The South Atlantic Conference Announces Men's Soccer Award Winners and All-Conference Selections
ROCK HILL, S.C. (theSAC.com) – Catawba forward Mate Kenyeres was voted the 2025 South Atlantic Conference Men's Soccer Offensive Player of the Year, while Anderson's Franco Antoniolli earned SAC Defensive Player of the Year honors. Coker's Christian Johnson was named the Freshman of the Year, and Anderson head coach Michael Zion was selected as the Coach of the Year.
Kenyeres, a senior from Budapest, Hungary, led all SAC scorers with eight goals and 16 points on the season. He opened the year with back-to-back braces against Francis Marion and Mount Olive and added a third later in the season. Kenyeres also recorded one game-winning goal, while his 35 shots ranked second in the conference.
Antoniolli, a senior from Córdoba, Argentina, anchored the league's top defense, allowing just 11 goals in 16 matches. He posted an 11-1-4 record and contributed to six clean sheets. His 0.69 goals-against average and .836 save percentage both led the conference, while his 56 total saves ranked second.
Johnson was a standout during his freshman campaign with the Cobras, leading the team with six goals and 14 points. He becomes the second straight Coker player to earn SAC Freshman of the Year honors and finished the year with four goals over his final six matches.
In his 12th season leading the Trojans, Zion guided Anderson to its second SAC regular-season championship in program history. The Trojans posted an 11-1-4 overall record and went 7-1-2 in conference play, opening the year on a 12-match unbeaten streak. Anderson currently ranks No. 5 nationally and has appeared in the top six of every national poll this season.
Not surprisingly, Anderson led all programs with nine All-Conference selections. Joining Antoniolli on the first team were Julian Caro, Juan Pablo Lepervanche, Tiago Perez, and Marc Vila.
League runner-up Emory & Henry and Lenoir-Rhyne each had six players named to the All-Conference team, while Lincoln Memorial placed five, and Coker four.
2025 South Atlantic Conference Men's Soccer All-Conference Teams
First Team
F – Mate Kenyeres, Catawba
F – Gian-Carlo Kama, Lincoln Memorial
F – Julian Caro, Anderson
F – Noah Serwy, Emory & Henry
MF – Juan Pablo Lepervanche, Anderson
MF – Ronan O'Mahony Blondel, Lincoln Memorial
MF – Mitchell Honcoop, Carson-Newman
MF – Raul Canas, Lenoir-Rhyne
D – Tiago Perez, Anderson
D – Marc Vila, Anderson
D – Guillermo Garcia, Lenoir-Rhyne
D – Marcelo Lopes, Emory & Henry
GK – Franco Antoniolli, Anderson
Second Team
F – Christian Johnson, Coker
F – Adrian Castillo, Anderson
F – Alexis Abalam, Coker
F – Jean-Charles Eyidi, Emory & Henry
MF – Titouan Itier, Emory & Henry
MF – Emmanuel Arkoh, Anderson
MF – Hector Taboada, Lenoir-Rhyne
MF – Kimo Lemke, Wingate
D – Szymon Sokolnicki, Lincoln Memorial
D – Hugo Luengo, Coker
D – Jonas Moos, Lenoir-Rhyne
D – Milan Ales, Emory & Henry
GK – Tomas Fontes, Lenoir-Rhyne
Third Team
F – Xairo Villalon, Lenoir-Rhyne
F – Jonas Zethofer, Anderson
F – Antoine Torrent, Carson-Newman
F – Charlie Drury, Mars Hill
MF – Camilo Salazar, Wingate
MF – Charles Bolduc, Anderson
MF – Enrique Martin, Lincoln Memorial
MF – Mouhamadou Savane, Coker
D – Ben Harvey, Mars Hill
D – Marcos Baez Juarez, Emory & Henry
D – Bailey Rhodes, Wingate
D – Maxime Wester, Carson-Newman
GK – Daniel Benedek Miklosi, Lincoln Memorial
Individual Awards
Offensive Player of the Year – Mate Kenyeres, Catawba
Defensive Player of the Year – Franco Antoniolli, Anderson
Freshman of the Year – Christian Johnson, Coker
Coach of the Year – Michael Zion, Anderson
Fair Play Award – Coker
All-Conference Selections by School
Anderson – 9
Emory & Henry – 6
Lenoir-Rhyne – 6
Lincoln Memorial – 5
Coker – 4
Carson-Newman – 3
Wingate – 3
Mars Hill – 2
Catawba – 1