LAREDO, Texas – The Heartland Conference's most dominant men's soccer program of the last six years has matched its 2012 total of postseason conference awards, announced Thursday.

 Headlining the honorees, freshman Ryan Hodgson – a 6-foot-2 forward from Sunderland, England – scored the Heartland Conference's Freshman of the Year recognition. Hodgson was also named to the All-Heartland Conference First Team, standing as the only freshman among the 11 honorees.

Out of the conference's 27 honorees, only one other freshman – Newman forward Luca Anelli – received recognition.

Joining Hodgson among the first teamers are senior midfielder and team captain Arturo Gutierrez and senior center back Walter Anoruo. The three total first teamers matches 2012's total.

TAMIU littered the All-Heartland Conference Second Team as well, landing junior midfielder Jovany Macias and sophomore center back Camilo Botero on the honorary team.

The six newest conference accolades catapult the Dustdevils' total to 46 since joining NCAA Division II athletics in 2008. The Dustdevils won conference championships in 2010, 2011 and 2013. They finished with a 7-1-1 Heartland record (9-7-2 overall) this year.

Hodgson joined the Dustdevils out of Gateshead College Academy for Sport, making an immediate impact as the team's primary striker. Hodgson logged 1,023 minutes while playing in all but one match – against Mary University on Sept. 14 – but after that match, he started 10 of the next 13 matches. Hodgson scored seven of the Dustdevils' 24 total goals, leading the team's next closest – Macias and Diego Manzano-Cano – by three strikes. Hodgson dealt a pair of assists, against St. Mary's (Sept. 27) and McMurry (Nov. 4), as well. The freshman registered a team-high 37 shots, with a team-high 17 falling on frame. Three of his seven net-finders served as game-winning strikes, including back-to-back victories against Rogers State (Oct. 5) and Newman (Oct. 7) and against Dallas Baptist (Oct. 21).

Gutierrez, the team's captain, manned the midfield for the team's second-highest total of minutes (1,388) while starting every game. The mostly holding midfielder contributed offensively with a pair of goals and a pair of assists, but he served as the Dustdevils' strategic hinge point with the team's possession-based play flowing through his feet. The El Salvadorian native launched 18 shots, with seven threatening the goal. It's the second time Gutierrez has received an All-Heartland honor, earning a second-team mention in 2011.

Anoruo can be credited with helping to save the Dustdevils season as they rose from the ashes of 1-4-1 start of the season.

Early injuries appeared in position to doom the Dustdevils as starting center backs Joan Vallejo and Juan Ramirez went down after only seven and eight games, respectively.

That's when the 6-foot Nigerian was forced to step up. Transitioning from his natural attacking-midfielder position, Anoruo became a bedrock on the TAMIU backline. He totaled 1,025 minutes and received only two separate bookings despite facing a buzzsaw of Heartland opponents. Anoruo saw only 15 goals produced by opponents in games he started, including his playing a part in the Dustdevils' three total clean sheets.

Macias adds a third career All-Heartland honor to his resume after being named a first teamer in 2011 and a second teamer in 2012. The Laredo- native and local product registered four goals off 32 shots – 12 raining on target. Macias started 14 matches, but played in every match but Sept. 14's battle against the University of Mary. In his 1,167 minutes on the pitch, Macias buried his two penalty-kick attempts and also took most of the Dustdevils free kicks, set pieces and corner kicks. As a freshman in 2011, Macias was also honored as the Heartland's Freshman of the Year.

Botero, a Bogota, Colombia native, was one of the Dustdevils' most consistent figures on the semi-makeshift backline. Despite the injuries all around him, Botero managed to play the team's highest minutes total (1,446) while starting all but one of the team's 18 matches. The 6-foot-1 defender scored two goals, including the game-winner against Oklahoma Christian on Oct. 19. Despite his defensive positioning, he fired 18 shots with seven accurately trying the goal. The only match he missed was because of his accumulation of yellow cards, which he finished the year with six of.

After the pedestrian 1-4-1 beginning, the Dustdevils finished their season 8-3-1 to claim the Heartland Championship and build upon their already almost-mythical tradition.