LEBANON, Ill. - McKendree University men's soccer closed out its historic 2023 campaign at the beginning of December in the NCAA Tournament, earning the No.24 ranking in the final United Soccer Coaches Division II National Poll with a 12-2-7 overall mark while also setting program and individual marks on the season. The Bearcats collected numerous honors, including a record-streak in GLVC Defensive Player of the Week awards, All-Great Lakes Valley Conference selections, and an All-Midwest Region first team honor. Multiple players and the 2023 squad etched their names in the history books with the outstanding performances from the year.
SEASON RECAP
The Bearcats began the year strong, going 2-0-2 in non-conference games, which all took place away from home, beating Ohio Dominican and Cedarville before drawing with Christian Brothers and Northeastern State. GLVC-play kicked-off in mid-September with McKendree going 3-1 in the month. October allowed the Bearcats to break-out and push their opponents limits, as they allowed a singular score while collecting a 5-0-4 record with their stifling defense. McKendree added a GLVC tournament win over fifth-seeded Maryville in the conference quarterfinals, 1-0, marking the program's first victory over the Saints since 2018.
Prior to the NCAA regional round, the program added five All-GLVC recipients at the GLVC as three were named to the league's second team while two collected third-team honors. On the second team, junior midfielder
Philipp Schmidt added his second consecutive All-GLVC award while captaining the Bearcats and starting all but one contest in his career. Two other earned their first all-conference laurels with senior defender
Matteo Schubert and freshman goalkeeper
Christian Herluf rounding-out McKendree's second team honorees. On the third team, sophomore defender
Rhys Davies and graduate midfielder
Karson Huels both added their first collegiate all-league awards.
McKendree, the four-seed in the Midwest Regional, notched its first NCAA tournament win in a hosted contest against fifth-seeded Southern Nazarene on November 19 at Leemon Field. The Bearcats defeated SNU, 1-0, behind a header score by freshman defender
Fred Nielsen in the 108th minute. The win was the Bearcats first-ever win in the NCAA tournament while marking the Bearcats' second-ever NCAA appearance (2019). Both years the Bearcats have appeared in the tournament have featured a hosted-game at Leemon Field. McKendree battled throughout an NCAA Round of 16 game with Maryville, fighting through penalty kicks before narrowly falling, 8-7 in PKs, which ended the historic run of 2023. Following the season, Schmidt, a two-time All-GLVC selection, added his first All-Region honor by earning USC All-Midwest First Team. He is the third-ever Bearcat to earn first team honors in DII.
McKendree thrived on the defensive side of the ball, ranking second in team defense in Division II with a .373 goals allowed average while ranking fifth in the entire NCAA (Division I, II, III) in the same regard. McKendre came away from the 2023 campaign with a single-season shutout record, totaling 14. The Bearcats recorded shutouts over Ohio Dominican, Northeastern State, Rockhurst, Maryville (x3), Missouri S&T, Truman State, Upper Iowa, Quincy, UIS, Southwest Baptist, Drury, and Southern Nazarene.
Season Notables
- 4th in GLVC, highest finish since 2019
- No.4-Seed in NCAA Midwest Regional
- Ranked 24th in final USC 2023 national poll
- Program's first NCAA tournament victory (
11/19/23 vs SNU)
- Program Single-season team record for shutous (14)
- Program Single-season individual record for shutouts (14) -
Christian Herluf | Fr. | GK
- Program Career-record for games played / starts -
Karson Huels (85 / 88 ... 2019-2023)
- GLVC quarterfinal win over Maryville, 1-0, first win over Saints since 2019
- Five All-GLVC selections (
11/09/23 |
Second -
Philipp Schmidt,
Matteo Schubert,
Christian Herluf |
Third - Karson Huels,
Rhys Davies)
- Third-ever USC All-Midwest Region First Team honoree (
12/06/23 |
Philipp Schmidt)
- 6 GLVC Player of the Week honors
10/30/23 -
Christian Herluf (DPOTW)
10/23/23 -
Christian Herluf (DPOTW)
10/16/23 -
Christian Herluf (DPOTW)
10/9/23 -
Christian Herluf (DPOTW)
9/11/23 -
Christian Herluf (DPOTW)
9/4/23 -
Rhys Davies (OPOTW)
INDIVIDUAL RECORDS
Single-Season Shutouts (14) - Christian Herluf | Freshman | Goalkeeper
Herluf entered the year fighting for the starting spot in net for the Bearcats and made his presence known nationally by the conclusion. The freshman from Odder, Denmark, set the single-season program record (NAIA/NCAA DII) for shutouts in the process by holding full-time to collect 14 clean outing on the campaign. Herluf was pivotal in the program mark, helping lead the defense throughout while totaling 52 saves on a 0.867 save percentage overall. He highlighted his season when grabbing nine saves in the NCAA Second Round victory over SNU at Leemon Field, securing a shutout and win over a highly-touted offense via Southern Nazarene. He was named second team All-GLVC with his historic performance in the regular season while also earning a league-record of four-straight GLVC Men's Soccer Defensive Player of the Week awards to close down the regular season. He collected five on the year overall.
Herluf's National Rankings | NCAA Division II
