3 Hilltoppers Named to All-MEC Honor Roll
BRIDGEPORT, W.Va. – Three members of the West Liberty University men’s soccer squad were named to the Spring 2021 All-Mountain East Conference Team on Wednesday when the league coaches announced the results of their All-Conference balloting.
Coach Sean Regan’s rising young program fell just short of qualifying for an MEC Tournament berth, losing out to West Virginia Wesleyan in a tiebreaker after the team had tied for fourth place with identical 4-4-0 records in the abbreviated spring slate.
Hilltopper senior forward Josh Yeaman was a first-team All-MEC selection while senior defender Mikel Ubeda collected second-team honors. Midfielder Vitor Otsuka rounded out the WLU honor roll by earning one of the six Honorable Mention spots as a true freshman.
Yeaman, a 6-2 senior forward from Doncaster, England, ranked among the MEC’s top five in nearly every offensive category. The MEC’s Offensive Player of the Week for the week of April 12, Yeaman led the Hilltoppers in scoring with 6 goals and 1 assist with 3 of his net-splashers going into the books as game-winners.
Ubeda, a 6-1 senior defender from Bilbao, Spain, was a driving force behind a stingy Hilltopper back line. The MEC’s Defensive Player of the Week for the week of March 29, Ubeda scored his only goal of the season in a win at Concord and assisted on another goal in a victory against Wheeling.
Otsuka, a 5-9 freshman midfielder from Porto Alegre, Brazil, was the team’s second-leading scorer with 3 goals and 2 assists in his first varsity season. He scored the game-winning goal at Concord and assisted on game-winners at Frostburg State and Wheeling.
Charleston’s Christos Charalambous was the MEC Offensive Player of the Year while Notre Dame’s Antonio Bittencourt swept MEC Defensive Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year laurels. Charleston head man Danny Smee was voted MEC Coach of the Year.
MEN’S SOCCER
Spring 2021 All-Mountain East Conference Team
MEC Offensive Player of the Year: Christos Charalambous (Charleston)
MEC Defensive Player of the Year: Antonio Bittencourt (Notre Dame)
MEC Freshman of the Year: Antonio Bittencourt (Notre Dame)
MEC Coach of the Year: Daniel Smee (Charleston)
FIRST TEAM
Pos. Name Cl. School
GK Marc Torrado Fr. Charleston
D Sam Bethell Sr. Charleston
D Antonio Bittencourt Fr. Notre Dame
D Gianluca Fiorini Fr. Davis & Elkins
D Martin Lago Fr. Davis & Elkins
D Charlie Naylor So. W.Va. Wesleyan
D Emil Rasmussen Jr. Charleston
M Christos Charalambous Jr. Charleston
M David Jara Jr. Davis & Elkins
M Javi Mate Sr. Notre Dame
M Marcus Vinicius Fr. Notre Dame
F Adam Burchell Jr. Charleston
F Gabriel Rodriguez Sr. Charleston
F Filip Sparavec Fr. Notre Dame
F JOSH YEAMAN SR. WEST LIBERTY
SECOND TEAM
Pos. Name Cl. School
GK Jeremy Coste Jr. Davis & Elkins
D Gage Adam So. Frostburg State
D Lucas Christensen Fr. Charleston
D Sacha Everard Fr. Concord
D Melchy Jacquet Sr. Alderson Broaddus
D MIKEL UBEDA SR. WEST LIBERTY
M Hunter Dierlam Fr. W.Va. Wesleyan
M Melvrik Fernandes Sr. Alderson Broaddus
M Eduardo Iranzo Jr. Charleston
M Alexis Ledoux Fr. Charleston
M Kenshiro Yamaguchi So. Davis & Elkins
F Daniel Cerezo So. Davis & Elkins
F Malvin Gblah So. Notre Dame
F Anderson Marroquin Jr. Davis & Elkins
HONORABLE MENTION
GK: Diego Gomez (Alderson Broaddus)
D: Davide Materazzi (Davis & Elkins)
M: Connor Hartwell (W.Va. Wesleyan), VITOR OTSUKA (WEST LIBERTY), Steven van Ark (Charleston)
F: Richard Afolayannka (Wheeling)