Tuesday, November 28, 2023
by Thomas Lal

PORTLAND, Ore. –  Simon Fraser seniors Devin O’Hea and Niko Papakyriakopoulos led six total Great Northwest Athletic Conference selections to the 2023 Division II Conference Commissioners Association Men’s Soccer All West-Region Teams as first-team honorees.

O’Hea, a forward from North Vancouver, B.C., was instrumental in leading the Red Leafs to their first GNAC title since 2018. He recorded at least one point in 10 of 11 matches across the conference slate, including a seven-match goal-scoring streak that lasted from Sept. 29 to Oct. 26. O’Hea finished the season with 27 points on nine goals and nine assists and his relentless effort in leading Simon Fraser to the top of the conference earned him selection as the GNAC Player of the Year.

Joining O’Hea on the first team is Papkyriakopoulos, a senior defender from New Westminster, B.C., and the unanimous GNAC Defensive Player of the Year. Papakyriakopoulos was a stalwart on the backline for the Red Leafs, anchoring a defense that tied for the conferenece lead with a 1.00 goals against average and posted six shutouts. Along with his work protecting the net, Papakyriakopoulos was an integral part of building the team’s attack, finishing the season with one goal and eight assists.

Along with teammates O’Hea and Papakyriakopoulos, GNAC Freshman of the Year Michael Hennessy also earned all-region honors on the second team for his debut season. The Vancouver, B.C., native was electric in 2023 ranking second in the GNAC with 29 points on 13 goals and three assists. Hennessy scored five of those goals in one game on Oct. 19 at Saint Martin’s, becoming just the third player in conference history to score five or more goals in a single game and the first to do so in conference play.

Northwest Nazarene freshman forward Jim Wagenaar also earned second-team honors after leading the conference in scoring with a staggering 30 points courtesy of 14 goals and two assists. The Den Bosch, Netherlands native made his own piece of history in his first collegiate season, becoming the first player in conference history to record hat tricks in back-to-back matches, doing so on Oct. 5 against Western Oregon and on Oct. 12 at Montana State Billings.

Rounding out the GNAC’s second-team all-region selections are Western Oregon freshman midfielder Yahir Ocampo and Western Washington freshman defender Sebastiano Silvetti. Ocampo was a key player for the Wolves as they finished runner-up in the conference standings, finishing the season with 12 points on three goals and six assists. Silvetti played an important role in the Vikings’ defense, starting 15 games and logging over 1,200 minutes on the backline as WWU tied for the GNAC lead with a 1.00 goals against average. He also added one goal and an assist for good measure.

The D2CCA Men’s Soccer All-West Region was nominated by and voted upon by the region’s athletics communications professionals. With their first-team selections, O’Hea and Papakyriakopoulos move on to consideration for the D2CCA Men’s Soccer All-America Team, which will be announced on Wednesday, Dec. 6.