Williams, Reyes & Cedergren Headline UK Men’s Soccer’s C-USA Awards
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Crowned Conference USA Regular-Season Champions last Friday, the No. 3 Kentucky men’s soccer team cleaned up in the league’s yearly awards on Tuesday.
JJ Williams was named C-USA Player of the Year and Offensive MVP. Jason Reyes earned the Freshman of the Year award, and Johan Cedergren picked up the Coach of the Year honor.
Kentucky led all C-USA men’s soccer teams with four award winners and six Wildcats across the 2018 Men’s Soccer All-Conference Teams. All nine programs were represented across this year’s teams.
Williams, Kalil ElMedkhar, Enrique Facusse and Aimé Mabika were the Wildcats on the All-C-USA First Team. Reyes was on the Second Team and Leon Jones was on the Third Team.
Sam Stockton and Leon Jones were named to the C-USA All-Academic Team on Monday.
Awards were decided by a vote of the conference’s nine head coaches.
JJ Williams was named Player of the Year and Offensive MVP and to First Team in recognition of his breakout season. Last season, he was named to All-C-USA Third Team. In 2018, the junior finished the regular season with a conference lead, 34 points and 14 total goals to average 0.82 per game. He was named United Soccer Coaches’ Player of the Week once and C-USA Offensive Player of the Week three times in 2018. Williams is second nationally in game-winning goals (7) and fifth in total goals.
Jason Reyes claimed the Freshman of the Year honor due to his selection to Second Team, the highest placement of a freshman this season. The forward started every game for the Wildcats and tied for sixth in the league with seven goals. Against a top-five Indiana squad, he tallied one goal and one assist and scored and assisted in the de facto league regular-season title game last Friday.
Cedergren was named C-USA Coach of the Year for the third time (2014 and 2015). The seventh-year head coach has led UK to a 15-1-1 regular season record. A highlight of the season was a win over No. 2 Indiana for the first time since 1995. In conference play, the Wildcats went 7-1 to clinch the regular-season champion title and the No. 1 seed in the tournament. Kentucky also reached a program-high ranking in the United Soccer Coaches’ Poll, No. 3.
Facusse totaled 12 shutouts overall to lead the conference entering the tournament. The sophomore made 45 saves for an average of 2.65 per game. Last year’s Freshman of the Year continued his success this season, helping the No. 3 Wildcats to the top seed in the tournament.
Mabika was also a critical part of the defense that totaled 12 shutouts throughout the season and the team that climbed to the top-five in the United Soccer Coaches’ poll. The redshirt sophomore tallied two goals and an assist in addition to his defensive efforts.
ElMedkhar shined for the Wildcats this season, coming in second on the team behind Williams with 24 points off eight goals and eight assists. The sophomore ended the regular season tied for fourth in the conference in total goals and tied for second in total assists.
The 2018 Air Force Reserve Conference USA Men’s Soccer Championship begins on Wednesday, Nov. 7 at Charlotte’s Transamerica Field in Charlotte, North Carolina. Kentucky, Old Dominion, Charlotte, FIU, Marshall, UAB and New Mexico will compete for the tournament champion title in the seven-team, three-day championship. The championship match is scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 11 at 1 p.m. ET. All matches will be streamed on ESPN+.
In addition to the specialty awards, the head coaches also selected Second, Third and All-Freshman Teams.
2018 C-USA Men’s Soccer Superlative Awards Presented by Ready Nutrition
Player of the Year
JJ Williams, Kentucky
Offensive MVP
JJ Williams, Kentucky
Defensive MVP
Callum Montgomery, Charlotte
Golden Boot Award
Santiago Patino, FIU
Golden Glove Award
Elliot Panicco, Charlotte
Freshman of the Year
Jason Reyes, Kentucky
Coach of the Year
Johan Cedergren, Kentucky
All-Conference First Team
GK: Elliot Panicco, Charlotte
GK: Enrique Facusse, Kentucky
D: Callum Montgomery, Charlotte
D: Aimé Mabika, Kentucky
D: Tom Smart, New Mexico
MF: Niko Klosterhalfen, Old Dominion
MF: Joris Ahlinvi, FIU
MF: Kalil ElMedkhar, Kentucky
MF: Tommy Madden, Charlotte
F: Santiago Patino, FIU
F: JJ Williams, Kentucky
F: Max Wilschrey, Old Dominion
All-Conference Second Team
GK: Paulo Pita, Marshall
D: Gael Mabila, UAB
D: Mathieu Laurent, UAB
D: Ryan McLaughlin, Old Dominion
MF: Luca Mayr, South Carolina
MF: Teddy Chaouche, Charlotte
MF: Andrew Booth, FIU
MF: Nick Taylor, New Mexico
MF: Eder Mora, UAB
F: Daniel Bruce, Charlotte
F: Jason Reyes, Kentucky
All-Conference Third Team
GK: Mertcan Akar, Old Dominion
D: Mitchell Myers, South Carolina
D: Illal Osmanu, Marshall
D: Billy Jones, New Mexico
D: Carlos Diaz-Salcedo, Marshall
D: Leon Jones, Kentucky
MF: Alonso Coello Camarero, Florida Atlantic
MF: Peyton Ericson, South Carolina
MF: Sebastien Hauret, Old Dominion
MF: Vinicius Fernandes, Marshall
F: Daniel Corona, Old Dominion
F: Omar Grey, New Mexico
Conference USA All-Freshmen Team
Delasi Batse, D, Charlotte
Preston Popp, F, Charlotte
Errol Spence, MF, FIU
Alonso Coello Camarero, MF, Florida Atlantic
Jason Reyes, F, Kentucky
Vinicius Fernandes, MF, Marshall
Omar Grey, MF, New Mexico
Erik Virgen, MF, New Mexico
Daniel Corona, F, Old Dominion
Josh Corning, D, South Carolina
Blake White, MF, UAB
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