ST. PAUL, Minn. – The University of Wisconsin Superior Yellowjackets earned their sixth Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) men's soccer regular season and seventh tournament championships in 2023. Following the conference season, the Yellowjackets earned one of the four top conference honors in addition to having the most All-UMAC award winners, it was announced on Thursday.
Wisconsin-Superior head coach Joe Mooney was named Coach of the Year for the third year in a row. Under his leadership, the Yellowjackets went 17-3-2 overall and 13-1 in the conference to win their sixth consecutive regular season title. In the postseason, Mooney coached UWS to a 6-0 win in the semifinals and a 1-0 victory in the championship to clinch Wisconsin-Superior's seventh tournament title in a row and the UMAC's automatic bid to the NCAA DIII Championship.
Northland College earned two of the top conference awards following an 8-4-2 regular season in conference that clinched a UMAC Tournament berth as the No. 3 seed. Harrison Tibbetts earned UMAC Offensive Player of the Year honors after leading the Lumberjacks offensive attack with a conference-best 17 goals. The sophomore scored the most game-winning goals in the UMAC with four this fall. Tibbetts also had the top point total with 34, averaging 1.79 per game.
Jamie Colvill received the other top conference award for Northland with Defensive Player of the Year honors. The senior goalie recorded 93 saves with a 72.7 save percentage and recorded four shutouts. Colvill, who was also named the First Team All-Conference goalie, averaged 5.47 saves per game, which was the most of any goalie whose team made the conference postseason.
The Rookie of the Year award was won by Danny Almeida of Bethany Lutheran College. The Vikings' freshman scored 10 goals to tie for the fourth most in the conference. Almeida also tied for the fifth most assists in the UMAC with six. His 26 points and 1.18 points per game were the fifth-best marks in the conference.
Tibbetts and Almeida were both named First Team All-Conference forwards. Wisconsin-Superior forward Jake Kidd joined them on the First Team after scoring the second-most goals in the UMAC with 13 to lead the Yellowjackets to both conference championships. Elliott Lebsack of North Central University made the First Team as a forward as well with seven goals for the Rams this fall.
Bethany Lutheran midfielders Lorenzo Falleti and Agostino Quadrio Curzio both earned First Team All-Conference. Falleti scored the third-most goals in the UMAC with 12 and had the second-most shots on goal with 35, averaging 1.67 per game. Quadrio Curzio had four assists and was key to Bethany Lutheran's 11-2-1 conference record this fall. The two were joined by Wisconsin-Superior midfielder Felipe Oliveira, who scored five goals with two game-winners for the conference champions.
The three First Team All-Conference defenders were Serni Batalla of Crown College, Josh Bellamy of Wisconsin-Superior, and Sam Irsfeld of Bethany Lutheran. Batalla led Crown's defense as the Polar's competed for a playoff berth. Bellamy scored nine goals this fall and had a conference-best nine assists while helping lead a Yellowjacket defense that allowed just 13 goals for an average of 0.59 per game, which were the fewest in the conference. Irsfeld was key to the Vikings' defensive effort that held opponents to just 23 goals and a 1.05 goals per game, which were both second-best marks in the UMAC.
Martin Luther College 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.
Individual Awards
* Offensive Player of the Year Award – Harrison Tibbetts, Northland College
# Defensive Player of the Year Award – Jamie Colvill, Northland College
% Rookie of the Year Award – Danny Almeida, Bethany Lutheran College
Coach of the Year Award – Joe Mooney, University of Wisconsin-Superior
Team Sportsmanship Award – Martin Luther College
| First Team All-Conference |
| Daniel Almeida % |
Bethany Lutheran College |
Freshman |
Forward |
| Serni Batalla |
Crown College |
Junior |
Defender |
| Josh Bellamy |
University of Wisconsin-Superior |
Junior |
Defender |
| Jamie Colvill # |
Northland College |
Senior |
Goalie |
| Lorenzo Falleti |
Bethany Lutheran College |
Sophomore |
Midfielder |
| Sam Irsfeld |
Bethany Lutheran College |
Sophomore |
Defender |
| Jake Kidd |
University of Wisconsin-Superior |
Sophomore |
Forward |
| Elliott Lebsack |
North Central University |
Senior |
Forward |
| Felipe Oliveira |
University of Wisconsin-Superior |
Senior |
Midfielder |
| Agostino Quadrio Curzio |
Bethany Lutheran College |
Junior |
Midfielder |
| Harrison Tibbetts * |
Northland College |
Sophomore |
Forward |
| Second Team All-Conference |
| Alejandro Alfaro |
University of Northwestern |
Junior |
Midfielder |
| Harry Ambler |
University of Wisconsin-Superior |
Junior |
Midfielder |
| Quinn Bieber |
Northland College |
Sophomore |
Midfielder |
| Tim Deloye |
University of Northwestern |
Junior |
Defender |
| Alex Hanson |
University of Wisconsin-Superior |
Senior |
Defender |
| Ashton Hosler |
Crown College |
Sophomore |
Forward |
| Ben Klausen |
Bethany Lutheran College |
Junior |
Forward |
| Alex Paredes |
University of Wisconsin-Superior |
Junior |
Goalie |
| Danny Pilot |
Bethany Lutheran College |
Sophomore |
Defender |
| Isaias Santos |
Martin Luther College |
Junior |
Forward |
| Joaquin Silva |
Crown College |
Sophomore |
Midfielder |
| Freddy Watson |
University of Wisconsin-Superior |
Sophomore |
Defender |
| Honorable Mention All-Conference |
| Rodrigo Burgos |
North Central University |
Freshman |
Midfielder |
| Thomas Carey |
Northland College |
Senior |
Defender |
| Alex Chacich |
North Central University |
Sophomore |
Forward |
| Kyle Dipzinski |
University of Northwestern |
Freshman |
Goalie |
| Simeon Friesen |
University of Northwestern |
Freshman |
Midfielder |
| Aaron Hill |
University of Northwestern |
Junior |
Forward |
| Luke Kamm |
Crown College |
Freshman |
Midfielder |
| Nick Lundberg |
Bethany Lutheran College |
Junior |
Goalie |
| Jed Mittelstadt |
Martin Luther College |
Junior |
Defender |
| Alan Montano |
Crown College |
Sophomore |
Defender |
| Sorel Richardson |
Northland College |
Freshman |
Midfielder |
| Mackie Ringrose |
University of Wisconsin-Superior |
Junior |
Midfielder |
| Juan Solivellas |
Northland College |
Junior |
Defender |
| Victor Vancauteren |
Northland College |
Freshman |
Forward |
| Carter Watkinson |
University of Minnesota Morris |
Senior |
Midfielder |
| Josiah Wordell |
Martin Luther College |
Senior |
Midfielder |
| Individual Sportsmanship Awards |
| Oscar Peraza |
Bethany Lutheran College |
| Ashton Hosler |
Crown College |
| Nathan Pausma |
Martin Luther College |
| Christie Baw |
North Central University |
| Garrett Sutton |
Northland College |
| Chann Piseth |
University of Minnesota Morris |
| Tim Deloye |
University of Northwestern |
| Gavin Watkinson |
University of Wisconsin-Superior |