MILWAUKEE – Three members of the Milwaukee men's soccer team were named First-Team All-Horizon League – highlighted by
Logan Farrington earning Horizon League Freshman of the Year honors – Thursday when the league office announced the all-league teams and specialty award winners.
Farrington was joined on the first-team by
Paolo Gratton and
Jake Kelderman. Farrington also picked up a spot on the Horizon League All-Freshmen Team, where he was joined by fellow newcomer
Raul Medina.
It's the first time MKE MSOC has had a trio of players on the first team since 2003.
Gratton has put together a breakout 2021 campaign, sitting tied for second in the Horizon League with 18 points (9G) and in first by himself with his nine goals - a total that stands fourth in the NCAA this season.
He scored twice against Oakland March 12 and followed that up with another two-goal effort against IUPUI March 24, making it back-to-back multi-goal efforts - something that hadn't been done by a MKE MSOC player in 17 years. He's also the first Panther with two multi-goal efforts at any point in the same season since Declan Rodriguez in 2015.
Kelderman followed up second-team honors in 2019 with first-team status this spring, starting all 10 games of the regular season. In fact, he never left the field, playing all 902 minutes over the course of the campaign – the only player on the roster to accomplish the feat. A team captain, he led a defense that posted three shutouts (and only one goal allowed in four other matches) and a 1.20 GAA on the season, ranking fourth in the conference.
Farrington, just the second-ever Panther to earn Freshman of the Year status (joining
Evan Conway from 2016), got the season started off on the right foot, scoring a pair of goals in the opener against Purdue Fort Wayne. He notched a pair of goals for the second time this season against IUPUI March 24, adding another assist to help him earn Horizon League Offensive Player of the Week honors. He joined Gratton with the first pair of multi-goal matches in the same season since 2015. He has been a terror to league defenses all season, leading the conference in both total shots (47) and shots in goal (19) heading into the postseason. His 12 points (5G/2A) leads all Horizon League freshmen on the scoring chart.
Medina has made a solid first impression with the Panthers, making eight starts in his nine appearances through the 10-game regular season, recording 10 points (2G/6A). Medina's three assists against IUPUI March 24 tied for the fifth-most in a game in program history, marking the first time since 2004 that the feat was accomplished.
Spring 2021 Horizon League Men's Soccer Award Winners
Player of the Year: Noah Jensen, MF, Oakland
Offensive Player of the Year: Dylan Borczak, F, Oakland
Defensive Player of the Year: Jacob Graiber, D, UIC
Goalkeeper of the Year: Danny Bermingham, GK, Northern Kentucky
Freshman of the Year: Logan Farrington, F, Milwaukee
Coach of the Year: Stu Riddle, Northern Kentucky
All-Horizon League First Team
Logan Farrington, Milwaukee, F
Dylan Bufton, Northern Kentucky, F
Dylan Borczak, Oakland, F
Charlie Braithwaite, Oakland, F
Paolo Gratton, Milwaukee, MF
Noah Jensen, Oakland, MF
Jose Perez Flores, UIC, MF
Jake Kelderman, Milwaukee, D
Justin Earle, Northern Kentucky, D
Jacob Graiber, UIC, D
Danny Bermingham, Northern Kentucky, GK
All-Horizon League Second Team
Bojan Kolevski, Cleveland State, F
Nkusuwila Zulu, UIC, F
Joe Kouadio, Wright State, F
Jannis Schmidt, Cleveland State, MF
Ryan Godding, Northern Kentucky, MF
Dawson Schrum, Oakland, MF
Thomas M'Barek, Cleveland State, D
Saahb Kular, Cleveland State, D
Reid Sproat, Oakland, D
Pau Mateo Chacon, UIC, D
Sokratis Vasilas, UIC, GK
Horizon League All-Freshman Team
Bojan Kolevski, Cleveland State
Samory Powder, Detroit Mercy
Ruben Linden, Green Bay
Logan Farrington, Milwaukee
Raul Medina, Milwaukee
Deryn Armstrong, Northern Kentucky
Roberto Burlew, Northern Kentucky
Jaiden Ramsay-Kelly, Oakland
Erik Josson, Purdue Fort Wayne
Diego Mendoza, UIC
Chris Geddis, Wright State