Ottumwa -- The Indian Hills men's soccer team had eight players chosen for the 2019 All-Region teams, including three who garnered their second honor.
Midfielder David Medeiros and defensemen Adam Dahou and Joao Vitor were IHCC's first-team all-region picks. Forward Damien Baltide, defenseman Sacha Vandersteene and goalkeeper Vinicius Cadengue were named to the second team. Midfielder Gabriel Sodre and defenseman Diogo Adade made the honorable mention list.
Medeiros, Vitor and Vandersteene are sophomores and all were named all-region for the second year in a row. Medeiros and Vandersteene were both first-team choices as freshmen and Vitor was on the second team last year. The other five all-region picks are all freshmen.
Indian Hills head coach Juan Espinal talked about his team's selections:
David Medeiros - David was a threat for the Warriors in both of his seasons. He was a big contributor in our attack going forward. He ended the 2019 season with five goals and led the team with nine assists. He also led in points with 19. David was also our leader last year with 12 goals and 14 assists.
Adam Dahou - Adam was part of the Indian Hills back four who allowed only 21 goals all year and just 10 in conference play which was the second-best total in the ICCAC. Adam was relentless and refused to get beat while defending. He was one of two players to play in all 18 of our matches and the only one to start all 18.
Joao Vitor - Joao, a center back, was a captain for us. He was also a member of the back four who allowed only 10 goals in league play. He is an all-around warrior and a great leader as well.
Damien Baltide - Damien was one of the key threats in our attack. He finished the season with six goals, which tied for the team lead, and he also had five assists. Damien is a hard worker and will continue to strive to be great.
Sacha Vandersteene - Sacha was another captain and another center back that was solid for us. He suffered a minor injury midseason but was able to recover quickly to make his mark in the conference. He was always up for any battle and brought energy to the game.
Vinicius Cadengue - Vinicius was very powerful for us in goal all year and made some bigtime saves. With a save percentage of .765, a goals against average of 1.43, three shutouts, and an overall record of 8-2-2 while in goal he was solid. He started 12 of our 18 matches and allowed only 16 goals.
Gabriel Sodre - Gabriel was a key factor to our midfield this year. He was great at breaking up the opposing team's play and winning balls in the middle of the field. He also brought a lot of energy to the field.
Diogo Adade - Diogo, along with Adam, Joao and Sacha, was the other player in our back four that was able to stop a lot of our opponents from scoring. He started out as a midfielder where he was a great player for us. During the season we had to overcome a few injuries so we put Diogo in as a defender and he responded very well and was a key player for the team all year.
The Warriors ended the year with a record of 13-3-2. It was the second-highest win total in program history. They are 24-7-3 in two seasons under coach Espinal.
The IHCC coach says the Warriors did very well playing in what Espinal says is the toughest conference in the country. "If we were not ranked in the top 20 we were receiving votes to be in the top 20 all season long and we are currently on that list. We had some top performances and also had some quality wins against top teams like Marshalltown CC and Illinois Central CC, who both won their region. We will continue to work hard as a team on and off the field. As a coaching staff we will continue to recruit top players to compete for the conference title and a trip to the national tournament."