 | | | Photo provided | | | | | | Former Campolindo student and soccer player Preston Kilwien has been named FGCU's Most Outstanding Male Athlete for 2018-19.
A native of Pleasant Hill, Kilwien closed out his FGCU career by leading the Eagles to a share of their seventh ASUN regular season championship, which helped him earn the following individual accolades:
First Team All-ASUN
ASUN Defender of the Year
Second Team All-Atlantic Region
After winning preseason defensive player of the year, Kilwien lived up to his expectations as he earned the same award in the postseason, unanimously. A staple on the FGCU backline, the 6'4"
defender logged nearly 1,500 minutes on the pitch in 2018, starting all 16 matches. He played the full 90 minutes or more on 12 occasions helping FGCU produce five shutouts for a league-leading 0.83 goals-against average. The third overall men's soccer player to win the award, he is currently a member of the New York Red Bulls Reserves USL Championship team.
Kilwien on the award: "I'm extremely honored to win the most outstanding male athlete of the year. FGCU helped me develop so much as a person and soccer player, and I will forever be grateful. I want to say thank you to my family, friends, all of my teammates and the staff for their continued support and belief. I look forward to watching the school and soccer program continue to flourish."
Head coach Jesse Cormier on Kilwien: "Preston is a great 'process' story for the program. He started out as a tremendously gifted young man but suffered from inconsistency in his performance in his early years. But with each year and season he improved - fall and spring. He would work religiously on refining key components to improve his game and, most importantly, he worked on himself. He learned key lessons and built his character and developed a strong mentality to become an excellent leader and the best defender in the ASUN. His talent combined with his character, coachability and work ethic made him unbeatable in practice and games, and he became a highly trusted central defender for us. His commitment and dedication eventually evolved into him taking a key leadership role last fall where he took personal responsibility and obligation to the success of our team. By the time he left, he was taking the team on his shoulders, doing outstanding work academically, and becoming a role model who had everyone's respect in the locker room and beyond. So, I'm proud of him and the legacy he's left behind."
Kilwien played three seasons at Campo for coach Shane Carney. He played four seasons at FGCU and is currently playing professionally in the New York Red Bulls organization. |
Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA