LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. – In exclusive voting by the league's head men's soccer coaches, Yuri Ribeiro of Trinity University was selected SCAC Offensive Player-of-the-Year and Matthew Nickell of Southwestern University was voted SCAC Defensive Player-of-the-Year. Complete Release
In that same balloting, Caden MacKenzie of Colorado College and Francisco Vasquez of Trinity split the vote to share SCAC Newcomer-of-the-Year honors while Southwestern's Don Gregory was voted SCAC Coach-of-the-Year.
Yuri Ribeiro, a senior forward from Salvador, Brazil, is currently third in the league in points with 32 on nine goals (tied for fourth in the SCAC) and a league-leading 14 assists (sixth in the nation). He had the game-winning assist in the Tigers' 1-0 victory over Southwestern in Sunday's SCAC men's soccer title match. A two-time All-America and three time First Team All-SCAC selection, Ribeiro has 39 career goals and 34 career assists (tied for seventh in SCAC history) for 112 points, just five points from cracking the league's top 10 all-time scorers list. He was the offensive Player-of-the-Week in Week 9 when he scored two goals and contributed four assists in conference wins against Texas Lutheran University and Schreiner University. The honor marked the fourth Offensive POTW award of his career. Ribeiro is the seventh Trinity player to receive SCAC Offensive Player-of-the-Year honors since the award's inception in 2003.
Ribeiro received five votes from the coaches in the SCAC Offensive Player-of-the-Year balloting while Colorado College's Brandon Ogilvie received the remaining three votes.
Matthew Nickell, a senior center back from Aledo, Texas, anchored a Southwestern defense that had eight shutouts and the second-lowest goals against average during the regular season en route to a second-place regular season and SCAC tournament finish. Nickell was consistently the Pirates' most effective and most dangerous player, whether he was placed at center back or at forward where he chipped in with four goals and five assists for 13 points (currently tied for 10th in the SCAC). A two-time All-SCAC First Team selection, Nickell is the first Southwestern player to win SCAC Defensive Player-of-the-Year honors in the 11-year history of the award.
Nickell received four votes in the tightly contested SCAC Defensive POTY balloting to squeak by Trinity junior goalkeeper Matt Cardone, who received three votes. Junior defender Andrew Worthington of Colorado College earned the remaining first-place vote.
Caden MacKenzie, a first-year midfielder from Denver, Colo., finished his inaugural campaign with seven goals and three assists for 17 points – leaving him in seventh place in the SCAC for both goals and points scored. The SCAC Offensive Player-of-the-Week in Week 3, MacKenzie recorded the first goal and assist of his collegiate career that weekend to help Colorado College post a 1-0-1 mark in a draw against Chapman University and a SCAC win over the University of Dallas. He is the second Colorado College player to earn SCAC Newcomer-of-the-Year honors and the first since Matt Fechter won the award in 2009.
Francisco Vasquez, a first-year defender from Saltillo, Mexico, was a regular starter for the Tiger back line that posted 13 shutouts in 19 games, only conceding seven goals all season en route to a SCAC regular-season and tournament championship. He made a game-saving tackle with four seconds left against Southwestern in Georgetown to clinch the top seed in the SCAC tournament for Trinity. Vasquez is the fourth consecutive Trinity player to earn the league's Newcomer-of-the-Year award and the sixth overall since the award was introduced in 2001.
MacKenzie and Vasquez received four votes each to share SCAC Newcomer-of-the-Year honors.
Southwestern head coach Don Gregory has built the Pirate program into one of the most competitive in the SCAC and in Division III. He led this year's squad to a second-place regular season (11-2-1) and tournament finish and handed seventh-ranked Trinity their only conference loss of the season. The Pirates equaled a single-season school record with 14 wins this year and were ranked fifth in the West Region heading into the SCAC tournament. In his 16 years at Southwestern, Gregory has amassed an overall record of 170-123-20 (.575) which includes 92 conference wins – the third-most by any men's soccer coach in SCAC history. The SCAC Coach-of-the-Year honor is his second having won the award previously in 2007.
Gregory received five votes from his peers in the COTY voting while Paul McGinlay of Trinity received two votes and Horst Richardson of College College received one.
2013 SCAC Men's Soccer Offensive Player-of-the-Year
Yuri Ribeiro, Trinity University, Sr., Forward, Salvador, Brazil
2013 SCAC Men's Soccer Defensive Player-of-the-Year
Matthew Nickell, Southwestern University, Sr., Defender, Aledo, Texas
2013 SCAC Men's Soccer Co-Newcomer-of-the-Year
Caden MacKenzie, Colorado College, Fy., Midfielder, Denver, Colo.
Francisco Vasquez, Trinity University, Fy., Defender, Saltillo, Mexico
2013 SCAC Men's Soccer Coach-of-the-Year
Don Gregory, Southwestern University, 11-2-1 SCAC / 14-7-1 overall (2nd place SCAC)
2013 All-SCAC Men's Soccer First Team
Matthew Nickell, Southwestern University, Sr., Defender, Aledo, Texas
Andrew Worthington, Colorado College, Jr., Defender, Hinsdale, Ill.
Tom Carwile, Trinity University, So., Defender, Tulsa, Oklahoma
Jeff Hayes, Trinity University, Sr., Defender, San Antonio, Texas
Brandon Ogilvie, Colorado College, Sr., Forward, Manchester Center, Vt.
Yuri Ribeiro, Trinity University, Sr., Forward, Salvador, Brazil
Jonny Lawson, Trinity University, Jr., Forward, San Antonio, Texas
Steven Resnik, Southwestern University, Sr., Midfielder, Austin, Texas
Victor Araujo, Trinity University, Jr., Midfielder, Salvador, Brazil
Darren McAfee, Trinity University, Sr., Midfielder, Albuquerque, N.M.
Caden MacKenzie, Colorado College, Fy., Midfielder, Denver, Colo.
Matt Cardone, Trinity University, Jr., Goalkeeper, San Antonio, Texas
2013 All-SCAC Men's Soccer Second Team
Lalo Ramirez, Texas Lutheran University, So., Defender, Round Rock, Texas
James Saulnier, Austin College, Jr., Defender, Plano, Texas
Francisco Vasquez, Trinity University, Fy., Defender, Saltillo, Mexico
Zack Faulkner, Southwestern University, Jr., Forward, Rowlett, Texas
Brian Hines, Trinity University, Sr., Forward, Tempe, Ariz.
Sean Parham, Colorado College, Sr., Forward, Fort Smith, Ark.
Alejandro Martinez, Texas Lutheran University, Fy., Forward, Round Rock, Texas
Isaac Lopez, Texas Lutheran University, So., Midfielder, Round Rock, Texas
Simon Uribe, Trinity University, Jr., Midfielder, Cali, Columbia
Max Grossenbacher, Colorado College, So., Midfielder, Austin, Texas
Daniel Poole, Southwestern University, Sr., Goalkeeper, Shreveport, La.
2013 All-SCAC Men's Soccer Honorable Mention
Christian Wulff, Colorado College, Fy., Defender, Lutherville, Md.
Matthew Chaltain, Southwestern University, So., Defender, Round Rock, Texas
Kyle Allen, Southwestern University, Sr., Defender, Houston, Texas
Alec Sowers, Colorado College, Jr., Defender, Haverford, Pa.
Clinton Azeez, Centenary College, So., Defender, Arlington, Texas
Garner Burford, Schreiner University, Jr., Defender, Corpus Christi, Texas
Tim Eamma, Southwestern University, Sr., Midfielder, Euless, Texas
Colin Nunley, Texas Lutheran University, Fy., Midfielder, Keller, Texas
Seth Newby, Colorado College, So., Midfielder, Centennial, Colo.
Nathan Nwaeze, University of Dallas, Jr., Midfielder, Mansfield, Texas
Andrew Celio, Austin College, Jr., Goalkeeper, San Antonio, Texas
Note: Coaches voted for first team and second team – with each voted team consisting of three defenders, three midfielders, three forwards, one goalkeeper and one at-large selection. A first-team vote was worth two points and a second-team vote was worth one point. Any player who received at least two different votes from the coaches, but did not receive enough votes to earn either first or second team honors, was named Honorable Mention. Coaches could not vote for their own players.
