Spartans Earn Most Post-Season Accolades Since Joining Big South as Men's Soccer Collects Nine Awards
11/4/2022 4:24:00 PM | Men's Soccer
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - The USC Upstate Spartans were able to parlay a strong finish in the regular season to their strongest post-season accolade collection yet as the Big South named six Spartans to the all-conference second team with one honorable mention, one Spartan to the all-freshman team, and another to the all-academic team this year.
Luca Bulfon was one of two Spartans to earn two seasonal accolades, as he was named to the all-conference second team and the all-academic team with a 3.721 GPA while majoring in Computer Science. The senior from Italy led the Big South by a wide margin in overall saves, ending the season with 75 saves. That number places him 12th in the country. He also finished the season averaging 4.69 saves per game, which is 17th nationally. Bulfon's .773 save percentage is the highest since the Spartans joined the Big South and the third highest percentage by a D-1 era Upstate keeper.
Kasper Jørgensen is the first Spartan to be named to both the all-freshman and all-conference second team since Jeremy Montero did it in 2020. The 6'3 defender from Denmark made an immediate impact as a freshman, totalling the most non-goalie minutes on the team with 1388. Kasper was the only freshman in the conference to start every match for his team.
The All-Conference Second Team was dominated by Spartans. Jeremy Montero earned his second career all-conference second team accolade after pacing the Spartans and the conference with 38 shots. Montero notched nine points during the 2022 campaign, with three goals and three assists. Julian Fernandez, Pablo Diaz, Felipe Marty, Kasper Jørgensen, and Luca Bulfon all earned their first career all-conference second team awards. Marty led the Spartans with four assists on the year, tallying eight points as a defender. Julian Fernandez and Pablo Diaz both scored their first career goals, with Pablo earning a brace in a road win at Longwood. Andrin Zumbühl earned an honorable mention after leading the Spartans in total points with eleven after scoring four goals and three assists on the year.
The nine post season accolades earned by Spartans this year are their most since joining the Big South. Their previous high was seven post season awards during the 2020 (Spring 2021) season. One active Spartan was named to the all-conference second team that year, Jeremy Montero. Another current Spartan, Filippo Censini, was named to the all-conference second team in 2021.
2022 Big South Conference Men's Soccer Award Winners
* Spartans in Bold
First-Team All-Conference
F: Jalen James, Sr., Campbell
F: Kemy Amiche, Soph., Campbell
F: Noah Holmes, Gr., High Point
MF: Tyler Young, R-Jr., Campbell
MF: Jefferson Amaya, Fr., High Point
MF: Kyoji Hata, Sr., Campbell
MF: Sebastian Chalbaud, Sr., High Point
D: Moses Mensah, Sr., Campbell
D: Omar Boudeka, Gr., Gardner-Webb
D: Finn McRobb, Jr., High Point
D: Diego Konincks, D, Sr., Campbell
GK: Holden Trent, R-Sr., High Point
AL: Lorenzo Nagy, Jr., MF, Presbyterian
Second-Team All-Conference
F: Daniel Hernandez, Sr., Campbell
F: Nacho Gallego, Sr., Presbyterian
F: Jeremy Montero, Jr., USC Upstate
MF: Sam Pitts-Eckersall, Fr., UNC Asheville
MF: Carson Griffith, Jr., Presbyterian
MF: Tiago Lopes, Jr., Campbell
MF: Pablo Diaz, Jr., USC Upstate
D: Lalas Ayertey, Sr., High Point
D: Karson Kendell, Sr, High Point
D: Kasper Jorgenson, Fr., USC Upstate
D: Felipe Marty, Sr., USC Upstate
GK: Luca Bulfon, Sr., USC Upstate
AL: Julian Fernandez, Jr., D, USC Upstate
Honorable Mention All-Conference
Aymane Sordo, F, Sr., Gardner-Webb
Brendan Herb, MF, Jr., UNC Asheville
Andrin Zumbuhl, F, Jr., USC Upstate
Nile Nguidjol, F, Soph., Presbyterian
Sam Presser, F, R-Fr., UNC Asheville
All-Freshman Team
Jefferson Amaya, MF, High Point
Sam Pitts-Eckersall, MF, UNC Asheville
Kasper Jorgenson, D, USC Upstate
Sam Presser, F, UNC Asheville
Adrien Gameiro, MF, Campbell
Brendan Krueger, MF, High Point
Aidan Abril, MF, High Point
All-Academic Team
Diego Konincks, Sr., Campbell
Aymane Sordo, Sr., Gardner-Webb
Cooper Lindfelt, Jr., High Point
Jonas Kalchner, Gr., Longwood
Niklas Hoener, Jr., Presbyterian
Anthony Giannecchini, Jr., Radford
Andrew Rossetti, Sr., UNC Asheville
Luca Bulfon, Sr., USC Upstate
Ben Goodman, Sr., Winthrop
Offensive Player of the Year
Tyler Young, MF, R-Jr., Campbell
Goalkeeper of the Year
Holden Trent, R-Sr., High Point
Defensive Player of the Year
Moses Mensah, D, Sr., Campbell
Freshman of the Year
Jefferson Amaya, MF, High Point
Coach of the Year
Zach Haines, High Point
Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Jonas Kalchner, Gr., Longwood
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