Posted: Nov 08, 2023
Former Apache Luis Flores named Summit League Offensive POY
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Regular season champion Denver led the way with four individual awards, while Oral Roberts' Luis Flores collected the remaining two as the 2023 Summit League men's soccer award winners were announced along with the all-league and all-newcomer teams Wednesday by League officials.
DU's quartet of award winners were Midfielder of the Year Sam Bassett, Defensive Player of the Year Jason Belloli, Goalkeeper of the Year Isaac Nehme and Coach of the Year Jamie Franks.
It should come as little surprise that the Pioneers swept the defensive honors after they allowed just one goal in eight Summit League matches as they went unbeaten (7-0-1) for the second consecutive year.
Bassett and Belloli helped DU register seven of its 11 shutouts in conference action. Those 11 shutouts, all recorded by Nehme in goal, were the second most among DI teams during the regular season. Nehme posted a .125 goals against average and an .967 save percentage vs. League opponents.
The Colorado Springs, Colo. native equaled his career-high with seven saves in a 1-0 victory at Oral Roberts on Oct. 28 that clinched the ninth Summit League regular season title for Denver in the last 11 years. This is the second individual award of the sophomore's career after being named the 2022 Newcomer of the Year last season.
Franks earned his fifth coach of the year nod and first since 2018. He has guided the Pioneers to seven regular season titles and six tournament titles during his nine-year run as a head coach in the Mile High City.
Flores, meanwhile, was named the Offensive Player of the Player and the Newcomer of the Year after ending the regular season tied for the Division I lead with 15 total goals.
The Lufkin, Texas native led all Summit League players with seven goals against conference foes and added three-game winners for the Golden Eagles, who finished 5-1-2. He is the fifth straight Golden Eagle to earn the top offensive accolade.
Bassett, Belloi, Nehme were joined on the All-Summit League First Team by forward Holger Olsson and defenders Ian Smith and Dylan Akau, who gave the Pioneers a league-best six honorees. Belloli is the only repeat honoree on the first team, while Bassett and Nehme were both second-team honorees a season ago.
Flores was joined on the first team by fellow Golden Eagles Haruki Yamazuki and Juan Moreno, who both occupied a midfield spot. Those three were instrumental in ORU averaging 2.8 goals per game in League play and 2.4 in overall games, which ranked sixth among DI programs.
Omaha forward Theo Klein and Kansas City midfielder Julien Le Bourdoulous rounded out the 11-member first team. Klein ranked second in League play with four goals, while Le Bourdoulous solid all-around play helped the Roos clinch a postseason berth for the third straight year.
The Golden Eagles had a League-best six selections on the All-Summit League second team led by graduate student Reed Berry, who racked up the fifth all-conference award of his career after earning first-team accolades in 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022.
Berry was joined on the second team by a quintet of Golden Eagles that included freshman goalkeeper Jakub Grzesiak, forward Damani Harris, midfielder Thiago Patto and defenders Schinieder Mimy and Gabriel Atienza.
Denver and Kansas City each landed a pair of players on the all-league second team with Aidan O'Toole and Aaron Kronenberg representing the Pioneers, while the Roos were repped by midfielder Edson Murguia and defender Seth Kacich. Omaha forward Luis Casillas rounded out the second team.
The Mavericks paced all teams with five honorable mention honorees, including goalkeeper Nathanael Sallah, forward Ede Gramberg and a trio of defenders in Gonzalo Cuevas, Martin Lugo and Kyle Reese.
Denver and Oral Roberts each had two players garner honorable mention accolades. The Pioneer duo included forward Bryce Willoughby and midfielder Jake Smith, while the Golden Eagles duo was comprised of forward Jose Estrada and defender Baptiste Bolt.
St. Thomas forward Dennis Mensah, Jr., and Western Illinois defender Kyle Owen rounded out the honorable mention honorees.
Each member of the 11-man, all-newcomer team either earned all-league or honorable mention honors as well. First-team honorees landing on the squad were Flores, Le Bourdoulous, and Yamazaki.
The second-team members earning a newcomer nod were Atienza, Casillas, Grzesiak, Kronenberg, Patto and Yamazaki. Willoughby and Lago rounded out the all-newcomer team.
The 2023 Summit League Men's Soccer Championship is set for Nov. 9-11 in Tulsa, Okla. In Thursday's opening semifinal top-seeded Denver takes on fourth-seeded Kansas City at 3 p.m. CT. The second semifinal features second-seeded and host Oral Roberts taking on No. 3 Omaha at 7 p.m. CT. Saturday's championship match is scheduled for 2 p.m. CT.
2023 Individual Awards
Offensive Player of the Year
Luis Flores, Oral Roberts
Midfielder of the Year
Sam Bassett, Denver
Defensive Player of the Year
Jason Belloli, Denver
Goalkeeper of the Year
Isaac Nehme, Denver
Newcomer of the Year
Luis Flores, Oral Roberts
Coach of the Year
Jamie Franks, Denver
2023 All-Summit League Teams
First Team
Dylan Akau, Denver, D
Sam Bassett, Denver, MF
Jason Belloli, Denver, D
Luis Flores, Oral Roberts, F
Theo Klein, Omaha, F
Julien Le Bourdoulous, Kansas City, MF
Juan Moreno, Oral Roberts, MF
Isaac Nehme, Denver, GK
Holger Olsson, Denver, F
Ian Smith, Denver, D
Haruki Yamazaki, Oral Roberts, MF
Second Team
Gabriel Atienza, Oral Roberts, D
Reed Berry, Oral Roberts, F
Junior Casillas, Omaha, F
Jakub Grzesiak, Oral Roberts, GK
Damani Harris, Oral Roberts, F
Seth Kacich, Kansas City, D
Aaron Kronenberg, Denver, D
Schinieder Mimy, Oral Roberts, D
Edson Murguia, Kansas City, MF
Aidan O'Toole, Denver, MF
Thiago Patto, Oral Roberts, MF
Honorable Mention
Baptiste Bolt, Oral Roberts, D
Gonzalo Cuevas, Omaha, D
Jose Estrada, Oral Roberts, F
Ede Gramberg, Omaha, F
Martin Lago, Omaha, D
Dennis Mensah, Jr., St. Thomas, F
Kyle Owen, Western Illinois, D
Kyle Reese, Omaha, D
Nathanael Sallah, Omaha, GK
Jake Smith, Denver, MF
Bryce Willoughby, Denver, F
All-Newcomer Team
Gabriel Atienza, Oral Roberts, D
Baptiste Bolt, Oral Roberts, D
Junior Casillas, Omaha, F
Luis Flores, Oral Roberts, F
Jakub Grzesiak, Oral Roberts, GK
Aaron Kronenberg, Denver, D
Martin Lago, Omaha, D
Julien Le Bourdoulous, Kansas City, MF
Thiago Patto, Oral Roberts, MF
Bryce Willoughby, Denver, F
Haruki Yamazaki, Oral Roberts, MF
#SummitMSOC
DU's quartet of award winners were Midfielder of the Year Sam Bassett, Defensive Player of the Year Jason Belloli, Goalkeeper of the Year Isaac Nehme and Coach of the Year Jamie Franks.
It should come as little surprise that the Pioneers swept the defensive honors after they allowed just one goal in eight Summit League matches as they went unbeaten (7-0-1) for the second consecutive year.
Bassett and Belloli helped DU register seven of its 11 shutouts in conference action. Those 11 shutouts, all recorded by Nehme in goal, were the second most among DI teams during the regular season. Nehme posted a .125 goals against average and an .967 save percentage vs. League opponents.
The Colorado Springs, Colo. native equaled his career-high with seven saves in a 1-0 victory at Oral Roberts on Oct. 28 that clinched the ninth Summit League regular season title for Denver in the last 11 years. This is the second individual award of the sophomore's career after being named the 2022 Newcomer of the Year last season.
Franks earned his fifth coach of the year nod and first since 2018. He has guided the Pioneers to seven regular season titles and six tournament titles during his nine-year run as a head coach in the Mile High City.
Flores, meanwhile, was named the Offensive Player of the Player and the Newcomer of the Year after ending the regular season tied for the Division I lead with 15 total goals.
The Lufkin, Texas native led all Summit League players with seven goals against conference foes and added three-game winners for the Golden Eagles, who finished 5-1-2. He is the fifth straight Golden Eagle to earn the top offensive accolade.
Bassett, Belloi, Nehme were joined on the All-Summit League First Team by forward Holger Olsson and defenders Ian Smith and Dylan Akau, who gave the Pioneers a league-best six honorees. Belloli is the only repeat honoree on the first team, while Bassett and Nehme were both second-team honorees a season ago.
Flores was joined on the first team by fellow Golden Eagles Haruki Yamazuki and Juan Moreno, who both occupied a midfield spot. Those three were instrumental in ORU averaging 2.8 goals per game in League play and 2.4 in overall games, which ranked sixth among DI programs.
Omaha forward Theo Klein and Kansas City midfielder Julien Le Bourdoulous rounded out the 11-member first team. Klein ranked second in League play with four goals, while Le Bourdoulous solid all-around play helped the Roos clinch a postseason berth for the third straight year.
The Golden Eagles had a League-best six selections on the All-Summit League second team led by graduate student Reed Berry, who racked up the fifth all-conference award of his career after earning first-team accolades in 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022.
Berry was joined on the second team by a quintet of Golden Eagles that included freshman goalkeeper Jakub Grzesiak, forward Damani Harris, midfielder Thiago Patto and defenders Schinieder Mimy and Gabriel Atienza.
Denver and Kansas City each landed a pair of players on the all-league second team with Aidan O'Toole and Aaron Kronenberg representing the Pioneers, while the Roos were repped by midfielder Edson Murguia and defender Seth Kacich. Omaha forward Luis Casillas rounded out the second team.
The Mavericks paced all teams with five honorable mention honorees, including goalkeeper Nathanael Sallah, forward Ede Gramberg and a trio of defenders in Gonzalo Cuevas, Martin Lugo and Kyle Reese.
Denver and Oral Roberts each had two players garner honorable mention accolades. The Pioneer duo included forward Bryce Willoughby and midfielder Jake Smith, while the Golden Eagles duo was comprised of forward Jose Estrada and defender Baptiste Bolt.
St. Thomas forward Dennis Mensah, Jr., and Western Illinois defender Kyle Owen rounded out the honorable mention honorees.
Each member of the 11-man, all-newcomer team either earned all-league or honorable mention honors as well. First-team honorees landing on the squad were Flores, Le Bourdoulous, and Yamazaki.
The second-team members earning a newcomer nod were Atienza, Casillas, Grzesiak, Kronenberg, Patto and Yamazaki. Willoughby and Lago rounded out the all-newcomer team.
The 2023 Summit League Men's Soccer Championship is set for Nov. 9-11 in Tulsa, Okla. In Thursday's opening semifinal top-seeded Denver takes on fourth-seeded Kansas City at 3 p.m. CT. The second semifinal features second-seeded and host Oral Roberts taking on No. 3 Omaha at 7 p.m. CT. Saturday's championship match is scheduled for 2 p.m. CT.
2023 Individual Awards
Offensive Player of the Year
Luis Flores, Oral Roberts
Midfielder of the Year
Sam Bassett, Denver
Defensive Player of the Year
Jason Belloli, Denver
Goalkeeper of the Year
Isaac Nehme, Denver
Newcomer of the Year
Luis Flores, Oral Roberts
Coach of the Year
Jamie Franks, Denver
2023 All-Summit League Teams
First Team
Dylan Akau, Denver, D
Sam Bassett, Denver, MF
Jason Belloli, Denver, D
Luis Flores, Oral Roberts, F
Theo Klein, Omaha, F
Julien Le Bourdoulous, Kansas City, MF
Juan Moreno, Oral Roberts, MF
Isaac Nehme, Denver, GK
Holger Olsson, Denver, F
Ian Smith, Denver, D
Haruki Yamazaki, Oral Roberts, MF
Second Team
Gabriel Atienza, Oral Roberts, D
Reed Berry, Oral Roberts, F
Junior Casillas, Omaha, F
Jakub Grzesiak, Oral Roberts, GK
Damani Harris, Oral Roberts, F
Seth Kacich, Kansas City, D
Aaron Kronenberg, Denver, D
Schinieder Mimy, Oral Roberts, D
Edson Murguia, Kansas City, MF
Aidan O'Toole, Denver, MF
Thiago Patto, Oral Roberts, MF
Honorable Mention
Baptiste Bolt, Oral Roberts, D
Gonzalo Cuevas, Omaha, D
Jose Estrada, Oral Roberts, F
Ede Gramberg, Omaha, F
Martin Lago, Omaha, D
Dennis Mensah, Jr., St. Thomas, F
Kyle Owen, Western Illinois, D
Kyle Reese, Omaha, D
Nathanael Sallah, Omaha, GK
Jake Smith, Denver, MF
Bryce Willoughby, Denver, F
All-Newcomer Team
Gabriel Atienza, Oral Roberts, D
Baptiste Bolt, Oral Roberts, D
Junior Casillas, Omaha, F
Luis Flores, Oral Roberts, F
Jakub Grzesiak, Oral Roberts, GK
Aaron Kronenberg, Denver, D
Martin Lago, Omaha, D
Julien Le Bourdoulous, Kansas City, MF
Thiago Patto, Oral Roberts, MF
Bryce Willoughby, Denver, F
Haruki Yamazaki, Oral Roberts, MF
#SummitMSOC
Luis Flores BIO-RELATED STORIES-STATS from Oral Roberts website.