PROVIDENCE, R.I. – UCF and SMU garnered major honors following the 2019 regular season as the American Athletic Conference announced its men’s soccer awards and all-conference teams on Tuesday afternoon. The annual list of honorees was voted upon by the league’s eight head coaches.
 
Two Knights, senior Cal Jennings and junior Yannik Oettl, repeated as major award recipients with Jennings earning Offensive Player of the Year and Oettl Goalkeeper of the Year. SMU senior Eddie Munjoma was tabbed Defensive Player of the Year, while UCF junior Yoni Sorokin and SMU sophomore Gabriel Costa were named Midfielders of the Year. UCF’s Gino Vivi earned Rookie of the Year accolades, and UCF earned Coaching Staff of the Year for the second-straight season.
 
Twelve players representing six institutions were named First Team All-Conference, including five of the major awardees, with every program seeing at least two honorees on the First Team, Second Team or All-Rookie Team. Regular-season champion UCF led the conference with seven selections to the all-conference lists.
 
Jennings earned Offensive Player of the Year for the second-consecutive year after netting 13 goals with four assists for 30 points in the regular season. Already The American’s single-season record holder in goals and points, the senior added to his career total and currently owns 90 points and 41 goals; both marks rank second in NCAA active career scoring. Six of his goals this season have served as game-winners, including the deciding score in a win over then-ranked No. 6 North Carolina and golden goals against Florida Atlantic and Stetson. Heading into the semifinals of the American Athletic Conference Championship, Jennings sits within striking distance of the league’s career points (110) and goals (46) records, both currently held by UConn’s Abdou Mbacke Thiam.
 
Munjoma has been the catalyst for The American’s top defense, as SMU has permitted just 12 goals from opponents (0.75 per game). Of SMU’s league-best 14 wins, nine have been shutouts, including a 2-0 victory at then-ranked No. 2 Duke; Munjoma and the Mustangs rank third nationally in shutout percentage (56.3). The senior has also seen his share of offensive production in 2019, as he has netted 10 goals and recorded eight assists for 28 points, good for 19^th nationally.
 
Sorokin is UCF’s key distributor in the midfield, directing the No. 6-ranked Knights’ efforts en route to a 13-1-2 record and 15-game unbeaten streak. The junior is a First Team All-Conference honoree for the second-straight season, and has recorded four goals and four assists for 12 points. Sorokin found the back of the net in three-straight conference games stretching from Sept. 27 to Oct. 12, including a goal and an assist in a 3-3 draw with SMU.
 
After earning Division II All-American honors as a freshman at Azusa Pacific, Costa has become an offensive mainstay for the Mustangs in his first season. With seven goals and nine assists for 24 points, he ranks sixth in the conference and 38^th nationally. He posted a multi-goal outing in SMU’s 5-1 win at Tulsa and multi-assist performances in three separate games. In two seasons of competition, Costa is the NCAA’s active career points per game leader, averaging 1.97 per game.
 
Oettl is The American’s Goalkeeper of the Year for the second-straight year, and currently owns a 1.17 goals against average and .706 save percentage. He has earned the decision and played every minute between the pipes for UCF this season, compiling a 13-1-2 record with a league-best five shutouts (three in conference play). Oettl has risen to the occasion when the Knights have needed it most, including a season-high six-save performance in the Knights’ 3-3 draw with UCF on Oct. 6.
 
Vivi has started 15 of UCF’s 16 contests in his rookie campaign, and during that time has proven himself as a clutch performer. Of his five goals on the season, three have been golden goals in conference play. Most recently, the Costa Rica native scored in the 99^th minute on the road against Cincinnati to close out an unbeaten slate in American competition and the regular-season title for UCF. Vivi has also recorded three assists on the season, and was a unanimous selection to The American’s All-Rookie Team.
 
Head coach Scott Calabrese and his staff piloted UCF to its first-ever outright regular-season title as members of The American in 2019. At 13-1-2 overall and 6-0-1 in league play, the Knights posted just the third undefeated conference slate in The American’s seven-season history. Along the way, UCF has achieved the highest United Soccer Coaches poll ranking in program history at No. 6, posted an undefeated 6-0-2 record in overtime games and sits at No. 3 in the men’s soccer RPI rankings heading into the conference semifinals.
 
UCF, SMU, USF and Temple will take the field for the semifinals of the 2019 American Athletic Conference Men’s Soccer Championship on Wednesday. The Knights and Mustangs look to secure return trips to the NCAA Championship when the field is announced next week.
 
 
American Athletic Conference
2019 Men’s Soccer Awards
 
Offensive Player of the Year
Cal Jennings, Sr., F, UCF
 
Defensive Player of the Year
Eddie Munjoma, Sr., D, SMU
 
Midfielders of the Year
Yoni Sorokin, Jr., M, UCF
Gabriel Costa, So., M, SMU
 
Goalkeeper of the Year
Yannik Oettl, Jr., UCF
 
Rookie of the Year
Gino Vivi, Fr., M, UCF
 
Coaching Staff of the Year
UCF
 
Team Fair Play Award
Tulsa
 
First Team All-Conference
GK – Yannik Oettl, Jr., UCF
F – Cal Jennings, Sr., UCF*
F – Garrett McLaughlin, Sr., SMU*
F – Harris Partain, Sr., Tulsa
M – Yoni Sorokin, Jr., UCF*
M – Dayonn Harris, R-Sr., UConn
M – Gabriel Costa, So., SMU
D – Yanis Leerman, So., UCF
D – Javain Brown, R-Fr., USF
D – Avionne Flanagan, Jr., USF
D – Eddie Munjoma, Sr., SMU
At-Large – Sam Ashton, Sr., F, Memphis
 
Second Team All-Conference
Simon Lefebvre, GK, Sr., Temple
Louis Perez, Jr., M, UCF
Donovan Segree, Sr., D, Cincinnati
Robin Lapert, Sr., D, UConn
Felix Metzler, So., M, UConn
Ben Roberts, Sr., D, Memphis
Gurman Sangha, So., M, Memphis
Adrian Billhardt, Jr., F, USF
Knut Ahlander, So., M, SMU
Lukas Fernandes, Sr., F, Temple
Pierre Cayet, Sr., D, Temple
Mitchell Cashion, So., D, Tulsa
 
All-Rookie Team
Glademir Mendoza, R-Fr., D, UCF
Gino Vivi, Fr., M, UCF*
Mo Williams, R-Fr., D, Cincinnati
Ben Awashie, Fr., M, UConn
Moussa Wade, Fr., F, UConn*
Peter Chang, R-Fr., M, Memphis*
Ford Hunt, R-Fr., M, Memphis
Javain Brown, R-Fr., D, USF*
Sal Mazzaferro, Fr., D, USF
Henrik Bredeli, So., D, SMU
Sean Karani, Fr., F, Temple
 
*denotes unanimous selection