NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – Massachusetts junior Alec Hughes along with Saint Louis senior John Klein secured honors as the Atlantic 10 Men’s Soccer Co-Offensive Players of the Year while senior Billiken transfer Alberto Suarez locked down Defensive Player of the Year. Additionally, conference newcomer Billy Hency of Loyola Chicago garnered Midfielder of the Year laurels while Dayton’s Basit Umar was selected as Rookie of the Year; Saint Louis fifth-year head coach Kevin Kalish rounded out the major awards as Coach of the Year.
The Atlantic 10 released the five superlative awards along with the All-Conference, All-Rookie and All-Academic teams Tuesday prior to the semifinal round of 2022 A-10 Men’s Soccer Championship, which began this past Friday and Saturday with quarterfinal action. The major honors, All-Conference Teams and All-Rookie Team were voted on by the A-10 men’s soccer head coaches while the All-Academic Team was selected by the men’s soccer communications directors.
Hughes, a product of Glastonbury, Conn., paced the league across a number of offensive categories, including total points (22), total goals (10) and game-winning goals (3) while also ranking as one of most effective top shot-takers with 1.82 shots-on-goal per game (second in A-10, seventh nationally). Notably, the junior forward helped the Minutemen fight their way into the A-10 Men’s Soccer Championship this year as well, vaulting UMass into the field via a game-winner in the closing seconds of the regular-season finale upset win over Dayton.
Hailing from Columbia, Mo., Klein composed a more balanced approach as a member of an aggressive Saint Louis attack, finishing the year with seven total goals, good for fourth league-wide, and five assists, which ranks third within the A-10 – en route to 19 total points. Overall, the senior bolstered a Billiken offense that slotted in at second conference-wide in scoring (2.19, 21st nationally) and tied for second assists per game (1.88, 32nd nationally), earning two Atlantic 10 Offensive Player of the Week honors along the way as well (Sept. 6 & Sept. 19) and leading SLU to a second-consecutive regular-season title.
Suarez, a European import out of Zaragoza, Spain, took over a Saint Louis back line this season after transferring in from Central Arkansas, helping the Billikens give up a league-second lowest seven total goals in A-10 action. SLU also ranks third-best league-wide in goal differential (+15) and has tallied four shutouts thus far, including a 1-0 blanking of No. 8 Massachusetts in the quarterfinals. Notably, the Billikens’ defense has surrendered one goal or less in every match since Sept. 13 save one (3-2 loss at Rhode Island, Oct. 5).
A native of Fenton, Mo., Hency and A-10 newcomer Loyola Chicago put together a competitive first season in league play, earning the No. 4 overall seed in the championship as well as the spot in the semifinals following an opening round victory over George Washington. The redshirt senior played a vital role in the Ramblers’ system, finishing the year leading the conference in points per game (1.31) while tying for first in game-winning goals (3), second in total assists (7) and fourth in total goals (7).
A true freshman midfielder out of Kumasi, Ghana, Umar competed for the Flyers in all 16 contests this season, earning 12 starts along the way – including all nine conference matches – as well as three total goals and a pair of assists. Notably, Umar proved one of Dayton’s top options when on the attack, ranking second on the team in shots-on-goal (18, 10th league-wide) and even scoring one game-winner in UD’s non-conference home victory over West Virginia.
Kalish, a five-year veteran at Saint Louis, guided a SLU program which lost six key student-athletes to the MLS SuperDraft this past offseason to its second-straight A-10 regular-season championship, closing out the year with a 6-1-1 mark in league competition as well as an 11-4-1 overall record. The Billikens battled one of the nation’s toughest non-conference schedules with matchups against SMU, Lipscomb, Louisville and Creighton before taking on a loaded slate of conference contests, concluding the year ranked second league-wide in scoring offense (2.19, 21st nationally) while pulling together a defensive front that has allowed no more than one goal in every contest since Sept. 13 save one (3-2 loss at Rhode Island, Oct. 5).
Joining Hughes, Klein, Suarez and Hency on the All-Conference First Team is Dayton’s Xavier Zengue (defender), Duquesne’s Ask Ekeland (midfielder) and Domenic Nascimben (goalkeeper), Fordham’s Timo Hummrich (defender), George Washington’s Tom Cooklin (midfielder), Rhode Island’s Patrick Agyemang (forward) and Saint Louis’ Christian Buendia (midfielder).
The All-Conference Second Team features Umar along with Dayton teammates Forster Ajago (forward) and Jaden Jones-Riley (defender), Davidson’s Denis Krioutchenkov (forward), Duquesne’s Maxi Hopfer (forward) and Torge Witteborg (defender), George Washington’s Oscar Haynes Brown (forward), La Salle’s Nigel Buckley (forward) and Omari Cotterell (midfielder), Rhode Island’s Edvin Akselsen and Saint Joseph’s Luis Ludosan (goalkeeper) and Garrett Lyons (defender).
The All-Rookie Team stars second-team selection Umar in addition to Davidson’s Denis Krioutchenkov, Dayton’s Dario Caetano, Joseph Melto Quiah and Casper Svendby, Duquesne’s Ask Ekeland, Fordham’s Nathan Simes, Massachusetts’ Aidan Kelly, Saint Louis’ CJ Coppola and Max Floriani and VCU’s Gerardo Castillo.
The All-Academic Team includes Nascimben, Witteborg, Akselsen, Lyons and Buendia as well as Fordham’s Callum James, Massachusetts’ Matt Fordham, Evan Fournier and Nick Zielonka, Rhode Island’s Zach Drayer and VCU’s Jared Valdes.
The 2022 Atlantic 10 Men’s Soccer Championship continues with the semifinals on Wednesday evening between top-seeded Saint Louis and No. 6 Dayton at 8 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. CT and No. 2 overall Duquesne and fourth-seeded Loyola Chicago at 7 p.m. ET. The winners of the two contests will meet on the campus of the highest remaining seed in the championship final on Sunday, Nov. 13.
The entirety of the A-10 Men’s Soccer Championship will be streamed live via ESPN+.