By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
WINONA, Minn. — Eli Szymanski (La Crosse, Wis.) proved to be a thorn in the side of many Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference teams in 2019.
 
Try as they might, the Saint Mary's University men's soccer team's opponents struggled mightily to silence the Cardinal sharpshooter.
 
And Tuesday afternoon, Szymanski was rewarded for his offensive exploits, being named First-Team All-MIAC when the league office announced its post-season awards.
 
Szymanski wasn't the only Cardinal in the MIAC post-season spotlight, either — far from it.
 
The Cardinals boasted four players — Josh Balsiger (Camas, Wash.), Zack Bracken (Osseo, Minn.), Robbie Sobczak (Cloquet, Minn.), and Marco Hernandez (Eden Prairie, Minn.) — who earned honorable-mention all-conference accolades.
 
Szymanski started all 10 conference games for the Cardinals, who finished league play with a 4-6-0 record — posting the most MIAC wins since going 4-6-0 in 2012. The sophomore midfielder scored six goals — ranking him fifth the MIAC — and added an assist for a team-leading 13 points. One of just three Cardinals to start all 18 games this season, Szymanski shared the team lead in goals with 10, while adding three assists for 23 points — all three single-season career highs.
 
Like Szymanski, Balsiger was an offensive nightmare for opposing coaches, as the senior midfielder racked up four goals and two assists for 10 points in 10 conference contests. In his final year as a Cardinal, Balsiger equaled his career high with 10 goals overall, while also adding team highs in both assists (5) and points (25).
 
One of three Cardinal seniors to earn honorable-mention honors, Sobczak started all 10 MIAC games, delivering one goal and two assists for four points, while posting two goals and a pair of assists for six points in 16 contests.
 
Bracken made his senior season one to remember, notching his first collegiate goal and chipping in a single-season career-high four assists in 18 games, while Hernandez dished out a pair of assists — both in MIAC action — in 16 games played.
 
Augsburg senior Lionel Van was named the MIAC's Player of the Year, while St. Thomas coach John Lowery — who guided the Tommies to a share of the conference's regular-season title — was tabbed Coach of the Year.
 
The MIAC also announced the 13th annual All-MIAC Sportsmanship team for men's soccer, which included the Cardinals' Michael Maniak (Wisconsin Dells, Wis.)