LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – Senior Nico Lopez made the All-WAC First Team, senior Louis Hiepen was named to All-WAC Second Team and Sawyer Crisostomo earned All-Freshman Team honors.
Three UNLV men’s soccer players received Western Athletic Conference (WAC) postseason awards, the league office announced Friday.Leading those accolades were seniors Nico Lopez on the All-WAC First Team and Louis Hiepen on the All-WAC Second Team.
Also being recognized, Sawyer Crisostomo earned a WAC All-Freshman Team nod.
“These honors are well deserved,” said UNLV head coach BJ Craig. “Nico Lopez has been our most consistent goal scorer the last two seasons and finished top 3 in the WAC this year. Louis Hiepen was our captain and leader at the back, helping us to record eight shutouts against a top-25 schedule and a seven-game unbeaten run in WAC games.
Sawyer Crisostomo had a great start to his career, giving us depth as a younger player who will play an important role in the future of our program. Every award is a team award and we know this team deserved much more after a late change to an unbalanced schedule impacted all the teams for the playoffs, so it’s great to have our players recognized on a team that proved they were a true contender for the WAC Championship.”
Originally from Oregon City, Oregon, Lopez charged the Rebel attack as the team leader with 16 points and a career-high-tying seven goals.
Among the league’s offensive leaders, he finished tied for third in goals, fifth in points and points per game (0.94), was fourth in goals per game (0.41) and tied for second with three multiple-point games.
Hiepen, a native of Mönchengladbach, Germany, guided the Scarlet & Gray backline to a WAC-best eight shutouts during the regular season and a tied-for-second league ranking in goals allowed (6) and goals against average (0.67) in conference play.
The Rebel team captain also reached new career highs with two goals and four points on the year.
A defender out of Las Vegas, Crisostomo tallied a pair of assists for his two points and also helped lead the Rebel backline to top-2 WAC rankings for fewest goals allowed and in goals against average against WAC opponents.
Together, the UNLV (5-7-5, 2-2-5) trio helped guide its squad to a seven-game unbeaten streak with five consecutive shutouts in the same stretch for the first time since 1985.
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