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2023 MEC Men's Soccer All-Conference Selections

Six Hilltoppers Receive All-MEC Men’s Soccer Recognition

11/3/2023 3:32:00 PM

Bridgeport, W.Va. – When the Mountain East Conference released the 2023 All-MEC Men's Soccer Teams on Friday afternoon, West Liberty University was represented by a program record of six athletes. The trio of Vitor Otsuka, Mark Donnelly, and Jasper Newton received All-MEC Second Team honors while Noah Underwood, Zachary Forehand, and Rhys Lewis were named All-MEC Honorable Mention. The pair of Newton and Forehand also garnered All-MEC Freshman Team honors.

Vitor Otsuka / Senior / Midfielder / Porto Alegre, Brazil / Carlisle (Va.) School

Otsuka was named to the All-MEC Second Team, marking the third all-conference honor of his career after previously garnering honorable mention recognition in 2020 and 2022. He led the 2023 Hilltopper team with 12 points by way of three goals and six assists during the regular season. Otsuka was also tied for second among the league leaders for most assists this year. He scored one game-winner, which happened to be the first goal of the season for WLU in a 4-0 upset of No. 12 Davis & Elkins.

Mark Donnelly / Senior / Midfielder / Belfast, Northern Ireland / St. Malachy's

Donnelly was named to the All-MEC Second Team, marking the first all-conference honor of his career. Entering the season with only one career goal, the team captain stepped up and led the offensive attack with four goals in 2023 to total eight points. He scored one game-winner, occurring in a non-conference match at California (PA) to push the Black & Gold to their best start to a season since the sport was reinstated in 2018.

Jasper Newton / Freshman / Defender / Stockport, England / Accrington Stanley

Newton was named to the All-MEC Second Team and All-MEC Freshman Team, marking the first all-conference honors of his career. The defender started all 17 regular season games in his first season on the hilltop and assisted on one goal, occurring in a home match against Notre Dame. Newton was a part of a strong back line that posted a program record of five shutouts and allowed two or more goals only four times all year.

Noah Underwood / Graduate Student / Goalkeeper / Belle, W.Va. / Riverside

Underwood was named an All-MEC Honorable Mention, marking the third all-conference honors of his career after previously garnering honorable mention recognition in 2021 and 2022. He ended the regular season tied for third in the conference with 67 saves total and is averaging 4.19 saves per game. As the best goalkeeper in program history, he continued to etch his name in the record books in 2023 as broke the school record for single-season shutouts with five and is on track to break the single-season goals-against average (1.06) and save percentage (0.798) records as the team enters the conference tournament. He entered the season as the school record holder and continued to build onto his career totals in shutouts (13), saves (323), goals-against average (2.020), and save percentage (0.705). He enters the MEC Men's Soccer Quarterfinal at Davis & Elkins only 11 saves away from tying the conference career record for saves (non-conference and conference matches).

Zachary Forehand / Freshman / Forward / McKinney, Texas / Allen

Forehand was named an All-MEC Honorable Mention and was also named to the All-MEC Freshman Team, marking the first all-conference honors of his career. The freshman appeared in all 17 matches in his first season on the hilltop, while also making eight starts. In his first two collegiate games he found the back of the net twice as he scored one goal in the upset of No. 12 Davis & Elkins and once more in a draw against Concord.

Rhys Lewis / Graduate Student / Defender / Huntington Beach, Calif. / Marina

Lewis was named an All-MEC Honorable Mention, marking his second all-conference honor after previously garnering All-MEC Freshman Team recognition in 2019. The defender scored his first career points in 2023, totaling five points off a pair of goals and one assist. His first career goal occurred as the game-winner in the October 1st home match against West Virginia Wesleyan. Lewis also played on one of the best back line defenses in program history as the team notched a school record five shutouts during the year and only allowed four games with the opponent scoring two or more goals.

 

2023 All-MEC First Team

Pos.

Name

Yr.

School

GK

Keegan Grant

So.

Concord

GK

Marc Torrado

Sr.

Charleston

F

Joao Belmudes

So.

Charleston

F

Sinasi Emre Deniz

Sr.

West Virginia Wesleyan

F

Mirai Sato

Jr.

Notre Dame

M

Evans Armah

Jr.

Notre Dame

M

Sam Newell

So.

West Virginia Wesleyan

M

Connor O'Reilly

Jr.

Notre Dame

M

Lewis Redding

Sr.

Charleston

D

Kai Forsyth

So.

Concord

D

Juan Hermoso

Jr.

Charleston

D

Juan Pineda

Jr.

Notre Dame

D

Franco Tradatti

So.

Charleston

 

2023 All-MEC Second Team

Pos.

Name

Yr.

School

GK

Danilo Wilson

Jr.

Notre Dame

F

Fabian Amhof

Jr.

Concord

F

Eduardo Barros

Gr.

Charleston

F

Shemar Daley

Jr.

Davis & Elkins

F

Vitor Otsuka

Sr.

West Liberty

M

Giorgos Diakos

So.

Charleston

M

Mark Donnelly

Sr.

West Liberty

M

Sahar Golov

Fr.

Davis & Elkins

M

Jose Suarez Monaco

Fr.

Charleston

D

Fran Anton Lopez

Gr.

Charleston

D

Allan Cuartas

So.

Davis & Elkins

D

Brogan Horniman

Jr.

West Virginia Wesleyan

D

Jasper Newton

Fr.

West Liberty

D

Jaime Razo

Sr.

West Virginia Wesleyan

 

2023 All-MEC Honorable Mention

Pos.

Name

Yr.

School

GK

Noah Underwood

Gr.

West Liberty

F

Carlos Almeida

Jr.

Notre Dame

F

Stafford Dowling

Jr.

Charleston

F

Zach Forehand

Fr.

West Liberty

F

Carlos Quintero

So.

Frostburg State

F

Ailton Silva

Jr.

Notre Dame

M

Dominique Castano

Jr.

Davis & Elkins

M

Callum Cleary

Jr.

Notre Dame

M

Modou Faye

Jr.

Davis & Elkins

M

Elvis Gomez

Jr.

Concord

M

Dillon Rajkovic

Fr.

West Virginia Wesleyan

D

Mattia Bui

So.

Davis & Elkins

D

Caleb Dell

Jr.

Frostburg State

D

Rhys Lewis

Gr.

West Liberty

D

Jared Rimmer

So.

Notre Dame

 

2023 All-MEC Freshman Team

Pos.

Name

School

M

Will Couch

Notre Dame

F

Max Evans

West Virginia Wesleyan

F

Zach Forehand

West Liberty

M

Sahar Golov

Davis & Elkins

F

Jon-Michael Gordan

Wheeling

D

Jasper Newton

West Liberty

M

Dillon Rajkovic

West Virginia Wesleyan

M

Jose Suarez Monaco

Charleston

GK

Grant Wyles

Davis & Elkins

 

2023 MEC Awards

Award

Name

School

Offensive Player of the Year

Sinasi Emre Deniz

West Virginia Wesleyan

Defensive Player of the Year

Marc Torrado

Charleston

Freshman of the Year

Jose Suarez Monaco

Charleston

Coach of the Year

Daniel Smee

Charleston

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