COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- Gonzaga men's soccer alum Josh Phillips was recently selected by the Colorado Springs Gazette as on the Best XI to ever play for the Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC of the USL Championship League. Phillips played for Gonzaga from 2010 to 2013 and graduated as one of the most decorated defenders in program history. 

According to the news story from the Colorado Springs Gazette, the Switchbacks FC Best XI was selected using polls conducted on social media platforms. Players who competed in the club's first five seasons, 2015-2019, were eligible to be selected. Phillips played during the franchise's first three seasons from 2015-17 and was a mainstay on the back line, making a total of 81 appearances between 2015 and 2017 and playing in all three of the club's postseason matches. He scored two of his three professional goals and recorded all three of his assists in black and blue. He scored once in each of the 2015 and 2016 regular seasons and set up three goals in 2017. Phillips left the Switchbacks before the 2018 season, playing one final season for Portland Timbers 2 before retiring from professional soccer after the 2018 season.

"Josh had an outstanding senior year as the WCC Defender of the Year," said current GU head coach Paul Meehan, who coached Phillips as a senior while serving as an assistant. "Very few are able to continue and play professionally after college, not to mention be honored this way by a franchise, and Josh is clearly deserving. His passion and work ethic set him apart."

Along with his West Coast Conference Defensive Player of the Year award in 2013, Phillips was named to the All-WCC First Team and All-Far West Region First Team. During that 2013 season, he helped lead the squad to a 10-6-3 record, and third-place finish in the WCC. The 10-win season remains as the highest since 2000 for the program. He also earned All-WCC Second Team honors as a sophomore in 2011. 

To read the full article from the Colorado Springs Gazette, click here.