EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The University of Evansville men’s soccer team has had three players recognized by the Missouri Valley Conference for their play in the 2024 season.

Senior forward Nacho Diaz Barragan (Almeria, Spain) earned his second All-MVC honor being named to the All-Conference Second Team on Tuesday morning. While redshirt freshman midfielder Jacopo Fedrizzi (Giulia, Spain) and freshman goalkeeper Michal Mroz (Elk Grove, Ill. / Elk Grove HS) earned their first All-MVC recognition. Fedrizzi was named to the All-MVC Second Team while Mroz mad the All-MVC Freshman Team. Postseason awards are voted on by conference head coaches.

Diaz Barragan led UE on the stat sheet at the end of the 2024 regular season with six goals, two assists and 18 points. The forward was one of only two players in the MVC to score a brace in three games or more with the other player being the MVC Player of the Year Jesus Barea. In conference play Diaz Barragan had three goals, and one assists while leading Evansville in shots and shots on goal with 11 shots and nine landing on net.

Diaz Barragan ended the year fourth in the Valley in goals and shots on goal per game while being second in shot accuracy. At 54.8% shot accuracy, Diaz Barragan is ranked 29th among Division I players. In 2022 Diaz Barragan was recognized by MVC head coaches as the conference Freshman of the Year and a member of the All-MVC First Team.

Fedrizzi came alive for the Aces during conference action, scoring seven of his 12 points during MVC play. The redshirt freshman had two goals and three assists against Valley teams while taking seven shots with three on goal. For the season Fedrizzi was second on the roster in points with four goals and four assists that included a two-game goal scoring streak.

Freshman goalkeeper Michal Mroz had Evansville’s best season in goal by a freshman keeper since 2016. Mroz ended the regular season with eight victories and four shutouts while facing 228 shots. In MVC action the freshman had four wins with two shutouts while saving 40 shots on goal for a 74.1% save percentage. Mroz ended the season leading the Valley in saves with 68 saves which was good for 16th in the nation. The freshman keeper was also first in the Valley with MVC Goalkeeper of the Year Colin Welsh in minutes played at 1,637:33 minutes. The two keepers ranked 10th in the nation in goalie minutes played.

 Missouri State’s Jesus Barea earned MVC Player of the Year for the second time in his career while also being named the Forward of the Year. Drake’s Eskil Gjerde and Missouri State’s Tyler Caton were voted Co-Midfielders of the Year.

MVC Defensive Player of the Year is Bowling Green’s Kyle Cusimano while Western Michigan’s Colin Welsh was named the Goalkeeper of the Year. Drake’s Preston Kipnusu became the first Bulldog to be named the MVC Freshman of the Year.

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