RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros men's soccer team learned on Monday that senior William Akio has been named the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Offensive Player of the Year and is part of the All-WAC First Team, as voted on by the league's coaches.
 
Additionally, the Vaqueros earned six other All-WAC honors as junior Elyad Shojaei joined Akio on the All-WAC First Team, juniors Reshaun Walkes, Moiad Ankir, and Trevor Schneider have been named to the All-WAC Second Team, junior Jan Engels earned Honorable Mention All-WAC Honors, and freshman Javier Chavez has been named to the All-WAC Freshman Team. 
 
Akio leads the Vaqueros in points (17), goals (7), shots (24), shots on goal (16), and game-winning goals (3), and is second on the team in assist (3) while playing and starting in all nine matches this season. Akio ranks first in the WAC in points, goals, and game-winning goals while ranking seventh in shots and tied for ninth in assists. 

Akio recorded three multi-goal matches this season as he scored two goals against Utah Valley, UNLV, and Air Force. Akio currently ranks second in program history in career points (50), tied for third in goals (18), tied for first in assists (14). 
 
Shojaei has started in all nine matches for the Vaqueros and anchored the UTRGV defense that allowed just eight goals this season, which is the second fewest in the WAC, and posted a WAC-best 0.84 goals against average. 
 
Walkes ranks second on the team in points (10), goals (5), shots (13), shots on goal (8), and game-winning goals (1) while playing, and starting, in seven matches. Walkes ranks fifth in the WAC in points and tied for second in goals. 
 
Walkes scored the game-winning goal against Incarnate Word that helped UTRGV clinch a top-two seed in the WAC Tournament. 
 
Ankir played in eight matches this season and led the team with four assists while ranking third in points (4). Ankir's four assists are tied for second most in the WAC. 
 
Schneider was steady in goal for the Vaqueros as he played and started in all nine matches. Schneider finished the regular season with 37 saves while posting an 0.84 goals against average and .818 save percentage with three shutouts on the season. Schneider ranks second in the WAC in goals against average, save percentage, and saves. 
 
Engels, who made the switch to defender this season, helped anchor the UTRGV defense that allowed just eight goals this season and an 0.84 goals against average. Engels played in all nine matches, while starting in eight of them.
 
Chavez played in eight matches this season, while starting all of them, as a freshman. Chavez was a new addition to the back line of the defense that allowed just eight goals this season. 
 
The Vaqueros, who enter the WAC Tournament as the No. 2 seed, will face either No. 3 San Jose State or No. 6 Air Force on Thursday, April 15, at 4:30 p.m. at Peter Johann Memorial Field in Las Vegas, Nevada.

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