Tigers Collect Plethora of Conference Awards

IRVING, Texas – Memphis men's soccer collects five major awards and six All-Conference selections, per the American Athletic Conference's yearly announcement of postseason teams.

"When the team does well, individuals get recognized and I'm happy to say that was the case this year," head coach Richard Mulrooney said. "But more importantly, it took the whole team to win the conference this year and that is the most important thing to me and to the program".

The first of three major award winners for Memphis is Lleyton Imparato, who was named one of two Midfielders of the Year. The junior from Tampa, Fla. has pocketed five goals, which leads Memphis and is good for third in the AAC. His five assists put him fifth in the conference. He also sits in the top five in points (15), points-per-game (1.00), goals-per-game (0.33) and assists-per-game (0.33). Imparato is also tied for second in game-winning goals with two.

The Defender of the Year award was given to Jackson Kim, who anchored a back line that held conference opponents to only five goals in seven matches. Kim was also one of only three Tigers to start in every match during the 2024 campaign and logged 1438 minutes played while contributing to four shutouts. Kim's work in defense held conference opponents to an average of 0.71 goals allowed, good for second in the AAC.

Filip Sabatti was named Goalkeeper of the Year as the best between the pipes in the conference. Sabatti claims the award after recording three shutouts with all three coming against AAC opponents and holding a .792 save percentage in conference play to lead the AAC. His .733 save percentage in all contests ranks second in the conference. His 19 saves in conference play and 44 saves in total rank third and fourth in the conference, respectively. Sabatti's four shutouts rank third in the AAC.

Imparato, Kim and Sabatti also received nods on the All-AAC First Team. Kim was one of two unanimous first team selections, with the other being Charlotte's Ian Pilcher. This is also Kim's second time being named to the first team, while Imparato and Sabatti garner this recognition for the first time in their respective careers.

Luciano Galizzi and Logan Longo were announced as All-AAC Second Team selections. Galizzi sits tied at fourth in the conference in both total goals (4) and conference goals (2). Longo had an incredible season as a defender for the Tigers. The Memphis native recorded four goals from his center back position, which sits tied for fourth in the AAC and matches the scoring output of his fellow second team selection. He also contributed to four clean sheets as a defender.

The Tigers also had a selection on the All-Freshman Team in defender, Ryan Ruguaru. The homegrown product from nearby Lausanne Collegiate made six starts as a freshman with 13 total appearances. Playing in a versatile defensive role, Ruguaru contributed to Memphis' four clean sheets while making a start in a crucial 1-0 victory over then ranked No. 9 Charlotte.

The Tigers were also named Coaching Staff of the Year. Head coach Richard Mulrooney, associate head coach Tony McManus, assistant coach Kevin Tello and volunteer assistant coach Remco De Jong collectively earn the award after helping Memphis bounce back from a slow start early in the season and finish at the top of the conference after being picked third in the preseason poll.

For the second year in a row, Memphis was named the recipient of the Fair Play Award, given to the team with the least fouls, yellow cards and red cards in conference play.

The full list of recipients in the American Athletic Conference can be found below.

Offensive Player of the Year
Mamadou Diarra, Sr., F, Florida Atlantic

Defensive Player of the Year
Jackson Kim, Gr., D, Memphis

Midfielders of the Year
Lleyton Imparato, Jr., M, Memphis
Pedro Faife, So., M, South Florida

Goalkeeper of the Year
Filip Sabatti, Jr., GK, Memphis

Freshmen of the Year
Mathis Richter, D, UAB
David Houja, D, FIU

Coaching Staff of the Year
Memphis*
Richard Mulrooney, Tony McManus, Kevin Tello, Remco de Jong

Team Fair Play Award
Memphis Tigers

First Team All-Conference
Ian Pilcher, Sr., D, Charlotte*
Riyon Tori, Sr., M, Charlotte
Lleyton Imparato, Jr., M, Memphis
Jackson Kim, Gr., D, Memphis*
Filip Sabatti, Jr., GK, Memphis
Mamadou Diarra, Sr., F, Florida Atlantic
Noah Kvifte, Sr., F, Florida Atlantic
Aboubacar Traore, Jr., M, Florida Atlantic
Bernardo Dos Santos Montiero, Sr., F, FIU
Pedro Faife, So., M, South Florida
Wes Bottenburg, Jr. D, Tulsa
*denotes unanimous selection

Second Team All-Conference
Tony Kim, So., F, UAB
Leo Stritter, Jr., GK, Charlotte
Lucho Galizzi, 5^th, F, Memphis
Logan Longo, Gr., D, Memphis
Callum Frogson, Jr., D, Florida Atlantic
Sebastian Zettl, Jr., M, Florida Atlantic
Jalen Anderson, Gr., F, South Florida
Issah Hamidu, So., D, South Florida
Gunnar Studenhofft, Sr., F, South Florida
Kemali Green, Gr., D, Temple
Alvaro Torrijos, Gr., M, Tulsa

All-Freshman Team
Ole Jessen, D, UAB*
Mathis Richter, D, UAB*
Jaedon Richardson, F, Charlotte*
Kasper Heerfordt, D, Florida Atlantic*
David Houja, D, FIU*
Ryan Ruguaru, D, Memphis*
Marcelo Mondragon, D, South Florida*
Edgar Bazan, M, Temple
Nathan Brown, F, Temple
Charlie Votel, F, Temple
Alex Cunningham, D, Tulsa*

*denotes unanimous selection

HOW TO FOLLOW THE TIGERS

For complete information on Memphis Tigers Soccer, visit www.GoTigersGo.com and follow the team's social media channels on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

University of Memphis Athletics

Players Mentioned

Luciano Galizzi

Lleyton Imparato

Jackson Kim

Logan Longo

Ryan Ruguaru

Filip Sabatti

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