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. | Name | Class | School | Hometown |
| K | Trey Muse | So. | Indiana University | Louisville, Ky. |
| D | Tanner Beason | Jr. | Stanford University | Winston-Salem, N.C. |
| D | Alex Comsia | Sr. | University of North Carolina | North Vancouver, B.C. |
| D | Andrew Gutman* | Sr. | Indiana University | Hinsdale, Ill. |
| D | Callum Montgomery | Sr. | Charlotte | Victoria, B.C |
| M | Giuseppe Barone | Jr. | Michigan State University | Grandville, Mich. |
| M | Tucker Bone* | Sr. | United States Air Force Academy | Granite Bay, Calif. |
| M | Bruno Lapa | Jr. | Wake Forest University | Curitiba, Brazil |
| F | Omir Fernandez | So. | Wake Forest University | Bronx, N.Y. |
| F | Cal Jennings | Jr. | UCF | Roswell, Ga. |
| F | Andre Shinyashiki | Sr. | University of Denver | Sao Paulo, Brazil |
| F | JJ Williams | Jr. | University of Kentucky | Montgomery, Ala. |
Second Team
| Pos. | Name | Class | School | Hometown |
| K | Enrique Facusse | So. | University of Kentucky | Tegucigalpa, Honduras |
| D | Josh Bauer | So. | University of New Hampshire | Bedford, N.H. |
| D | Johnny Fenwick | Sr. | High Point University | Newcastle upon Tyne, England |
| D | Donovan Pines | Jr. | University of Maryland | Clarksville, Md. |
| M | Wouter Verstraaten | Sr. | University of the Pacific | Heeze, Netherlands |
| M | Brad Dunwell | Sr. | Wake Forest University | Grand Rapids, Mich. |
| M | Mauricio Pineda | Jr. | University of North Carolina | Bolingbrook, Ill. |
| M | Camden Riley | Sr. | University of the Pacific | Dallas, Texas |
| F | Benji Michel | Jr. | University of Portland | Orlando, Fla. |
| F | Griffin Dorsey | So. | Indiana University | Evergreen, Colo. |
| F | Jack Hallahan | Jr. | University of Michigan | Redditch, England |
| F | Daniele Proch | Jr. | Duke University | Riva Del Garda, Italy |
Third Team
| Pos. | Name | Class | School | Hometown |
| K | Remi Prieur | Jr. | Saint Mary’s College of California | San Ramon, Calif. |
| D | Dan Bent | Sr. | Wright State University | Kent, England |
| D | Erik Holt | Sr. | UCLA | San Diego, Calif. |
| D | Aimé Mabika | So. | University of Kentucky | Lexington, Ky. |
| M | Louis Perez | So. | UCF | Villennes Sur Seine, France |
| M | Joey Piatczyc | Sr. | West Virginia University | Lee’s Summit, Mo. |
| M | Barry Sharifi | Jr. | Loyola University Maryland | Jericho, N.Y. |
| F | Amir Bashti | Sr. | Stanford University | Cupertino, Calif. |
| F | Austin Dewing | Sr. | United States Air Force Academy | Colorado Springs, Colo. |
| F | David Egbo | So. | University of Akron | Enugu, Nigeria |
| F | Jake Rudel | Jr. | Saint Mary’s College of California | Fort Collins, Colo. |
| F | Brian Saramago | Jr. | Loyola University Maryland | New Hyde Park, N.Y. |
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– GO CATS –
For more information contact:
Jake Most
