Four Wildcats Named United Soccer Coaches All-Southeast Region

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Four Kentucky men’s soccer Wildcats – goalkeeper Enrique Facusse, midfielder Kalil ElMedkhar, defender Aimé Mabika and forward JJ Williams – were named to the United Soccer Coaches’ All-Southeast Region First Team on Wednesday after they helped spearhead a magical 2018 season for UK.
 
The Wildcats completed their record-setting 2018 season last Friday. The Wildcats, who will graduate just one senior, won the Conference USA double, set the school record for wins, reached the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight, went 5-1 against top-25 opponents and welcomed multiple 3,000-plus crowds to The Bell to name but a few accomplishments.

All four of them were First Team All-C-USA selections.

Facusse, a sophomore, was named All-Region for the second year in a row after being on the All-Southeast Second Team a season ago. His .49 goals against average ranked fourth nationally, and his .84 save percentage ranked 12th in Division I.
 
ElMedkhar scored 11 goals and assisted 11 times in 2018. He ranked seventh in Division I in assists, ninth in points, 27th in goals and fourth in shot accuracy (66 percent). He had the second most assists in a single season by a Wildcat all-time.
 
Mabika played a central role in the nation’s No. 3 goals against average (.49) and shutout percentage (.64) defense.

Williams, the Conference USA Player of the Year and MAC Hermann Award semifinalist, established himself as perhaps the nation’s top attacking threat. He scored 18 goals – third most in the nation – nine game winners – second most in DI – and ranked third nationally in total points (44).

Williams scored huge goals on some of his biggest stages, scoring twice in 3-0 regular-season wins against NCAA Tournament No. 4-seed Louisville, No. 2 Indiana – a game in which he assisted the third goal. He also scored a brilliant 1-0 game winner in the C-USA Tournament final against USC No. 14 Charlotte just after halftime to go along with an NCAA Tournament second-round brace against USC No. 21 Portland.

UK’s coaches were named the Southeast Region Staff of the Year last week.

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