Men's Soccer 11/15/2023 11:05:00 AM

Seven Men’s Soccer Players on All-Conference Teams; Rast Named Coach of the Year

West Coast Conference Release

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – The West Coast Conference Co-Champion Santa Clara men's soccer team placed seven players on the various All-WCC teams while head coach Cam Rast was named Coach of the Year, the league office announced on Wednesday.

Forward Caden Buckley, midfielder Adem Hamdaoua and goalkeeper Jack Stoecker were each named to the first team while midfielder Martin Kwende Jr. made both the second team and the all-freshman team. Defenders Damani Osei and Aaron Sandhu were named honorable mentions. Jack Civitts joined Kwende Jr. on the all-freshman team.

The three players on the first team are the most since 2012 and the seven overall players are the most since 2021.

The all-conference teams and award winners were voted on by the conference's eight head coaches with selection based on the outstanding athletic achievement in overall and league competition.

Buckley, a preseason all-conference selection, was picked for one of the three forward positions on the first team after starting in all 16 games he appeared in. The Las Vegas native tallied nine points on four goals and an assist including scoring a brace against No. 17 Georgetown. The Bronco captain was previously named honorable mention in 2020 and 2022 as well as to the all-freshman team in 2020.

Hamdaoua had an exceptional season especially in league play where he led all players in points (11) and game-winning goals (3) to help him earn the WCC Offensive Player of the Week honors twice. He also tied for first in goals (4) and tied for second in assists (3) during conference action. For the season, the senior from Marrakesh, Morocco, scored six goals, four of them game winners, and assisted on four to lead the team in both categories. This is his first all-conference recognition earning one of the three first team midfielder spots.

Stoecker was inserted into the starting XI midway through the season and flourished. He started in nine of the final 10 matches to finish with a 6-1-2 record and four shutouts. During that span, he twice won the WCC Defensive Player of the Week honors. Stoecker's .848 save percentage was the fifth best in the nation. In WCC play, he led in save percentage (.833) and finished second with a .857 goals-against-average and 4.29 saves per game to earn the only goalkeeper spot on the WCC first team. This was also Stoecker's first conference recognition.

Last season, the WCC implemented a specific position format for the first team all-conference selection as it allows for three forwards, four midfielders, three defenders, one goalkeeper and one 'wildcard' spot given to the student-athlete remaining with the most votes regardless of position.

Kwende Jr played in 16 games and started in the final 11 games that at appeared in at left wing. He tallied three assists including in back-to-back WCC games against Portland and LMU.

Osei and Sandhu started in 15 and 12 games in the backline, respectively, and when they played together along with Stoecker, the Broncos had four shutouts. Osei was second on the team logging 1,350 minutes while Sandhu played the full 90 minutes in each of his last 11 starts. This is Osei's second conference recognition having been named to the all-freshman team in 2019. It is the first time Sandhu was named to the all-league team.

Civitts was second on the team with 12 points to earn a spot on the all-freshman team. He was tied for second on the team, along with Hamdaoua, with four assists and was tied for second with Buckley in goals with four.

Finishing his 22nd season at the helm of the Broncos, Rast was named WCC Coach of the Year for the seventh time (2003, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2015, 2021) guiding the team to a WCC Co-Championship with a 5-1-1 league record and 7-7-3 overall. Rast hit a couple of career milestones during the season picking up his 200^th career victory and 100^th WCC win.

A Portland player took home three of the five major player awards with Nick Fernandez winning the Midfielder of the Year, Kevin Bonilla the Defender of the Year and Efetobo Aror the Freshman of the Year. Mason Tunbridge from San Diego won the Offensive Player of the Year and Eric Waltz from San Francisco was the Goalkeeper of the Year.

"I am proud of the way all the guys competed during conference play this year. The All-WCC selections are recognition from the other conference coaches of players they felt impacted our games and the results. Caden, Jack and Adem were standouts and as first team selections my hope is one or more would be player of the year in their respective positions. In particular, I want to give a shout out to Jack for earning the first team votes but unfortunately he did not get the Goalkeeper of the Year recognition. In the end, I am proud of all our Broncos."

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Players Mentioned

#4 Caden Buckley: F; 6' 0"; Junior

#10 Adem Hamdaoua: MF; 5' 9"; Senior

#6 Damani Osei: D; 6' 2"; Graduate Student

#13 Aaron Sandhu: D; 6' 0"; Junior

#0 Jack Stoecker: GK; 6' 6"; Junior

#9 Martin Kwende Jr.: MF; 5' 11"; Freshman

#20 Jack Civitts: MF; 6' 0"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#4 Caden Buckley
: 6' 0"; Junior
: F

#10 Adem Hamdaoua
: 5' 9"; Senior
: MF

#6 Damani Osei
: 6' 2"; Graduate Student
: D

#13 Aaron Sandhu
: 6' 0"; Junior
: D

#0 Jack Stoecker
: 6' 6"; Junior
: GK

#9 Martin Kwende Jr.
: 5' 11"; Freshman
: MF

#20 Jack Civitts
: 6' 0"; Freshman
: MF