TRAFFORD, Pa. (pacathletics.org) - The All-Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) men's soccer teams and yearly award winners, as determined by vote of the league's 11 head coaches, were announced Tuesday afternoon.

The PAC Offensive Player of the Year award went to Franciscan University sophomore forward Lucas Cross (Clarkston, Mich./Everest Collegiate) and the conference's Defensive Player of the Year is Geneva College junior goalkeeper Evan Shale (Duncansville, Pa./Hollidaysburg). Chatham University freshman forward Azavier Coppin (Everett, Wash./Glacier Peak) was recognized as the PAC Newcomer of the Year and the conference's Coach of the Year is Waynesburg head coach Treg Lunger.

This marks the second straight year a Franciscan player has earned top player laurels after Nick Miller was the Player of the Year in 2022. Cross led the conference with 14 goals and 31 points through the season. His 14 goals is tied for 24th in NCAA Division III.

Cross did the majority of his damage in conference action, scoring 10 of his 14 goals against PAC teams, including two of his three game-winners this season. He also had both of his multi-goal games in league victories, scoring twice in back-to-back wins over Westminster Oct. 4 and Washington & Jefferson Oct. 7.

Shale helped lead Geneva to its first PAC championship since 2016 with his outstanding play in goal. The junior keeper led the conference with nine shutouts, six of those coming in PAC matches. Geneva allowed just eight goals in conference games, with Shale posting an .822 save percentage. He helped the GTs start the PAC schedule with a 7-0 record by posting shutouts in six of those seven victories, as Geneva earned the top seed in the PAC Tournament.

Once in the conference tournament, Shale helped propel his team to a pair of wins. He made one big save in the 3-1 semifinal victory over Waynesburg before turning aside four shots, including three in the second half, as Geneva secured a 1-0 win over Grove City to capture the PAC Championship.

Coppin's first season at Chatham was a record-breaking one, as he set a new Chatham single-season standard with 13 goals and he added four assists to finish with 30 points in his freshman campaign. In addition to being second in the PAC in goals and points, he also ranks fifth in the nation among freshmen in both categories. 

Coppin also enjoyed great success in PAC competition, registering eight of his goals in league match-ups. He had two-goal outings against Grove City Sept. 20th and in a 3-2 victory over Allegheny Oct. 14 and he also scored the only goal in a 1-0 victory over Bethany Oct. 3.

Lunger earned his first PAC Coach of the Year award after finishing his third season on the Waynesburg bench. He guided the Yellow Jackets to a seven-win improvement from last year. Waynesburg finished with a 10-7-2 record and advanced to the conference semifinals for the first time since 2014.

As the winner of the year's championship tournament, Geneva also received the conference's automatic qualifying bid to the NCAA Division III Championship, which is the Golden Tornadoes' second trip to the NCAAs and first since 2016. Geneva will travel to play at eighth-ranked Franklin & Marshall College Friday at 4 p.m. in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. 

PAC Award Winners
PAC Offensive Player of the Year: Franciscan sophomore forward Lucas Cross (Clarkston, Mich./Everest Collegiate)
PAC Defensive Player of the Year: Geneva junior goalkeeper Evan Shale (Duncansville, Pa./Hollidaysburg)
PAC Newcomer of the Year: Chatham freshman forward Azavier Coppin (Everett, Wash./Glacier Peak)
PAC Coach of the Year: Waynesburg head coach Treg Lunger
 

All-PAC First Team
Name	School	Position	Year	Hometown/High School
Brady Napoleon	Allegheny	F	Jr.	Pittsburgh, Pa./Mt. Lebanon
Sebastian Arrocain	Bethany	M	Sr.	Chivilcoy, Buenos Aires, Argentina/Campus Lincoln
Azavier Coppin	Chatham	F	Fr.	Everett, Wash./Glacier Peak
Lucas Cross	Franciscan	F	So.	Clarkston, Mich./Everest Collegiate
Ryan Miller	Franciscan	M	Jr.	Galena, Ohio/Olentangy Berlin
Joseph St. George	Franciscan	D	Jr.	Ashburn, Va./Bishop O'Connell
Wil Dunda	Geneva	M	So.	Sewickley, Pa./Quaker Valley
Antonio Fiordilino	Geneva	D	Sr.	McDonald, Pa./West Allegheny
Evan Shale	Geneva	GK	Jr.	Duncansville, Pa./Hollidaysburg
Jacob Lee	W&J	D	Sr.	Honolulu, Hawaii/Iolani School
Zachary Johnson	Waynesburg	F	Fr.	Raceland, Ky./Saint Joseph Central Catholic