Four Bruins Named to 2021 Pac-12 All-Conference Team
LOS ANGELES – Four members of the UCLA men's soccer team were selected to the 2021 Pac-12 All-Conference Team, it was announced by the league office on Tuesday. Another three Bruins were cited as honorable mentions.
UCLA's contingent of honorees included senior goalkeeper Justin Garces, freshman center back Pietro Grassi, sophomore defender/forward Tommy Silva, and graduate midfielder Yoni Sorokin. All four made the Second Team, and received All-Pac-12 acclaim for the first time in their careers.
The Bruins' honorable mentions included senior forward Kevin Diaz, freshman right back Aaron Edwards, and senior center back Ahmed Longmire. UCLA's seven overall honorees were third-most in the league, narrowly trailing Oregon State (nine) and Washington (eight).
A four-year starter and UCLA's 2021 team captain, Garces set or matched career-bests in a number of statistics this season including goals against (15), GAA (1.16), save percentage (.706), and wins (7). One of the stronger goalies in the country with the ball at his feet, his distribution skills helped the Bruins implement their possession-based approach this fall.
Grassi and Sorokin were instrumental to a UCLA defensive effort that – over 17 regular season games – produced four shutouts and allowed one goal or fewer in all but six games. Sorokin also chipped in offensively with six points (two goals, two assists), and was the lone player in the Pac-12 with multiple penalty kick makes and an 100% conversion rate (2-2).
Through the end of the regular season, Silva paced the Bruins in goals (six) while tying with Tucker Lepley for the team lead in points (16). The Tucson, Ariz. native had a pair of five-point performances, and his four game-winning goals were tied for the most of any player in the league. Silva was named the Pac-12 Player of the Week for the final week of the regular season after figuring in the scoring of UCLA's first three goals in a 4-1 win at San Diego State.
Thanks in part to the contributions of its all-conference group, UCLA (10-6-1) qualified for the 2021 NCAA Tournament and will host Big West champion UC Santa Barbara in a first round game on Thursday night starting at 7:00 p.m. PT.
2021 Pac-12 Men's Soccer Conference Awards
2021 Pac-12 Men's Soccer Player of the Year - Sofiane Djeffal, Oregon State
2021 Pac-12 Men's Soccer Offensive Player of the Year - Tyrone Mondi, Oregon State
2021 Pac-12 Men's Soccer Defensive Player of the Year - Ryan Sailor, Washington
2021 Pac-12 Men's Soccer Freshman of the Year - Joran Gerbet, Oregon State
2021 Pac-12 Men's Soccer Coach of the Year - Terry Boss, Oregon State
2021 Pac-12 Men's Soccer All-Conference First Team
Ousseni Bouda, Stanford
Jacob Castro, San Diego State – GK
Sofiane Djeffal, Oregon State
Joran Gerbet, Oregon State
Tyrone Mondi, Oregon State
Tsiki Ntsabeleng, Oregon State
Charlie Ostrem, Washington
Zach Ryan, Stanford
Ryan Sailor, Washington
Dylan Teves, Washington
Inigo Villaldea, San Diego State
2021 Pac-12 Men's Soccer All-Conference Second Team
Kendall Burks, Washington
Adrian Crespo, Oregon State
Justin Garces, UCLA – GK
Gael Gibert, Oregon State
Pietro Grassi, UCLA
Christopher Grey, California
Lucas Meek, Washington
Adrian Molina-Diaz, Oregon State
Will Richmond, Stanford
Tommy Silva, UCLA
Yoni Sorokin, UCLA
Honorable Mention
Blake Bowen, San Diego State
Kevin Diaz, UCLA
Aaron Edwards, UCLA
Adrian Fernandez, Oregon State – GK
Keegan Hughes, Stanford
Kalana Kossa-Rienzi, Washington
Ahmed Longmire, UCLA
Carlos Moliner, Oregon State
Nick Scardina, Washington
Christian Soto, Washington
Keegan Tingey, Stanford