ARLINGTON, Texas — Utah Valley junior midfielder Alejandro Silva was named to the All-WAC first team for the second consecutive year, highlighting a total of four Wolverines named to the 2023 All-WAC teams.
Joining Silva among the list of honorees are junior defender Kendi Bellini and redshirt junior forward Omar Yehya, who earned second team All-WAC recognition. Trevor Walk was the lone Wolverine represented on the WAC All-Freshman team.
Seattle U's James Morris, Charlie Lanphier, and Nate Daligcon were named the league's Offensive, Goalkeeper, and Coach of the Year, respectively. California Baptist's Thomas Beecham and Drew Hardin earned the WAC's Defender and Freshman of the Year accolades.
Silva earned his fourth-consecutive All-WAC honors after earning WAC honorable mention and WAC second team honors in the spring and fall of 2021, followed by back-to-back first team nods. Silva is the first Wolverine to be named All-WAC four times. Silva leads the team in both goals (5) and assists (4), becoming the first player in Utah Valley history to end the regular season with the outright lead for both.
Bellini earned his first All-WAC recognition and second all-conference honor, following his ACC All-Freshman nod he earned at North Carolina in 2021. Bellini played in 15 of Utah Valley's 16 games with 14 starts. Bellini played all but 12 minutes in conference play and scored a crucial goal at San Jose State to secure a 1-1 draw with the Spartans. Bellini also helped extend the Wolverine's unbeaten run at Clyde Field to a program-record 12 games.
Yehya earned the first all-conference recognition of his career in his first season in Orem. Yehya finished second on the team in goals with four, with two of those coming off the bench. One of the most aggressive offensive players in the WAC, Yehya finished the regular season third in the WAC with an average of 2.57 shots per game and tied for the second most shots on goal on the team.
Walk appeared in all 16 games as a true freshman, with 13 starts. Walk registered a shot on goal in Utah Valley's last six games and in seven of eight WAC games. Walk recorded his first goal against UTRGV on Oct. 21 and tied for the second-most shots on goal on the team with 13.
Utah Valley opens WAC Tournament play on Sunday in Las Vegas against the UNLV Rebels. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. MDT and the match will be streamed on ESPN+.
2023 WAC Men's Soccer All-Conference Awards
Offensive Player of the Year: James Morris, Sr., F, Seattle U
Defensive Player of the Year: Thomas Beecham, Sr., D, California Baptist
Goalkeeper of the Year: Charlie Lanphier, So., Seattle U
Freshman of the Year: Drew Hardin, MF, California Baptist
Coach of the Year: Nate Daligcon, Seattle U
All-WAC First Team
GK - Charlie Lanphier, So., Seattle U
D - Thomas Beecham, Sr., California Baptist
D - Kotaro Hirokawa, Grad, Seattle U
D - Jaden Manetta, Jr., Seattle U
MF - Angel Iniquez, So., San Jose State
MF - Taketo Onodera, Sr., Seattle U
MF - Alejandro Silva, Jr., Utah Valley
F - Luis Mueller, Sr., California Baptist
F - Bright Nutornutsi, So., Grand Canyon
F - James Morris, Sr., Seattle U
F - Bryant Farkarlun, Grad, UTRGV
All-WAC Second Team
GK - Nolan Premack, Sr., California Baptist
D - Louis Hiepen, Sr., UNLV
D - Demian Alvarez, Jr., Seattle U
D - AJ Ciampini, So., Utah Tech
D - Ken Bellini, Jr., Utah Valley
MF - Drew Hardin, Fr., California Baptist
MF - Nico Lopez, Sr., UNLV
MF - Gaku Nishimura, So., San Jose State
MF - Joon Lee, Jr., Seattle U
F - Leo Mendez, Sr., California Baptist
F - Yeider Zuluaga, So., Seattle U
F - Omar Yehya, R-Jr., Utah Valley
WAC All-Freshman Team
MF - Stavros Charalampous, California Baptist
MF - Drew Hardin, California Baptist
MF - Erik Krohnstad, California Baptist
MF - Jorge Lopez, Grand Canyon
GK - Hugo Lemos, UNLV
F/MF - Hermann Ragnarsson, UNLV
F - Tyler Ware, UNLV
F - Keaviano Francis, UTRGV
F - Sami Cuevas, Utah Tech
MF - Austin Wallace, Utah Tech
F - Trevor Walk, Utah Valley
