Marshall University Athletics
Four Men’s Soccer Student-Athletes Earn SBC Postseason Honors
11/7/2025 12:00:00 PM | Men's Soccer
Alves, de la Vibora, Fujita and Pinto named to various teams
Championship Fund
NEW ORLEANS – The No. 17 Marshall Men's Soccer team saw four student-athletes earn All-Sun Belt Conference honors on Friday. Takahiro Fujita was named to the first-team, David de la Vibora and Rai Pinto to the second-team with Joao Alves and de la Vibora also being named to the all-freshman team, as announced by the league office.
Fujita, a junior defender from Japan, returned from injury after missing the first five games. In his 11 contests, he helped the Herd to five clean sheets as the team gave up just 10 goals in the final 11 matches. Fujita tallied goals at VCU (Sept. 24) and against Kentucky (Oct. 10) with an assist against South Carolina (Oct. 22).
Pinto split time between backline and defense during the 2025 season. The native of Porto, Portugal, was one of two on the roster to play in all 16 matches and make 15 starts as he led the team with four goals, 2-for-2 on penalty kicks, and finished tied for the lead in points with nine. One of his four tallies was the game-winning goal on a 42nd-minute PK against Coastal Carolina on September 19.
de la Vibora put together quite the freshman campaign as and Pinto were the only two on the team to play in all 16 matches and make 15 starts. The Spanish defender tallied three goals and a pair of assists during the season. Two of the defender's goals were game winners against George Mason on August 22 and South Carolina on October 22.
Alves saw action in all 16 of the team's contests on the backline with 11 starts. The center back played a vital role in helping the Herd to six clean sheets and holding opponents to just 16 total goals and 49 shots on goal across the 16 matches.
2025 Sun Belt Conference Men's Soccer Awards
Player of the Year
Marcus Caldeira, F, West Virginia
Offensive Player of the Year
Marcus Caldeira, F, West Virginia
Defensive Player of the Year
Noah Holmstrom, D, Georgia Southern
Goalkeeper of the Year
Sebastian Conlon, GK, Kentucky
Newcomer of the Year
Lilian Ricol, F, UCF
Freshman of the Year
Emil Seedorff, M, Georgia Southern
Coach of the Year
Johan Cedergren, Kentucky
All-Sun Belt Conference First Team
F - Marcus Caldeira, West Virginia
F – Ricky Louis, Georgia Southern
F – Lilian Ricol, UCF
F – Pablo Pozos, West Virginia
M – Clarence Awoudor, UCF
M – Klaasen Loed, Coastal Carolina
M – Agustin Lopez, Kentucky
D – Takahiro Fujita, Marshall
D – Noah Holmstrom, Georgia Southern
D – Marqes Muir, Kentucky
GK – Sebastian Conlon, Kentucky
All-Sun Belt Conference Second Team
F – Ethan Ballek, South Carolina
F – Isaish Chisolm, Kentucky
F – Lewis Rouke, Old Dominion
F – Alex Ruiz, Kentucky
M – Kevin Larsson, Kentucky
M – Nacho Martinez, West Virginia
M – Rai Pinto, Marshall
D – Felix Ewald, West Virginia
D – Carlos Hernando, West Virginia
D – David de la Vibora, Marshall
GK – Nate Martinez, Georgia Southern
All-Sun Belt Conference Freshman Team
F – Angel Lopez Martin, Coastal Carolina
F – Seiryu Ono, UCF
F – Sammie Walker, West Virginia
M – Juan Alvarez, West Virginia
M – Marcus Andersen, Kentucky
M – Matthew DeJianne, South Carolina
M – Emil Seedorff, Georgia Southern
D – Joao Alves, Marshall
D – Loir Holtz, Georgia Southern
D – Jem Hewlett, UCF
D – David de la Vibora, Marshall
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 – The No. 17 Marshall Men's Soccer team saw four student-athletes earn All-Sun Belt Conference honors on Friday. Takahiro Fujita was named to the first-team, David de la Vibora and Rai Pinto to the second-team with Joao Alves and de la Vibora also being named to the all-freshman team, as announced by the league office.
Fujita, a junior defender from Japan, returned from injury after missing the first five games. In his 11 contests, he helped the Herd to five clean sheets as the team gave up just 10 goals in the final 11 matches. Fujita tallied goals at VCU (Sept. 24) and against Kentucky (Oct. 10) with an assist against South Carolina (Oct. 22).
Pinto split time between backline and defense during the 2025 season. The native of Porto, Portugal, was one of two on the roster to play in all 16 matches and make 15 starts as he led the team with four goals, 2-for-2 on penalty kicks, and finished tied for the lead in points with nine. One of his four tallies was the game-winning goal on a 42nd-minute PK against Coastal Carolina on September 19.
de la Vibora put together quite the freshman campaign as and Pinto were the only two on the team to play in all 16 matches and make 15 starts. The Spanish defender tallied three goals and a pair of assists during the season. Two of the defender's goals were game winners against George Mason on August 22 and South Carolina on October 22.
Alves saw action in all 16 of the team's contests on the backline with 11 starts. The center back played a vital role in helping the Herd to six clean sheets and holding opponents to just 16 total goals and 49 shots on goal across the 16 matches.
2025 Sun Belt Conference Men's Soccer Awards
Player of the Year
Marcus Caldeira, F, West Virginia
Offensive Player of the Year
Marcus Caldeira, F, West Virginia
Defensive Player of the Year
Noah Holmstrom, D, Georgia Southern
Goalkeeper of the Year
Sebastian Conlon, GK, Kentucky
Newcomer of the Year
Lilian Ricol, F, UCF
Freshman of the Year
Emil Seedorff, M, Georgia Southern
Coach of the Year
Johan Cedergren, Kentucky
All-Sun Belt Conference First Team
F - Marcus Caldeira, West Virginia
F – Ricky Louis, Georgia Southern
F – Lilian Ricol, UCF
F – Pablo Pozos, West Virginia
M – Clarence Awoudor, UCF
M – Klaasen Loed, Coastal Carolina
M – Agustin Lopez, Kentucky
D – Takahiro Fujita, Marshall
D – Noah Holmstrom, Georgia Southern
D – Marqes Muir, Kentucky
GK – Sebastian Conlon, Kentucky
All-Sun Belt Conference Second Team
F – Ethan Ballek, South Carolina
F – Isaish Chisolm, Kentucky
F – Lewis Rouke, Old Dominion
F – Alex Ruiz, Kentucky
M – Kevin Larsson, Kentucky
M – Nacho Martinez, West Virginia
M – Rai Pinto, Marshall
D – Felix Ewald, West Virginia
D – Carlos Hernando, West Virginia
D – David de la Vibora, Marshall
GK – Nate Martinez, Georgia Southern
All-Sun Belt Conference Freshman Team
F – Angel Lopez Martin, Coastal Carolina
F – Seiryu Ono, UCF
F – Sammie Walker, West Virginia
M – Juan Alvarez, West Virginia
M – Marcus Andersen, Kentucky
M – Matthew DeJianne, South Carolina
M – Emil Seedorff, Georgia Southern
D – Joao Alves, Marshall
D – Loir Holtz, Georgia Southern
D – Jem Hewlett, UCF
D – David de la Vibora, Marshall
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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