ROSEMONT, Ill. – Six Penn State men's soccer student-athletes were honored by the Big Ten with season awards as announced by the conference office Friday. The selections were highlighted by senior Aaron Molloy's Midfielder of the Year award, the first Big Ten Player of the Year award for a Penn State men's soccer student-athlete since Connor Maloney in 2014.
In addition to his Midfielder of the Year nod, Molloy was also named to the All-Big Ten First Team along with freshman Liam Butts and redshirt junior Brandon Hackenberg.
Butts and classmates Jalen Watson and Kris Shakes earned spots on the Big Ten All-Freshman Team while graduate transfer Will Campbell is Penn State's Sportsmanship Award honoree.
Molloy's All-Big Ten honor is the second of his career after earning second team plaudits last season. The team captain from Dublin, Ireland, has had a career year in his final season with the Blue and White, tallying 21 total points on eight goals and five assists. His 21 points are the most by an individual Nittany Lion since Chad Severs had 17 (7G, 3A) in 2003. Molloy was a unanimous selection by the other Big Ten coaches to both the first team and as Midfielder of the Year.
Butts is the first Nittany Lion freshman in program history to earn first-team honors. Along with Molloy, Butts has paced the Blue and White with eight goals, including two multi-goal games. The Lawrenceville, Ga., native also had five game-winning goals during the regular season, the most in the conference and tied for fifth most in the nation. Butts was also a unanimous selection to the All-Freshman Team.
Hackenberg garners his first-career all-conference honors. The defender from Palmyra, Va., started all but one game on the backline for the Nittany Lions, helping the defense shut out five opponents in 2019. Hackenberg scored his first goal of the season and the second of his career to start the comeback rally for Penn State against Maryland on Senior Night.
All three first teamers also won Big Ten Player of the Week awards at some point this season.
Watson, a defender from Ontario, Canada, was unanimously selected to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team. Watson played in all but one game during the regular season and totaled four points on one goal and two assists. He recorded his first-career goal against Pittsburgh and his first-career assist at Wisconsin.
Shakes rounds out the All-Freshman Team selections for the Nittany Lions. The goalkeeper from Sunrise, Fla., played eight games in between the pipes and was a perfect 8-0-0 in those games. Shakes holds a 0.74 goals against average and a .850 save percentage, the top mark in the conference in both categories.
Campbell received the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award for Penn State. The graduate transfer from Wallingford, Pa., started every regular-season game on the backline for the Nittany Lions, helping the defense shut out five opponents while also recording his first-career assist against Northwestern on Oct. 12.
The three first-team honorees are the most for Penn State since having three in 2013 while the three All-Freshman team members are the most since 2008. The Nittany Lions have had at least one freshman make the All-Freshman Team for the last five seasons (2015-pres.).
The No. 2-seed Nittany Lions play host to No. 7 Wisconsin in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament on Sunday, Nov. 10 at 1 p.m. at Jeffrey Field. Admission and parking are free for all fans.
Read the full Big Ten release here.
