Ethics and Sportsmanship Award given to IMS soccer team

For the second consecutive year, the 2017 Iowa Mennonite Soccer team received the Team Ethics and Sportsmanship Silver Award from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America for their sporting play this past season.

The NSCAA created the award to encourage sportsmanship and fair play in the game of soccer.

To qualify for the Ethics and Sportsmanship Awards a team cannot receive any red cards during the season.

Four different levels are recognized, Platinum-no cards; Gold (percentage of yellow cards 1-10 percent); Silver Award (percentage of yellow cards 11-30 percent) and Bronze (percentage of yellow cards 31-50 percent).

The IMS team had received no red cards and two yellow cards for 11.76 percent, qualifying them for the award.

Of the 35 teams receiving the Platinum through Bronze awards only two were boys? teams.

The only other team from Iowa to be recognized was the girls soccer team from Lincoln High School in Des Moines, who also earned a Silver award.

?Sportsmanship is an aspect of the game we always encourage and promote,? said coach Marcus Miller of the award.

?So for the team to be recognized in this way is rewarding.

?The award reflects well on the leadership provided by the seniors, Cole Yoder, Nick Yutzy, Anthony Villatoro, Juan Andino and Jared Schlabaugh.?

IMS finished the 2017 season with a 13-4 record.