Nov. 6, 2007

Loyola University Chicago's Michael Ferguson earned Horizon League Player of the Year, Offensive Player of the Year and was named to the All-League First Team it was announced by the League office this morning. Joining Ferguson on the All-League First Team were sophomore Eric Gehrig and senior Iradj Farahmand II. Farahmand also earned Defensive Player of the Year accolades. Senior Keum Sung Kim was named to the all-league second team while Willie Koss and Brian Byrne were named to the All-Newcomer Team. Loyola's head coach, Brendan Eitz earned the Horizon League Coach of the Year Award.

Ferguson continues to make a name for himself as he finished the regular season with a League-high 15 goals and 32 points. The sophomore forward is the first Rambler to receive the League's top player award. Ferguson has notched the eventual match-winner in all five of the Ramblers' League victories, while pacing Loyola to a 10-4-4 overall mark and a 5-1-2 record in Horizon League action. The Overland Park, Kan., native has earned Horizon League Player of the Week honors on two separate occasions and has twice been named to Soccer America's National Team of the Week.

For the second consecutive year, Farahmand has been selected to the All-League First Team. This year, the senior defender added Defensive Player of the Year honors to his resume as he captained the Loyola defense to a school-record tying ten shutouts. Last season, Farahmand was selected to Second Team All-Great Lakes Region and was the MVP of the Horizon League Championship.

Gehrig earned all-league honors for the first time following a strong sophomore campaign. The Schererville, Ind., native has recorded two goals and two assists and ranks third on the team with six points this season.

Kim, a first-team selection in 2005 and 2006, earned all-league second-team honors this year. Loyola's second-leading scorer has played in all 18 games for the Ramblers and has recorded four goals on the year, bringing his career total to 11.

The All-Newcomer Team included two Ramblers, in Koss and Byrne. Koss leads the Ramblers with three assists on the year and has been an instrumental part of Loyola's clinching the Horizon League title. Byrne, a junior transfer from Lewis, ranks first on Loyola's single-season list with a 0.68 goals against average and set a new school record with ten shutouts in a single-season.

Third-year head coach, Brendan Eitz, earned the Horizon League Coach of the Year award after leading the Ramblers to their first-ever outright regular-season title.

The Ramblers are off until they host the final two rounds of the Horizon League Tournament on Friday, November 16 and Sunday, November 18, respectively.