Marshall University Athletics
Photo by: Austin Ray
Three Herd Men’s Soccer Student-Athletes Earn Postseason SBC Honors
11/8/2024 1:00:00 PM | Men's Soccer
Okiyoshi, Rodrigues dos Santos first-team; Fujita second-team
CHAMPIONSHIP FUND
NEW ORLEANS – Marshall University Men's Soccer fifth-year midfielder Taimu Okiyoshi and senior forward Lineker Rodrigues dos Santos were named 2024 All-Sun Belt Conference First-Team with sophomore defender Takahiro Fujita earning second-team honors, as announced by the league office on Friday.
"I'm happy for those guys to be recognized on the all-conference teams," Herd Men's Soccer Head Coach Chris Grassie said about his players who received postseason honors. "And for those who weren't recognized, I hope that they can use the snub as fuel for their fire to go on and achieve big things this season and in their careers."
Okiyoshi was the lone player on the squad who started all 16 matches playing in 1,367 of a possible 1,440 minutes, the most on the team, seeing action as a midfielder and center back. The native of Kobe, Japan, registered four assists this season, tied for 8th in the SBC and team lead with all four coming in SBC play with one against JMU (Oct. 4), two at Georgia State (Oct. 27) and one at Kentucky (Nov. 1).
Rodrigues dos Santons registered 20 points, fourth in the SBC, on nine goals, third in the SBC, and two assists in 16 matches, including 15 starts. The Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, native registered seven of his nine goals against conference foes, with eight of his goals coming in the last 10 contests. The senior forward finished tied for the SBC lead with 3 game-winning goals, tallying them against No. 22 VCU (Sept. 25), at UCF (Oct. 13) and against Georgia Southern (Oct. 23).
A stalwart on the backline, Fujita saw action in all 16 matches with 10 starts playing in 954 minutes. The native of Nara, Japan, played on a defensive backline that produced seven clean sheets and gave up just 13 goals, the fewest in the conference. The sophomore tallied assists against Cal State Fullerton (Aug. 22) and Georgia Southern (Oct. 23) with a goal at Georgia State (Oct. 27).
The No. 8 Herd takes the pitch on Sunday as second seed in the 2024 SBC Men's Soccer Tournament playing host to seventh-seeded Old Dominion at Hoops Family Field. First kick is scheduled for 3 p.m.
2024 Sun Belt Conference Postseason Awards
Player of the Year
Sergio Ors Navarro, West Virginia
Offensive Player of the Year
Sergio Ors Navarro, West Virginia
Defensive Player of the Year
Luca Nikolai, James Madison
Goalkeeper of the Year
Sebastian Conlon, James Madison
Newcomer of the Year
Ryan Holmes, Georgia Southern
Freshman of the Year
Harvey Sarajian, Georgia Southern
Coach of the Year
Daniel Stratford, West Virginia
All-Sun Belt Conference First Team
Logan Dorsey, F, Kentucky
Lucca Dourado, F, UCF
Sergio Ors Navarro, F, West Virginia
Lineker Rodrigues dos Santos, F, Marshall
Ryan Bear, M, West Virginia
Taimu Okiyoshi, M, Marshall
Harvey Sarajian, M, Georiga Southern
Max Broughton, D, West Virginia
Luca Nikolai, D, James Madison
Anderson Rosa, D, UCF
Sebastian Conlon, GK, James Madison
All-Sun Belt Conference Second Team
Ethan Ballek, F, South Carolina
Marcus Caldeira, F, West Virginia
Ryan Holmes, F, Georiga Southern
Harrison Myring, F, South Carolina
Kevin Larsson, M, James Madison
Agustin Lopez, M, Kentucky
Alejandro Velazquez-Lopez, M, South Carolina
Takahiro Fujita, D, Marshall
Josh Gordon, D, Kentucky
Muir Marqes, D, Kentucky
Marc Bonnaire, GK, West Virginia
To donate to the Championship Fund for Marshall men's soccer, please click HERE. All proceeds go directly to the Marshall men's soccer team.
For all the latest information about Marshall men's soccer, follow @herdmsoccer on Twitter and Instagram.
To follow all Thundering Herd sports and get live stats, schedules and free live audio, download the Marshall Athletics App for iOS and Android.
NEW ORLEANS – Marshall University Men's Soccer fifth-year midfielder Taimu Okiyoshi and senior forward Lineker Rodrigues dos Santos were named 2024 All-Sun Belt Conference First-Team with sophomore defender Takahiro Fujita earning second-team honors, as announced by the league office on Friday.
"I'm happy for those guys to be recognized on the all-conference teams," Herd Men's Soccer Head Coach Chris Grassie said about his players who received postseason honors. "And for those who weren't recognized, I hope that they can use the snub as fuel for their fire to go on and achieve big things this season and in their careers."
Okiyoshi was the lone player on the squad who started all 16 matches playing in 1,367 of a possible 1,440 minutes, the most on the team, seeing action as a midfielder and center back. The native of Kobe, Japan, registered four assists this season, tied for 8th in the SBC and team lead with all four coming in SBC play with one against JMU (Oct. 4), two at Georgia State (Oct. 27) and one at Kentucky (Nov. 1).
Rodrigues dos Santons registered 20 points, fourth in the SBC, on nine goals, third in the SBC, and two assists in 16 matches, including 15 starts. The Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, native registered seven of his nine goals against conference foes, with eight of his goals coming in the last 10 contests. The senior forward finished tied for the SBC lead with 3 game-winning goals, tallying them against No. 22 VCU (Sept. 25), at UCF (Oct. 13) and against Georgia Southern (Oct. 23).
A stalwart on the backline, Fujita saw action in all 16 matches with 10 starts playing in 954 minutes. The native of Nara, Japan, played on a defensive backline that produced seven clean sheets and gave up just 13 goals, the fewest in the conference. The sophomore tallied assists against Cal State Fullerton (Aug. 22) and Georgia Southern (Oct. 23) with a goal at Georgia State (Oct. 27).
The No. 8 Herd takes the pitch on Sunday as second seed in the 2024 SBC Men's Soccer Tournament playing host to seventh-seeded Old Dominion at Hoops Family Field. First kick is scheduled for 3 p.m.
2024 Sun Belt Conference Postseason Awards
Player of the Year
Sergio Ors Navarro, West Virginia
Offensive Player of the Year
Sergio Ors Navarro, West Virginia
Defensive Player of the Year
Luca Nikolai, James Madison
Goalkeeper of the Year
Sebastian Conlon, James Madison
Newcomer of the Year
Ryan Holmes, Georgia Southern
Freshman of the Year
Harvey Sarajian, Georgia Southern
Coach of the Year
Daniel Stratford, West Virginia
All-Sun Belt Conference First Team
Logan Dorsey, F, Kentucky
Lucca Dourado, F, UCF
Sergio Ors Navarro, F, West Virginia
Lineker Rodrigues dos Santos, F, Marshall
Ryan Bear, M, West Virginia
Taimu Okiyoshi, M, Marshall
Harvey Sarajian, M, Georiga Southern
Max Broughton, D, West Virginia
Luca Nikolai, D, James Madison
Anderson Rosa, D, UCF
Sebastian Conlon, GK, James Madison
All-Sun Belt Conference Second Team
Ethan Ballek, F, South Carolina
Marcus Caldeira, F, West Virginia
Ryan Holmes, F, Georiga Southern
Harrison Myring, F, South Carolina
Kevin Larsson, M, James Madison
Agustin Lopez, M, Kentucky
Alejandro Velazquez-Lopez, M, South Carolina
Takahiro Fujita, D, Marshall
Josh Gordon, D, Kentucky
Muir Marqes, D, Kentucky
Marc Bonnaire, GK, West Virginia
To donate to the Championship Fund for Marshall men's soccer, please click HERE. All proceeds go directly to the Marshall men's soccer team.
For all the latest information about Marshall men's soccer, follow @herdmsoccer on Twitter and Instagram.
To follow all Thundering Herd sports and get live stats, schedules and free live audio, download the Marshall Athletics App for iOS and Android.
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