Four players from the High Point University men's soccer team were named to the 2011 Big South All-Conference teams the league announced on Wednesday. Junior Shawn Sloan was named to the All-Big South first time while senior Karo Okiomah, junior Fejiro Okiomah and sophomore Adam Sewell were all named to the second team.

“We are pleased that coaches around the league chose to honor the four players who have earned a spot on this season's All-Conference teams,” head coach Dustin Fonder said. “It means a great deal to gain recognition from around the league. I know some of our guys might be disappointed but we didn't have the season we wanted to have so hopefully we can turn that around in the tournament.”

In addition to being named first-team All-Big South, Sloan was named the Big South Scholar-Athlete of the Year and a member of the Big South All-Academic Team. The junior is the first HPU men's soccer player ever named Big South Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

“This is a tremendous honor for Shawn,” Fonder said. “This is the first time that someone from our program has been named the Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Shawn epitomizes what we look for in a High Point soccer player. He strives to be the best not only on the field but in the classroom as well.”

Sloan started all 19 games for High Point this season and finished second on the team with 15 points on four goals and seven assists. The midfielder's seven assists leads HPU and is tied for third in the Big South, one shy of the conference co-leaders. Sloan recorded a goal and an assist in wins over UNC Greensboro and VCU and scored the game-winning goal in the 110th minute of play against the Spartans. In the classroom, Sloan carries a perfect 4.0 GPA while majoring in Chemistry.

Karo Okiomah has played in 18 games with 17 starts in 2011. The forward is second on the team with six goals and third in points with 14. Okiomah scored the game-winning goals in conference wins over Winthrop and Presbyterian College and scored a season-high two goals against the Eagles. Okiomah is currently second in HPU Div. I history in both points and goals.

Fejiro Okiomah transitioned from midfield to defense this season seeing time both at outside back and center back. He has played in 19 games with 18 starts and has one goal and one assist. The junior scored the game-tying goal in a come-from behind 3-2 win over VCU with a header off a corner kick.

Sewell has started 18 games for HPU as a defensive midfielder and accumulated seven points on two goals and three assists. He scored the game-winning goal against Lipscomb in HPU's first win of the season and scored the game-tying goal in High Point's road win at UNC Greensboro.

High Point enters the 2011 Big South Tournament as the No. 6 seed after tying for fourth place with a 4-4-1 conference record during the season. The Panthers will face No. 3 Campbell in the Big South quarterfinals on Thursday, Nov. 10, at 5 p.m., in Boiling Springs. HPU will attempt to win its first Big South tournament title one year after securing its first Regular Season Championship last season.

2011 Big South Conference Men's Soccer Award Winners

First Team All-Conference
F – Ashton Bennett, Coastal Carolina
F – Darren Amoo, Liberty
F – Iyiola Awosika, Radford
MF – Mitchell Cardenas, Campbell
MF – Luis Faz, Coastal Carolina
MF – Shawn Sloan, High Point
MF – Phillip Aseweh, Liberty
D – Cyprian Hedrick, Coastal Carolina
D - Pedro Ribeiro, Coastal Carolina
D – Jon Ole Reinhardsen, Gardner-Webb
D – Uriah Bentick, Liberty
GK – Scott Angevine, Coastal Carolina
Tied AT Large – Kjartan Sigurdsson, Coastal Carolina
Tied AT Large - Justin Portillo, Coastal Carolina

Second Team All-Conference
F – Chris Davis, Gardner-Webb
F – Karo Okiomah, High Point
F – Bryan Bartels, UNC Asheville
MF – Justin Franz, Campbell
MF – John Sargent, Gardner-Webb
MF – Adam Sewell, High Point
MF – Luis Grande, Radford
D – Travis Golden, Campbell
D – Jovan Ivanovich, Gardner-Webb
D – Fejiro Okiomah, High Point
D – Alex Isern, Winthrop
GK – Lassi Hurskainen, UNC Asheville
AT Large – Aldo Macias, Radford

All-Freshman
Ricky Garbanzo, Coastal Carolina
Henrick Robstad, Coastal Carolina
Kjartan Sigurdsson, Coastal Carolina
Denzel Clark, Gardner-Webb
Eric Yeager, Gardner-Webb
Josh Pacella, Liberty
Scott Sutarik, Liberty
Jonathan Ray, Campbell
Jhuvon Francis, Campbell
Dario Redondo, Radford
Melo Matutu, Winthrop
Grady Tremble, Winthrop

All-Academic
Shawn Sloan, High Point
Matt Horn, Winthrop
Bobby Keskey, Presbyterian College
Ryan Taylor, Radford
Phillip Aseweh, Liberty
J.J. Morrow, UNC Asheville
Cyprian Hedrick, Coastal Carolina
Ethan Hall, Campbell
Kyle Farmer, VMI
Chris Davis, Gardner-Webb

Attacking Player of the Year
Ashton Bennett, F, Coastal Carolina

Defensive Player of the Year
Cyprian Hedrick, D, Coastal Carolina

Freshman of the Year
Kjartan Sigurdsson, D, Coastal Carolina

Coach of the Year
Shaun Docking, Coastal Carolina

Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Shawn Sloan, High Point