to finish in the top-three in all four of the conference's major goalkeeper stats, with a 1.00 GAA, 4.50 saves per game, an .818 save percentage, and two shutouts.
 
"Merrick really challenged himself this year. We put him in a leadership role, made him one of our captains, but he had some goals that he set for himself over the summer, and he made sure he was ready for his senior season. He's made some great saves for us this year, made a ton of saves when they've really mattered in some big games, and he's been a super supportive teammate and leader for us this year." – Coach Segebart
 
The other three First Team All-ASUN selections went to midfielder Rico Duggan and defenders Kaisei Matsudo and Joseph Mwamba. Duggan made a living being an active participant in both sides of the field, and he tallied ten points on the year with three goals and four assists. His four assists were tied for fifth in the ASUN, and his ten points in 12 matches had him in the top-ten in points per match. Three of his assists came during ASUN play, and he held the third-most assists in the ASUN during conference matches.
 
Mwamba and Matsudo were excellent for one of the best defenses in the ASUN. With these two locking down the back line, the Bears posted the third-best scoring defense in the ASUN, and that improved to the second-best in ASUN matches. The pair of defenders limited opponents to six goals in ASUN matches, less than one per game.
 
The lone Second Team All-ASUN honoree for the Bears was Maxim Sheenkov. The senior forward finished the regular season second on the Bears in scoring, tallying 11 points across six goal contributions. His five goals on the year were tied for sixth in the ASUN, and his four goals in ASUN matches were tied for third. He scored in four separate ASUN games, and the Bears went 2-1-1 in those games. He finished tied for fifth in the ASUN in points per game in the regular season, and third in points per game in ASUN matches.
 
"Our goal from the beginning was to find guys that would be a part of something special, but like any tea they had to want it more than our coaches did. We really put our players in positions to be leaders for each other, to be heard, to prove that they want to be here and be great. This group comes in every day wanting more, so it's exciting to come to work and help them. We're looking forward to even more, and we're excited to see what we can build off of with this group." – Coach Segebart
 
And the ASUN All-Freshman nod for the Bears was Danny Nava. A Little Rock native, Nava stepped into a starting role as a defensive midfielder and helped the Bears post the third-best scoring defense in the ASUN and record four shutouts. With Danny helping out on both sides of the ball, the Bears posted the best scoring offense in the ASUN, and also drastically improved their defense from a year ago, lowering the team's shots allowed from over 19 per game to just over 11 per game. Danny also contributed an assist during the year, assisting the opening goal against Bellarmine. 
 
"Danny came into this year super hungry, something every coach that's had him has said about him. He always wants to get better, he does all the little things, and I think that's why he had such a good freshman year. And every game that he's played this year, he continues to improve and gets a little better each time we see him, so I think his ceiling is super high and we can't be more excited for him to receive this award." – Coach Segebart
 
Central Arkansas, as the No. 2 seed in the ASUN Championship, must wait to learn its opponent for Monday's semifinal. Kickoff against the winner of Queens and West Florida is set for 7 p.m.