FHSU Athletics
HAYS, Kan. – Fort Hays State had six players named to the D2CCA Men's Soccer All-Central Region Team on Tuesday (Nov. 28). First-team selections went to Blake Arndt, Tadhg Walsh, and Callum Frogson, while second-team selections went to Elias Ovelar Semeniuk, Agustin Ayala, and Chris Rios-Cruz. The D2CCA All-Central Region Team is voted on by athletic communications professionals from within the Central Region, which is just the seven schools from the GAC/MIAA.
Arndt is now a three-time D2CCA All-Central Region first-team selection at forward, earning honor in 2021 and 2022 as well. He finished the season with 23 points, producing 10 goals and three assists. He was perfect on all three of his penalty kick opportunities this season and had two game-winning goals. Arndt completed his career with 34 goals and 10 assists at FHSU. His 78 career points ranks third in program history and he ranks second all-time in goals. His 13 career game-winning goals tied the best mark in program history and he owns the record for more penalty kick goals with eight. His 218 career shots also tops the all-time list at FHSU. Arndt is also a four-time all-conference first-team selection.
Walsh picks up the first all-region honor of his career at FHSU. The Tiger midfielder finished the year with four goals and three assists for 11 points. He was an all-conference first team selection this year and is a two-time all-conference selection overall.
Frogson is now a two-time D2CCA All-Central Region selection. He is a first-team selection at defender this year after earning second-team honors as a midfielder last year. Frogson was an anchor on defense for the Tigers this year at the center back position, playing the entire length in 17 of 18 matches. He notched one assist, while helping the Tigers produce five shutouts on the season.
Ovelar Semeniuk picks up an all-region second-team selection at forward in his first year at FHSU. He made a big impact after conference play started, accumulating all 16 of his points for the season in GAC/MIAA matches. He had seven goals and two assists. At one point in the season, he had two goals in back-to-back games. He was an all-conference second team pick this season.
Ayala earned an all-region second-team pick as a midfielder. He finished the season with five points, scoring two goals with one assist. He also generated all five of his points for the season in conference matches. Ayala was an all-conference second team selection this year.
Rios-Cruz earned an all-region nod at defender. Also serving as a center back, he finished the year with a team-best 1,630 minutes played. He played in all but 10 minutes of action possible this season, starting all 18 matches. Rios-Cruz was an all-conference second team selection this year.
Below is the D2CCA Men's Soccer All-Central Region Team for 2023.
2023 Division II Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA) Men's Soccer All-Central Region Team
First Team
Pos Name School Yr Hometown
GK Ian Milla Northeastern State Fr. Lima, Peru
F Unaiz Shajani (2022-1) Southern Nazarene Jr. Nairobi, Kenya
F Marcos Vasallo (2022-2) Rogers State Jr. Madrid, Spain
F Bruno Ferreira (2022-2) Southern Nazarene Sr. Sao Paolo, Brazil
F Blake Arndt (2021 & 2022-1) Fort Hays State Sr. Wichita, Kan.
M Luke Morgan (2021-2, 2022-1) Rogers State Sr. Nottinghamshire, Iceland
M Francisco Chong Southern Nazarene Jr. Maracay, Venezuela
M Davi Dornelles Northeastern State Sr. Porto Algre, Brazil
M Tadhg Walsh Fort Hays State So. Dublin, Ireland
D Alvaro Sanchez (2022-1) Southern Nazarene Sr. Toledo, Spain
D Miguel Torrecillas Southern Nazarene So. Albacete, Spain
D Sebastian Hernandez (2022-1) Rogers State Sr. Broken Arrow, Okla.
D Callum Frogson (2022-2) Fort Hays State So. Nottingham, England
Second Team
Pos Name School Yr Hometown
GK Declan Viljoen (2022-1) Rogers State Jr. Auckland, New Zealand
F Elias Ovelar Semeniuk Fort Hays State Fr. Asuncion, Paraguay
F George Robinson (2022-1) Rogers State Sr. Maidstone, England
F Hugo Martin Rogers State So. Malaga, Spain
F Jonah Pastiroff Harding So. Auckland, New Zealand
M Agustin Ayala Fort Hays State So. Asuncion, Paraguay
M Rinta Takagi Southern Nazarene So. Gifu, Japan
M Grant King (2022-2) Rogers State Sr. Tulsa, Okla.
M Stefano Silva (2021-2, 2022-2) Harding Sr. Vitoria, Brazil
D Trindon Turner (2022-2) Rogers State Jr. Edmond, Okla.
D Esteban Ramirez Southern Nazarene Jr. Dallas, Texas
D Artur Carvahlo Rogers State So. Faro, Portugal
D Marcovich Brown Northeastern State Jr. Gregory Park, Jamaica
D Chris Rios-Cruz Fort Hays State Sr. San Antonio, Texas
Central Region Player of the Year: Unaiz Shajani (Jr., F, Southern Nazarene)
*Numbers in parentheses indicate previous D2CCA All-Central Region selections - Season-Team (1=1st Team, 2=2nd Team)