MNU All-Decade Team: Men's Soccer

All-Decade: Volleyball, Women's Soccer, Football, Men's Basketball, Women's Basketball, Softball, Baseball

The 2010s were a great decade for MNU Athletics. Every program qualified for the national tournament at least twice, Cross Country and Track & Field made their returns and had great success, 2 teams played for the National Championship, and Women's Basketball won it all in 2016. With all the great athletes to come through Olathe in the last 10 years, it's difficult to nail down All-Decade teams. But I'm going to give it a shot. Your Sports Information Director, Chad Jenkins, along with a handful of coaches and fans, will publish an All-Decade team for our team sports starting with the Spring of 2010.

The Process
There's no one way to do this, but here's how I'm going to do it:
- One player from a specific season will represent one starting position on the court/field. One great season by one player usually trumps a solid career from another.
- Academics, behavior, and likability are not going to be considered. I can't know enough about the personal lives of these athletes to make that judgment. I'm putting together the best players at each position, period.
- I've asked for input from some coaches and fans, but ultimately the final decision is mine. So direct your hateful e-mails to yours truly.
- For Men's Soccer, we are using 11 positions: 1 goalkeeper, 4 defenders, 4 midfielders, and 2 forwards. There is a very international flavor to this squad, so their countries of origin will be mentioned. A few of these guys were included in our internationally flavored promo video...


Why Are We Doing This?
Because it's fun. If you or your relative or buddy didn't make the squad, it's not personal.

Who Are You to Make These Decisions?
A fair question. I'm the guy who has watched pretty much every home event in every sport since the Fall of 2007, and I'm in control of the athletics website.

Enough! Just Get Started!
Agreed. Here we go...(this will look eerily similar to the women's soccer article. No shame in copy/paste.)

Goalkeeper
MNU had 3 All-Conference Goalkeepers this decade: Chris Eriksson in 2012 & 2013, Yann Passet in 2014 & 2016, and Juan Manuel Arias in 2019. But the MNU Men's Soccer All-Decade Goalkeeper earned a 1st team All-America honor in 2013, and Chris Eriksson is an easy pick for the squad. The Swede played every second in goal that season as MNU reached the Final Site at Nationals. He did benefit from an awesome defense, but he also saved 2 straight shootout attempts to advance MNU out of the opening round of Nationals. He was also named 1st team CoSIDA Academic All-America. It's an award which I vote for as a member of CoSIDA (College Sports Information Directors of America), and it takes into account both academics and athletic performance. He is one of just 7 Pioneers to be so honored.

Defenders
Despite my limited soccer experience (I peaked in 8th grade), I love watching soccer defenders. It was the position I played and I like to think I can see what the elite defenders are thinking when faced with tough decisions. Several times each match, they need to decide whether to lay back, attack, clear out of bounds, clear upfield, or even commit a strong foul to prevent scoring opportunities. In MNU's system, defenders are required to participate in the nationally-renowned possession game MNU employs, so all of these men are extraordinarily skilled. The Pioneers have had plenty of excellent backs in the last 10 years; All-Conference honorees include Cam Cundiff in 2011, Taylor Esparza in 2013 (also a 2-time CoSIDA Academic All-American), Stephane Philippe in 2014 & 2015, and Javier Beltran in 2018 & 2019. But the four following players made their mark and stood out as MNU Men's Soccer All-Decade Defenders: Aurelien "Frenchy" Norest in 2013 or 2014, Alvaro Beltran in 2015, Frantzly Zephirin in 2016, and Johannes Keisers in 2017.
- Future MNU Hall of Famer Norest is easily among the top players in program history, and it's fair to say he's among the best athletes in the history of MNU Athletics. As a freshman, the Frenchman was 2nd team All-Conference as he helped the team win 3 straight conference tournament road games for the program's only tourney title to date, qualifying MNU for Nationals. As a sophomore, he led MNU to an improbable run to the national semifinals and was named 1st team All-Conference. As a junior, he was actually 2nd on the team in goals, 1st team All-Conference, Conference Defensive Player of the Year, Conference MVP, and 1st team NAIA All-America as MNU won the conference title and again qualified for Nationals. As a senior, he was 1st team All-Conference, Conference Defensive Player of the Year, Conference Co-MVP, and 1st team NAIA All-America as he led MNU to Nationals for the 4th straight time. As a side note, usually my favorite players are more under the radar, but he's my favorite MNU Men's Soccer player in my 13 seasons. Seemingly every decision he made was perfect, and forwards never had much of a chance 1 on 1. I remember once, when he was a senior, he made a small mistake and had to scramble to prevent a goal. I noted that it was the first time in 4 years of watching him that I'd seen that. Anyone who's followed MNU soccer this decade would chose him first overall. He leads a great group of All-Decade Defenders.
- Beltran was a difference-maker all 4 of his seasons. The Chilean was named 3rd team All-Conference in 2012's national semifinal season as a freshman, 2nd team All-Conference as a sophomore, 2nd team All-Conference as a junior, and 1st team All-Conference and Honorable Mention All-America as a senior in MNU's National Runner-Up season. When he was a freshman, MNU led the national semifinal game 1-0 late in the contest. Beltran was injured at had to come out, and just 4 minutes later, the opponent scored back to back goals to break MNU's heart. As a senior, another injury kept him out of the title game, and MNU lost in overtime. His impact on games was always clear, and his 2015 season lands him on the All-Decade team.
- Zephirin played 2 years at MNU and was part of the 2015 National Runner-Up team, but his 2016 season is what lands him on the All-Decade squad. The French-Canadian was named 1st team All-Conference, Conference Defensive Player of the Year, and 2nd team All-America for a team which reached Nationals for the 6th straight time. He was one of the fastest players I've ever seen and would confound opponents with his recovery ability. He could afford to be ultra aggressive in trying to create turnovers because if he got beat, he was back in the play in a flash and beating him twice in a row was almost impossible.
- Keisers had the unenviable task of taking over Norest's position as a freshman, and the tall German was up to the task. He was a starter for the National Runner-Up team in 2015, named 3rd team All-Conference for MNU Conference Champion 2016 team, 2nd team All-Conference in 2018, but his 2017 season as a 1st team All-Conference honoree is what lands him on this list. He anchored a great defense which qualified for Nationals for the 7th straight season, and contributed 3 goals in the process.

Midfielders
Having a good crew of midfielders almost guarantees a good season. From winning long passes, setting up scoring chances, and preventing scoring chances, the midfielders have to be the entire package. MNU has had some greats. Several All-Conference honorees include Michael Shadfar in 2010, Gyer Vierthaler in 2011, Rodrigo Rivas in 2012 & 2013, Matias Fernandez in 2013, Bryce McClanahan in 2015 & 2016, Matias Cabello in 2016, and Filipe Hideki in 2018 & 2019. But the 4 MNU Men's Soccer All-Decade Midfielders are Eduardo "Dudu" Heringer in 2016, Lucas Machado in 2015, Jeremie Koffi in 2014, and Ivan Ruiz Vidal in 2018.
- Heringer led one of MNU's best overall teams in 2016. The Pioneers won the conference title and the Brazilian was named 1st team All-Conference and 1st team All-America as MNU reached Nationals for the 6th straight season. A magician with the ball, he recorded 6 assists and dominated the middle for a team known for playing possession.
- In 2015, Machado was 1st team All-Conference and Honorable Mention All-America as the California native recorded 8 goals and 8 assists for the National Runner-Up. His skills as an attacking mid/forward made him invaluable that season, and he makes this list as a versatile hybrid.
- Koffi was a nightmare for opponents. The Frenchman was named 1st team All-Conference and his aggressive style earned him 6 yellow cards (and 6 assists) for his efforts. Constantly throwing his body all over the field, he was impossible to miss as MNU qualified for Nationals for the 5th year in a row.
- Vidal had 2 excellent seasons at MNU. In 2017 he was named 2nd team All-Conference, and earned a 1st team All-Conference nod in 2018. The 6-3 Spaniard dominated 50/50 balls, and still recorded 4 points despite being a defensive mid.

Forwards
The impact of the forward position is obvious. They handle most of the scoring load and need a skill set which includes speed and toughness. We only have 2 Forward spots available for All-Decade, and sorting through the top scorers is no easy task. Luis Padilla in 2010, Oumar Seck in 2011, Luke Pontin in 2012, Eddie Morales in 2013 & 2014, Felipe Abreu in 2017, and Hiago Gaspar in 2019 were all All-Conference performers. Filipe Hideki was a 2-time honoree while listed as a forward, but the multi-talented athlete was more of an attacking midfielder. It pains me to leave him off this list as he was one of the most skilled players we've had, but I fear he barely misses as both a midfielder and a forward. The talent level among the teams of this decade is remarkable, and Hideki's snub is proof. The top 3 single-season scorers of the decade are Trent Remmich in 2011, Dominic Harrington in 2016, and Tanner Hunjak in 2015.    
- Hunjak recorded 13 goals in 2015 for the National Runner-Up, and he recorded 2 in the semifinal to propel the squad to their first ever title game. His physicality and presence were extraordinary, and his fearlessness was clear as one of my favorites to watch. Sadly, he just misses the list.
- Dominic Harrington in 2016 led the team to a Heart Conference Title, and was named 1st team All-Conference and Conference Newcomer of the Year. The Trinidad & Tobago native's goal in the final minute of the Opening Round of Nationals was one of the biggest in program history, and his 16 goals were the 2nd most of the decade for one of MNU's best teams.
- Trent Remmich's record-setting 2011 season is the final selection for the All-Decade Team. The Kansas native went nuts and scored 26 goals for a national qualifier. He had 4 hat tricks - including a 5-goal game - and holds the single-season and career scoring record at MNU.

Your MNU Men's Soccer All-Decade Team:
Goalkeeper: Chris Eriksson 2013
Defender: Aurelien "Frenchy" Norest 2013
Defender: Alvaro Beltran 2015
Defender: Frantzly Zephirin 2016
Defender: Johannes Keisers 2017
Midfielder: Eduardo "Dudu" Heringer 2016
Midfielder: Lucas Machado 2015
Midfielder: Jeremie Koffi 2014
Midfielder: Ivan Ruiz Vidal 2018
Forward: Dominic Harrington 2016
Forward: Trent Remmich 2011