UK MSOC’s Williams, Facusse & Mabika Named Men’s Soccer All-Americans

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UK MSOC 2018
Courtesy UK Athletics

Three Kentucky Men’s Soccer Wildcats – JJ Williams (First Team), Enrique Facusse (Second Team) and Aimé Mabika (Third Team) – were named All-Americans by the United Soccer Coaches for the 2018 season on Thursday night.

Kentucky has now been represented on the USC (formerly NSCAA) All-America teams four out of the last five years.


The UK trio became the sixth, seventh and eighth All-Americans in program history (Ilkka Jantti – 2001 second team, Jamal Shteiwi – 2004 third team, Barry Rice -2009 second team, Callum Irving – 2014 third team and 2015 first team, Napo Matsoso – 2016 second team).

The Wildcats completed their record-setting 2018 season last Friday. The Wildcats, who will graduate just one senior, won the Conference USA double, set the school record for wins, reached the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight, went 5-1 against top-25 opponents and welcomed multiple 3,000-plus crowds to The Bell to name but a few accomplishments.

Williams was named to the First Team. The Conference USA Player of the Year and MAC Hermann Award semifinalist, established himself as perhaps the nation’s top attacking threat. He scored 18 goals – third most in the nation – nine game winners – second most in DI – and ranked third nationally in total points (44).

Williams scored huge goals on some of his biggest stages, scoring twice in 3-0 regular-season wins against NCAA Tournament No. 4-seed Louisville, No. 2 Indiana – a game in which he assisted the third goal. He also scored a brilliant 1-0 game winner in the C-USA Tournament final against USC No. 14 Charlotte just after halftime to go along with an NCAA Tournament second-round brace against USC No. 21 Portland.

Facusse was named to the second team. The UK goalkeeper was named All-Region for the second year in a row, as well as First Team All-Conference USA. He led the nation in shutouts (14). His .49 goals against average ranked fourth nationally, and his .84 save percentage ranked 12th in Division I.
  
Mabika earned a spot on the third team. The sophomore defender played a central role in the nation’s No. 3 goals against average (.49) and shutout percentage (.64) defense.

This year’s NCAA Division I Men’s All-Americans will be recognized for their accomplishments at the All-America Ceremony & Reception on Jan. 12, 2019 at McCormick Place West in Chicago in conjunction with the 2019 United Soccer Coaches Convention.

UK’s three All-Americans plus Kalil ElMedkhar were named All-Southeast Region on Wednesday. All four of them were First Team All-C-USA selections.

UK’s coaches were named the Southeast Region Staff of the Year last week.

2018 NCAA Division I Men’s All-America Teams


First Team

Pos.NameClassSchoolHometown
KTrey MuseSo.Indiana UniversityLouisville, Ky.
DTanner BeasonJr.Stanford UniversityWinston-Salem, N.C.
DAlex ComsiaSr.University of North CarolinaNorth Vancouver, B.C.
DAndrew Gutman*Sr.Indiana UniversityHinsdale, Ill.
DCallum MontgomerySr.CharlotteVictoria, B.C
MGiuseppe BaroneJr.Michigan State UniversityGrandville, Mich.
MTucker Bone*Sr.United States Air Force AcademyGranite Bay, Calif.
MBruno LapaJr.Wake Forest UniversityCuritiba, Brazil
FOmir FernandezSo.Wake Forest UniversityBronx, N.Y.
FCal JenningsJr.UCFRoswell, Ga.
FAndre ShinyashikiSr.University of DenverSao Paulo, Brazil
FJJ WilliamsJr.University of KentuckyMontgomery, Ala.

 

Second Team

Pos.NameClassSchoolHometown
KEnrique FacusseSo.University of KentuckyTegucigalpa, Honduras
DJosh BauerSo.University of New HampshireBedford, N.H.
DJohnny FenwickSr.High Point UniversityNewcastle upon Tyne, England
DDonovan PinesJr.University of MarylandClarksville, Md.
MWouter VerstraatenSr.University of the PacificHeeze, Netherlands
MBrad DunwellSr.Wake Forest UniversityGrand Rapids, Mich.
MMauricio PinedaJr.University of North CarolinaBolingbrook, Ill.
MCamden RileySr.University of the PacificDallas, Texas
FBenji MichelJr.University of PortlandOrlando, Fla.
FGriffin DorseySo.Indiana UniversityEvergreen, Colo.
FJack HallahanJr.University of MichiganRedditch, England
FDaniele ProchJr.Duke UniversityRiva Del Garda, Italy

 

Third Team

Pos.NameClassSchoolHometown
KRemi PrieurJr.Saint Mary’s College of CaliforniaSan Ramon, Calif.
DDan BentSr.Wright State UniversityKent, England
DErik HoltSr.UCLASan Diego, Calif.
DAimé MabikaSo.University of KentuckyLexington, Ky.
MLouis PerezSo.UCFVillennes Sur Seine, France
MJoey PiatczycSr.West Virginia UniversityLee’s Summit, Mo.
MBarry SharifiJr.Loyola University MarylandJericho, N.Y.
FAmir BashtiSr.Stanford UniversityCupertino, Calif.
FAustin DewingSr.United States Air Force AcademyColorado Springs, Colo.
FDavid EgboSo.University  of AkronEnugu, Nigeria
FJake RudelJr.Saint Mary’s College of CaliforniaFort Collins, Colo.
FBrian SaramagoJr.Loyola University MarylandNew Hyde Park, N.Y.



For the best coverage of UK men’s soccer follow the team’s social media accounts on TwitterFacebook and Instagram in addition to on UKathletics.com.

– GO CATS –
For more information contact:
Jake Most