Men's Soccer Claims Three Major OVC Awards

Men's Soccer Claims Three Major OVC Awards

November 8, 2024, 3:30 PM

Following a second consecutive Ohio Valley Conference Regular Season title, SIUE men's soccer has been awarded with three major postseason awards and seven total selections to All-OVC teams.

Goalkeeper Rob Gjelaj was selected as the OVC Goalkeeper of the Year, Yasha Schaerer was named Midfielder of the Year and Head Coach Cale Wassermann was tabbed as the OVC Coach of the Year for the second straight season.

Gjelaj and Schaerer were joined on the All-OVC First Team by Nic Muench. Nacho Abeal, Wes Gibson and Jacobo Sanfeliu were each honored with spots on the All-OVC Second Team.

Gjelaj and Schaerer were also named to the OVC All-Newcomer Team as was Carles Zomeno.

Backing the best defense in the OVC, Gjelaj enters the OVC Tournament with a conference-best nine shutouts, ranking second in the NCAA. He also is second nationally in save percentage at .837. He led the league in total saves with 72.

Schaerer led SIUE in total points with 13 points coming on three goals and team-high seven assists. His seven assists ranked second in the OVC while his 13 points was seventh most in the league.

Wassermann earned back-to-back honors as the league's top head coach after guiding SIUE to a second consecutive regular season title and the No. 1 seed in the tournament. At 10-4-3 overall, two of SIUE's losses came in the same weekend early this year to Ohio State and Dayton, who are ranked No. 1 and No. 5, respectively in the current United Soccer Coaches poll.

A defender by trade, Muench finished fourth on the team in scoring with two goals and three assists for seven points. He earned three weekly awards during the season. He was twice selected as the Offensive Player of the Week and also earned selection as Defensive Player of the Week.

Abeal and Sanfeliu tied for second on the team and 10th in the OVC with 10 points. They both finished with five goals, which tied for third in the OVC. Sanfeliu scored a pair of game-winning goals, while Abeal added one himself.

Wes Gibson helped captain an SIUE defense that was statistically the best in the OVC. SIUE allowed a league-low 14 goals in 17 games for a 0.82 team goals against average. Gibson played more minutes than any other field player for the Cougars.

Zomeno, playing in his first year with SIUE, contributed to the Cougars' offensive and defensive strategies. He played the fourth-most minutes of any field player and added his first career goal as a Cougar.

SIUE opens its defense of the OVC Tournament title in a semifinal matchup Wednesday at 6 p.m. at Korte Stadium. The Cougars will face the winner of the Liberty/UIW quarterfinal match.