Men's Soccer Puts Four on United Soccer Coaches All-Region Team
HUNTINGDON, Pa.- The Juniata men's soccer team added more accolades to their historic season as Maxwell Mattioni, Shawn Tanaka, Gavin Rauhut, and Brandon Marzula made the 2024 United Soccer Coaches Men's All-Region V team. Mattioni and Tanaka made the first team, Rauhut made the third team while Marzula made the fourth team.
Mattioni was a rock for the Eagles in goal all year, as he added another accolade to his Co-Defensive Player of the Year award, first-team all-conference nod, and made the Eastern College Athletic Conference All-Tournament team after the Eagles won the ECAC Championship. He totaled seven shutouts, six in conference play, and was third in the conference in save percentage and shutouts per game. The seven shutouts are a program record.
Tanaka excelled in his rookie campaign with the Eagles and also has a fast-growing accolade list along with this all-region honor. He was the Landmark Rookie of the Year, a fellow all-conference first-teamer, and named the ECAC Championship MVP. He led the conference in game-winning goals (7), was second in the conference in goals (12), third in points (29), and was tied for sixth in assists (5). In the final 14 matches of the season, he had a goal or an assist in 12 of them, including the final six matches. Tanaka's 12 goals are tied for the second most in program history in a single season, with 2024 Juniata Hall of Famer Wilson Antoniuk's 1993 12-goal campaign and Steve Blanche's 1996 12-goal season. His 29 points are tied for the second-most in program history in a single season, with Blanche's 29 in 1996.
Rauhut adds this after also starring on the all-conference first team, following a season that saw him contribute all over the field. He was just as likely to be rising above everyone to head away an opponent's corner as he was to be knifing through the opposition's defense or playing a decisive pass. He was tied for the conference lead in assists (9), which included assisting both goals in the ECAC Semifinal match against McDaniel. Rauhut's nine assists are tied for the second-most in a single season in program history with David Ndlovu's nine assists in 1992.
Marzula also joined his teammates on the all-conference first team and was instrumental in the midfield all season for the Eagles, influencing matches from all over the field. He was fourth in the conference in assists (7), and his second goal of the year, a heady free kick from way out, ultimately was the winner in the team's 3-1 win over Rutgers Newark in the ECAC Championship. His seven assists are tied for the fifth-most in program history with David Feldser's seven in the 1997 season.
These four are the first four all-region selections in program history.