6 Jags recognized with All-Conference honors

Six UHV men's soccer players were recognized on Wednesday with All-Red River Athletic Conference honors.

Defenders Philipp Kueck and Matthew Albury, as well as midfielder Carlos Quinones were honored on the second team.

Quinones scored twice – both in a 4-0 win over Huston-Tillotson on Sept. 30 – with two assists this year from his midfield position. The Reynosa, Mexico, native also posted 19 shots in his first year with UHV.

"Carlos did a great job controlling the tempo in the middle of the field," said head coach Adrian Rigby. "He provided our team with strong leadership in the middle. He's a high energy player with excellent distribution and also a contagious attitude for the game."

Center backs Kueck, a sophomore from Geestland, Germany, and Albury, a graduate senior from Barcelona, Spain, anchored a back line which ranked third in the conference with a 0.97 goals against average.

Albury tied a career-high in goals with three this season.

"Great to see Matt recognized by the other teams in the RRAC," Rigby said. "He scored some timely goals for us this season."

Kueck had two goals – both game-winners – and an assist for the Jaguars (11-4-2).

"Phil has been a presence in the back for us this year," Rigby said. "He's a solid defender and contributed with a couple key goals."

Midfielder Ryan Naidoo was an honorable mention selection.

The graduate senior from Johannesburg, South Africa, led the team in assists with seven and scored once on 22 shots. He had two games in which he provided two assists, the first on Aug. 31 against Texas Wesleyan and the second during a 7-0 win over Texas College on Sept. 14.

"Ryan was a key member of our midfield this year," Rigby said. "He has excellent range in his passing and seemed be everywhere in the midfield. It's nice to see him achieve this honor as he finishes up his playing career."

Yahir Pena and Jose Luis Sanchez were selected to the All-Freshman team.

Pena led the team in goals with seven during his debut year at UHV, including a pair of game-winners. The Pharr native also set the single-game scoring record for the Jaguars with four goals in a 7-0 win over Texas College on Sept. 14. He was also recognized with RRAC Offensive Player of the Week honors on the week of Oct. 16-22 after scoring two goals in two matches against Xavier (La.) and North American.

"Yahir had a good freshman year," Rigby said. "His work rate and composure helped him make the transition faster than most freshmen. He set the UHV goal scoring record for a game by a freshman and chipped in some goals in key moments."

Sanchez, a McAllen native, scored three times and provided five assists – which ranked second on the team – in his debut year with the Jaguars. He opened his scoring tally with a pair of goals and an assist in an 8-0 win over Wiley College on Sept. 7. He scored the game-winner against Paul Quinn college on Oct. 7.

"His confidence grew as the season progressed and our staff rewarded him by playing him in key games," Rigby said. "Although he was only able to score three goals, he probably led the nation in the number of crossbars he hit."

Senior Samuel Nsenganivyizigiro, of Houston, was UHV's representative on the Champions of Character team.

The NAIA Champions of Character, an innovative outreach program designed to instill character values in student-athletes and coaches, contains five core values embraced by each RRAC member institution: respect, responsibility, integrity, servant leadership and sportsmanship.

"Sam led by encouraging others and being an excellent student-athlete," Rigby said. "He represented our team well in regards to the NAIA Champions of Character 5 Core values."