Ashland University sophomore Dimitrios Karousos was named the GLIAC Goalkeeper of the Year and four other Eagles were selected to the All-GLIAC teams the league office announced on Thursday (Nov. 1) evening at the GLIAC Tournament banquet in Saginaw, Mich.
Junior midfielder John Duldner, sophomore center back Fred Francis and sophomore forward Justin Libertowski were each named to the All-GLIAC second team, while junior midfielder Jordan Dees was placed on the honorable mention list.
Karousos started the last 10 conference games of the regular season and posted a clean sheet in Ashland's 1-0 win at Purdue Northwest in the GLIAC Tournament first round game. He has a 1.03 goals against average since moving into the starting role, ranking second in the GLIAC. The Metamorfosi, Greece native also leads the league in save percentage (85.4) and has 70 saves on the season.
He has three clean sheets and three times has made nine saves in a game, including in a 2-2 tie against nationally-ranked Saginaw Valley State. Karousos kept the Cardinals off the board in the last 100 minutes of that game as AU overcame a 2-0 deficit.
He is Ashland's first All-GLIAC first team selection since 2011 (the program was on hiatus from 2013-15).
Duldner moved from a central defensive position last season and into a defensive midfield role for the Eagles. His play in the middle helped stabilize both the back line and the front three as he served as the Eagles' fulcrum.
In the attack, the Columbia Station, Ohio native finished the regular season with two goals and one assist. His goal at Northwood was the equalizer in the 75th minute in a 3-1 comeback victory on Oct. 12.
Francis, a Dunmow, England native, fulfilled duties as the Eagles' center back as he started all 17 games. Ashland has sustained a marked improvement defensively this season, holding a 1.38 goals against average. Last season, that number was at 2.38.
Francis is part of a defense that allowed three goals just twice all season. In 2017, Ashland surrendered three goals in a game nine times.
Libertowski has had a breakout season as the Eagles' top goal-scorer, hitting the back of the net nine times. He is tied for second in the GLIAC in scoring and is fourth in the league with 20 points.
The Medina, Ohio product excelled working as a back-to-the-goal forward and as a player capable of beating defenders and keepers in 1-v-1 situations.
He scored a hat trick in a season-opening, 5-3 defeat to Lake Erie and enters the GLIAC Tournament semifinals with five goals and two assists in his last eight games. Libertowski has two game-winning goals to his tally and he also scored and assisted on both goals in Ashland's 2-2 draw against Saginaw Valley in the regular season finale.
Dees started 15 of 17 games this season as a box-to-box central midfielder. He scored AU's lone goal in a 3-1 defeat at Davenport on Sept. 21.
The Eagles (6-9-3), in their third season under head coach Oliver Slawson, are the No. 6 seed in the GLIAC Tournament and will play No. 2-seed Parkside on Friday (Nov. 2) at 2 p.m. in Saginaw, Mich. The winner goes to Sunday's championship match at noon.
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