DENVER —The Western Athletic Conference men’s soccer postseason award winners as selected by the league’s 10 head coaches have been announced. Regular-season champion UNLV led all WAC schools with five players selected to the all-WAC teams, including four on the first team and one on the second team.
UNLV senior forward Salvador Bernal was named the WAC's Offensive Player of the Year, while his teammate, senior defender Kyle Mellies, received Defensive Player of the Year honors. Bakersfield forward Julian Zamora was named the league’s Freshman of the Year and UNLV’s Rich Ryerson was named Coach of the Year.
Bernal, from Las Vegas, Nev. (Clark HS), is the offensive leader for the top scoring offense in the WAC. He finished the regular season in the top 10 of every WAC offensive statistical category. He scored eight goals and added three assists to total 19 points in all games. Bernal tied for the WAC lead in game-winning goals with three, including the only goal in a 1-0 win against 14th-ranked UMBC earlier in the year.
Mellies, from Las Vegas, Nev. (Silverado HS), anchored the Rebel backline that allowed only 9.1 shots per contest and posted nine shutouts during the season. He helped limit the number of saves needed by the Rebels’ goalkeepers to a WAC-low 52 during the year. Mellies, who started all 19 matches for the Rebels, also played a role offensively and had five goals and two assists to tally 12 points during the regular season.
Zamora, from Bakersfield, Calif. (Golden Valley HS), led the WAC in all games in both goals (10) and points (21) during the regular season. He posted two game-winning goals during conference play, tying for the most by any WAC player this year. His biggest came against league champion UNLV to give the Roadrunners a 2-1 victory back on Oct. 31.
Ryerson, who is in his fifth season with his alma mater, led the Rebels to a 7-2-1 mark in conference play, UNLV’s first conference championship since 1987. The former Rebel standout guided UNLV to its first national ranking since 1992 and a No. 1 regional ranking, the first-ever for the team. UNLV’s 13 victories in all games this season, are the most for the Rebels since winning 14 matches in 1987.
First Team All-WACF-Julian Zamora, Fr., Bakersfield
F-Salvador Bernal, Sr., UNLV
F-Hamza Haddadi, Jr., Seattle U
MF-Christian Duarte, Jr., Bakersfield
MF-Alex de la Garza, Incarnate Word
MF-Julian Portugal, Sr., UNLV
MF-Ian Hines-Ike, Jr., Seattle U
D-Kyle Mellies, Sr., UNLV
D-Kyle Bjornethun, So., Seattle U
D-Alex Neff, So., Utah Valley
GK-Ryan Harding, Sr., UNLV
Second Team All-WACF-Dylan Kelly, Jr., Incarnate Word
F-Rory Knibbs, So., San Jose State
F-Alberto Sanchez-Garcia, Jr., Grand Canyon
F-Rodrigo Fuentes, Jr., UNLV
MF-Joe Masumiya, Sr., Bakersfield
MF-Gustavo Alvarado, Sr., Houston Baptist
MF-Tayna Chiaparro, Sr., UMKC
MF-Jonathan Colunga, So., San Jose State
D-Jonathan Camarena, Jr., Incarnate Word
D-Guerrero Pino, Jr., UMKC
D-Joe Brown, So., Incarnate Word
GK-Shane Haworth, Jr., Seattle U
Offensive Player of the Year: Salvador Bernal, Sr., F, UNLV
Defensive Player of the Year: Kyle Mellies, Sr., D, UNLV
Freshman of the Year: Julian Zamora, F, Bakersfield
Coach of the Year: Rich Ryerson, UNLV
-WAC-