Story Links One month later on October 22, Hodgson tallied a personal best six points after recording his first career hat trick in The Brown and Gold’s 4-1 road win over Detroit Mercy. Following his offensive player of the week honor, the midfielder was named NCAA Men’s Soccer Player of The Week on October 23, […]
One month later on October 22, Hodgson tallied a personal best six points after recording his first career hat trick in The Brown and Gold’s 4-1 road win over Detroit Mercy. Following his offensive player of the week honor, the midfielder was named NCAA Men’s Soccer Player of The Week on October 23, by NCAA Digital after scoring his first career hat trick in the Bronco’s 4-1 road win at Detroit Mercy. Later, Hodgson was crowned MVC Offensive Player of the Week and was named to TopDrawerSoccer’s Team of the Week on October 29 for his efforts against the Titans.As a result of his performance on the field, on Thursday, December 19, St.Louis City SC selected the goalkeeper in the third round (67th overall) of the MLS SuperDraft. Hodgson’s four game-winners in 2024 rank tied for fourth all-time in single-season program history, while his eight assists on the year are tied for the sixth most assists recorded in single-season Bronco history. KALAMAZOO, Mich. — TopDrawerSoccer released its postseason honors for the 2024 season. This year, Broncos Christian Shannon, Colin Welsh, and Carson Hodgson earned TopDrawerSoccer Best IX nods for their performances on the field. For all things WMU men’s soccer, follow the team on Instagram, @wmu_menssoccer, X, @WMUMensSoccer, and Facebook, @wmumenssoccer.In 21 matches (20 starts) the redshirt sophomore defender tallied three goals – all game-winners and added three assists on the season. During Shannon’s debut against #14 University of Vermont on Thursday, August 22, the defender started and scored his first career goal – the game-winner in WMU’s 3-1 victory. After his efforts against the #14 Catamounts and leading The Brown and Gold to a 1-0 road victory over #9 University of New Hampshire, Shannon was named TopDrawerSoccer’s Player of the Week on August 27. Less than one week later, Shannon tallied his first career assist in the men’s soccer team’s 5-1 win over Villanova on September 2. Two months later on November 6, Shannon tallied a career-high three points in WMU’s 2-1 victory over UIC after assisting on the opening goal and scoring the game-winner in the 80th minute. In his postseason NCAA Tournament debut on November 21 against SIUE, Shannon scored the game-winning goal in the 38th minute to send the men’s soccer team to the second round for a program record third consecutive year. Over the course of 2024, Shannon was one of three Broncos to accumulate over 1,730 minutes on the pitch. In the preseason, the junior was named to the United Soccer Coaches Midfielders to Watch List and ranked 40th In TopDrawerSoccer’s Preseason Player Rankings. After scoring game-winning goals against #9 Northwestern and Air Force, Hodson was named the MVC Offensive Player of the Week on September 10. At the conference level, Welsh tallied MVC Goalkeeper of the Year honors behind two MVC Defensive Player of the Week titles. Later, he received recognition for his excellent performance in net, with a United Soccer Coaches All-America Second Team nod. TopDrawerSoccer postseason awards are based on several factors, such as individual performance, statistical accomplishments, conference honors, and team success.Over the course of The Brown and Gold’s first 15 games, Welsh secured a goals allowed average of 0.73, highlighted by four shutouts. This year, the senior showcased his defensive dominance in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament first round versus Evansville University on November 10. In the match, Welsh recorded a season-high eight saves.
Christian Shannon: Freshman Best IX In 2024, Welsh started in all 20 matches for the Broncos and recorded 11 wins (tied for the third most in single-season program history) behind four shutouts. In net, the keeper tallied a goals-against average of 0.99 behind 78 saves. During the 2024 campaign, Welsh’s save percentage of 0.796 led all keepers who tallied at least 1800 minutes in goal.
This season, Hodgson started in all 21 matches for WMU and tallied six goals behind a career-high four game-winners. In the passing lane, the midfielder registered eight assists on the season behind two, three-assist outings. After the season, Shannon earned recognition for his superb performance on the field and in the classroom. The defender garnered MVC All-Freshman Team honors, College Sports Communicators Academic All-District honors, and was named to the CSC Academic All-America ® Second Team, after being one of nine Academic All-Americans to earn a 4.0 GPA. Recently on December 12, Shannon was named to the United Soccer Coaches All-Region Second Team. At the conclusion of the 2024 season, Hodgson was named to the All-MVC First Team and earned a spot on the United Soccer Coaches All-America Third Team for his efforts on the field.Colin Welsh: Best IX Second Team Carson Hodgson: Best IX Third Team
