COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Fort Lewis freshman striker Anton Hjalmarsson is the 2023 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Men’s Soccer Player of the Year, the league announced Thursday alongside its other individual awards and all-conference rosters. RMAC Men’s Soccer All-Conference honors and individual accolades are nominated and voted on by the league’s 11 head coaches. Coaches are not permitted to vote for themselves or their student-athletes.
Hjalmarsson consistently threw down electric performances for the Skyhawks in his debut campaign, culminating in the RMAC’s Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year honors. The Smalandsstenar, Sweden, native closed out the regular season with 10 goals over 17 caps. He also dished out eight assists for Fort Lewis, resulting in 28 points, which ranks second among the RMAC. Hjalmarsson was crucial in the Skyhawks RMAC regular-season championship and notched two goals in the regular-season finale to lock up the hardware for his squad. As a key figure in the Fort Lewis attack, the freshman ranks 14th nationally for assists and 16th in total points.
Colorado State University Pueblo’s Shjon Andrews repeats as the RMAC Men’s Soccer Defensive Player of the Year after leading the ThunderWolves’ backline to an impressive regular-season finish. The graduate student is a key figure in the Pack’s defense and leads a unit that shut out 10 of its 18 opponents in the regular season. Andrews has played and started in 17 matches throughout the 2023 campaign and added in three goals and two assists for eight points over 1,379 minutes on the pitch. Behind his efforts, the Pack has allowed just 15 goals while limiting opponents to 5.4 shots per contest.
Colorado Mesa’s Diego Chavez is the RMAC Men’s Soccer Goalkeeper of the Year after recording six clean sheets and a 10-3-5 overall record in the net during the Mavericks’ regular-season slate. The redshirt sophomore accounted for 1,620 minutes of action, which leads the nation, ahead of postseason play and holds a 1.11 goals-against average. Chavez has also converted an astounding 80 saves over 18 caps, which leads the RMAC and ranks 13th nationally. Behind his .800 save percentage, the Mavericks stand first in the RMAC and 21st in NCAA Division II.
Fort Lewis head coach David Oberholtzer is the RMAC Men’s Soccer Coach of the Year after guiding his Skyhawks to their first RMAC regular-season championship since the 2011 season. Oberholtzer’s squad earned its seventh RMAC regular-season title in program history after closing the year with a 6-1-3 mark in conference play and gashed opponents for an average of 2.53 goals per game. Behind Oberholtzer, Fort Lewis ranks 20th nationally for assists per game (2.12) and goal differential (21) and 15th in the country for points per game (7.18) while leading the RMAC in all three of those categories.
CSU Pueblo leads the way among all-conference selections with six honorees, while Fort Lewis checks in next with five honorees. The ThunderWolves capture an impressive four first-team spots compared to the Skyhawks’ trio of first-team honorees. University of Colorado Colorado Springs garners four all-conference distinctions. Colorado Mesa and Metropolitan State University of Denver check in next with a trio of selections apiece, followed by Colorado School of Mines and Regis with two all-conference honors each. Adams State and Westminster round out the all-conference lists with one selection for each program.
RMAC Player of the Year: Anton Hjalmarsson, Fort Lewis
RMAC Freshman of the Year: Anton Hjalmarsson, Fort Lewis
RMAC Defensive Player of the Year: Shjon Andrews, CSU Pueblo
RMAC Goalkeeper of the Year: Diego Chavez, Colorado Mesa
RMAC Coach of the Year: David Oberholtzer, Fort Lewis
2023 RMAC Men’s Soccer First Team All-Conference
| Pos. |
Name |
Cl. |
School |
Hometown |
| F |
Gabriel Campora |
Sr. |
CSU Pueblo |
Saltillo, Mexico |
| F |
Anton Hjalmarsson |
Fr. |
Fort Lewis |
Smalandsstenar, Sweden |
| F |
Gabriel Legendre |
Jr. |
Fort Lewis |
Rio Rancho, N.M. |
| F |
Alex Andersson |
Sr. |
UCCS |
Helsingborg, Sweden |
| M |
Caio Oliveira |
Sr. |
CSU Pueblo |
Espigao d’Oeste, Brazil |
| M |
Kenshin Uneo |
Sr. |
CSU Pueblo |
Hyogo, Japan |
| M |
Loic Jean-Baptiste |
R-Sr. |
Fort Lewis |
Martinique, France |
| M |
Adan Perez |
Jr. |
MSU Denver |
Denver, Colo. |
| D |
Raymond Jackson |
R-Sr. |
Colorado Mesa |
Denver, Colo. |
| D |
Ian Kugler |
R-Sr. |
Colorado School of Mines |
Littleton, Colo. |
| D |
Shjon Andrews |
Gr. |
CSU Pueblo |
Longmont, Colo. |
| D |
Jace Vance |
Sr. |
Westminster |
Sandy, Utah |
| GK |
Diego Chavez |
R-So. |
Colorado Mesa |
Longmont, Colo. |
2023 RMAC Men’s Soccer Second Team All-Conference
| Pos. |
Name |
Cl. |
School |
Hometown |
| F |
Manuel Ponce Casas |
So. |
Colorado Mesa |
Playa del Carmen, Mexico |
| F |
Tomas Duenes |
Jr. |
Fort Lewis |
Torreon, Mexico |
| F |
Rayhan Carlson-Du Toit |
Jr. |
Regis |
Auckland, New Zealand |
| F |
Marvin Putu |
Gr. |
UCCS |
Nanterre, France |
| F |
Kolby Raineri |
Gr. |
UCCS |
Ankeny, Iowa |
| M |
Tyler Zimbounellis |
Fr. |
Adams State |
Sydney, Australia |
| M |
John Burnett |
Jr. |
Colorado School of Mines |
Windsor, Colo. |
| M |
Michael Jimenez |
Gr. |
Regis |
Denver, Colo. |
| M |
Lars Walczyk |
Sr. |
UCCS |
Bavaria, Germany |
| D |
Ignatius DeMark |
Sr. |
CSU Pueblo |
Phoenix, Ariz. |
| D |
Dylan Zavatini |
Sr. |
CSU Pueblo |
Santa Catarina, Brazil |
| D |
Kaden Schufft |
So. |
Fort Lewis |
Rio Rancho, N.M. |
| D |
Jackson Vander Ven |
Jr. |
MSU Denver |
Lone Tree, Colo. |
| GK |
Ross Miller |
Gr. |
MSU Denver |
Kilmarnock, Scotland |
*An extra spot at the forward position on the second team was a result of a tie in voting
2023 RMAC Men’s Soccer Honorable Mention
| Name |
School |
| Ranulfo Lopez |
Adams State |
| Charles Manthe |
Adams State |
| Ben Hess |
Colorado Christian |
| Gabe Roloff |
Colorado Christian |
| Alec Fronapfel |
Colorado Mesa |
| Fernando Morales |
Colorado Mesa |
| Chris Seery |
Colorado School of Mines |
| Aaron Biggerstaff |
MSU Denver |
| Jacobo Betancourt-Tovar |
Regis |
| Liam Corr |
Regis |
| Vilhjamur Kaldal |
Regis |
| Jack Cardwell |
Westminster |
| Roark Looney |
Westminster |
| Brayden Reid |
Westminster |
| Landon Ward |
Westminster |