Northwestern, Wisconsin-Superior lead top UMAC men's soccer awards
UWS Photos by Jade Jensen
ST. PAUL, Minn.---Following the completion of the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) men's soccer season, student-athletes were recognized with all-conference honors as University of Northwestern senior Josiah Donat headlined the awards as UMAC Offensive Player of the Year, while the University of Wisconsin-Superior's Jonah Garcia and Blake Doyea earned Defensive Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year, respectively.
In addition to the three student-athletes taking the top awards, Greg Wheaton was recognized by his peers as the UMAC Coach of the Year after leading Northwestern to back-to-back playoff appearances and third-place finishes in the conference standings.
Northwestern's Donat had a breakout senior season for the Eagles leading the conference in UMAC goals (14) and finishing second in conference points (29). He also led the UMAC in shots in conference games with (59). Additionally, he netted four game-winning goals against UMAC foes – second most among all players.
This season, Donat was a critical part of the Eagles' success and third-place finish in the UMAC. Donat recorded three hattrick performances in conference games including all three goals in a late-season victory over Martin Luther College. The forward was held scoreless in just three games played against conference squads. His impressive streak of performances also earned him back-to-back UMAC Player of the Week nods in October.
Donat was only one part of the Eagles' success this season that was headed up by Wheaton. The Eagles finished 8-2-2 in UMAC games and just five points out of second place. In the conference tournament semifinal, Wheaton's team forced overtime late in the second half and narrowly missed making the conference title game. As a squad, the Eagles finished league play third in goals scored (30) and goals allowed (15) for a 1.243 goals against average (GAA). Additionally, the Eagles led the league in points with 78 (30g, 18a).
For UMAC tournament champion Wisconsin-Superior, Garcia was its top defender as he anchored a back line that held conference opponents to just eight goals in the conference season for a team GAA of 0.669. Led by Garcia, the Yellowjackets compiled six shutouts against UMAC opponents in the 12-game schedule. Additionally, the senior defender also tallied three goals and six points in conference games to help the Yellowjackets to a third-striaght second-place finish in the standings.
The Yellowjackets also saw first-year player Blake Doyea turn in an impressive rookie season tallying four goals and two assists for 10 points against conference teams. The rookie also tallied a goal and an assist in a key win over northwestern late in the season to help the Yellowjackets en route to the postseason. He ended his UMAC campaign ranked in the top 15 in scoring and third on the team.
Regular-season champion College of St. Scholastica led all programs with seven athletes recognized while Wisconsin-Superior and Northwestern each had six earn nods on one of three teams. The Yellowjackets picked up the most First Team accolades with four, while the Saints and the University of Minnesota Morris each had two.
Jon Bucklew leads all UMAC players as the only individual to earn First Team honors for three-consecutive seasons. Cody Christ of Minnesota Morris is the only other player to earn either First or Second Team honors three times in his career. Four players have been back-to-back First Team selections including Donat, Garcia, Luke Buckton (St. Scholastica) and Nathan Graumann (Martin Luther).
Four seniors picked up spots on one of the three teams for the second time in their careers including Luqman Barre (Minnesota Morris), Zachary Jacobson (Minnesota Morris), Elijah Kroll (Martin Luther) and Turner Main (Northwestern). Seven other players also earned their second-straight All-UMAc award on one of the three teams including Derrick Aminga (Northwestern), Josue Boutouli (North Central University), Hector Gaona (Northland College), Joseph Graumann (Martin Luther), Darby Henderson (St. Scholastica), Trygve Rennan (St. Scholastica) and Eric Watson (Wisconsin-Superior).
Crown won the team sportsmanship award, an accolade that is selected by the UMAC coaches and awarded to the team that best represents sportsmanship throughout the entire season, including the championship event. Each team also had one representative named to the individual sportsmanship award list.
*Offensive Player of the Year - Josiah Donat, Sr., Northwestern
#Defensive Player of the Year - Jonah Garcia, Sr., Wisconsin-Superior
%Rookie of the Year - Blake Doyea, Fy., Wisconsin-Superior
Coach of the Year - Greg Wheaton, Northwestern
2017 UMAC Men's Soccer All-Conference First Team
| Name |
School |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown |
| Gabe Arrequin |
Minnesota Morris |
So. |
MF |
Waseca, Minn./Waseca |
| Fernando Bicalho |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Jr. |
MF |
Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil/Kickapoo |
| Josue Boutouli |
North Central |
So. |
MF |
Lome, Togo/Eagan |
| Jon Bucklew |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Sr. |
F |
Somerset, Wis./Somerset |
| Luke Buckton |
St. Scholastica |
Jr. |
MF |
Bath, England/Writhlington School |
| Cody Christ |
Minnesota Morris |
Sr. |
GK |
Elk River, Minn./Elk River |
| Josiah Donat |
Northwestern |
Sr. |
F |
Elk River, Minn./Washtenaw Christian Academy |
| Jonah Garcia |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Sr. |
D |
Eagan, Minn./Eagan |
| Nathan Graumann |
Martin Luther |
Sr. |
D |
Fort Atkinson, Wis./Lakeside Lutheran |
| Trygve Rennan |
St. Scholastica |
Jr. |
D |
Duluth, Minn./Duluth East |
| Eric Watson |
Wisconsin-Superior |
So. |
F |
Thunder Bay, Ontario/Hammarskjold |
| Thomas Whiting |
Northland |
Sr. |
GK |
Ashland, Wis./Ashland |
2017 UMAC Men's Soccer All-Conference Second Team
| Name |
School |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown |
| Luqman Barre |
Minnesota Morris |
Sr. |
MF |
Minneapolis, Minn./Higher Ground Academy |
| Joseph Graumann |
Martin Luther |
So. |
F |
Fort Atkinson, Wis./Lakeside Lutheran |
| Darby Henderson |
St. Scholastica |
Jr. |
MF |
Duluth, Minn./Duluth East |
| Joshua Hintz |
Northwestern |
Fy. |
F |
New Brighton, Minn./Mounds View |
| Zachary Jacobson |
Minnesota Morris |
Sr. |
D |
Sartell, Minn./Sartell |
| Elijah Kroll |
Martin Luther |
Sr. |
D |
Kumba, Cameroon/Lincoln |
| Adrian Leal |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Jr. |
MF |
Alicante, Spain/IES Cabo de la Huerta |
| Jacob Limmex |
Northwestern |
Jr. |
D |
Marshfield, Wis./Marshfield |
| Turner Main |
Northwestern |
Sr. |
GK |
Kewaunee, Wis./Kewaunee |
| Gunnar O'Neill-Sengbush |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Sr. |
D |
Duluth, Minn./Marshall School |
| Juan Ochoa |
St. Scholastica |
Fy. |
F |
Chihuahua, Mexico/Prepa Tec |
2017 UMAC Men's Soccer All-Conference Honorable Mention
| Name |
School |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown |
| Derrick Aminga |
Northwestern |
So. |
MF |
Andover, Minn./Andover |
| Sandy Davidson-Hunt |
St. Scholastica |
Sr. |
GK |
Kenora, Ontario/St. Thomas Aquinas |
| Samuel Duran |
Bethany Lutheran |
So. |
D |
Marshall, Minn./Marshall |
| Eli Etzel |
Crown |
Sr.. |
GK |
Buffalo, Minn./Buffalo |
| Hector Gaona |
Northland |
Jr. |
F |
Roma, Texas/Juan Diego Academy |
| Cole Hempfling |
Crown |
So. |
D |
Cape Coral, Fla./North Fort Myers |
| Ethan Kiffmeyer |
St. Scholastica |
So. |
D |
Sartell, Minn./Sartell |
| Jacob Luhrs |
St. Scholastica |
Fy. |
MF |
Fairbanks, Alaska/West Valley |
| Lucas McCann |
Northwestern |
Fy. |
MF |
Marshfield, Wis./Marshfield |
| Luke Meihack |
Martin Luther |
Fy. |
F |
Fon du Lac, Wis./Winnebago Lutheran Academy |
| Aidan Reilly |
Northland |
Jr. |
D |
Champaign, Ill./ |
| Franz Schrantz |
Crown |
Sr. |
D |
Osceola, Wis./Osceola |
| Ethan Schultz |
Martin Luther |
Sr. |
MF |
Waukesha, Wis./Luther Prep |
| Jonathan Sehloff |
Bethany Lutheran |
So. |
D |
Mankato, Minn./Minnesota Valley Lutheran |
| Mason Shrewsbury |
Crown |
So. |
F |
Prior Lake, Minn./Prior Lake |
| Danny Williams |
North Central |
Jr. |
MF |
Coon Rapids, Minn./Spring Lake Park |
2017 UMAC Men's Soccer Sportsmanship Awards
Team Award - Crown
Bethany Lutheran - Broderick Brown, Sr., North Mankato, Minn./Minnesota Valley Lutheran
Crown - Josiah Steinkamp, Jr., Penang, Malaysia/Dalat International
Martin Luther - Caleb King, Sr., Lomira, Wis./Winnebago Lutheran Academy
Minnesota Morris - Liam Easter, Jr., Minneapolis, Minn./Minneapolis Washburn
North Central - Jake Loukinen, Sr., Little Falls, Minn./Little Falls
Northland - Dan Kuntsch, Sr., Madison, Wis./Monona Grove
Northwestern - Josiah Donat, Sr., Elk River, Minn./Washtenaw Christian Academy
St. Scholastica - Trygve Rennan, Jr., Duluth, Minn./Duluth East
Wisconsin-Superior - Nick Piazza, Sr., Fitchburg, Wis./Madison West