GREENVILLE, S.C. – Following the second undefeated season in conference play for the Converse University men's soccer team (9-1-7, 6-0-6 Conference Carolinas), five Valkyries were named as all-conference selections. Senior
Gabriel Verona headlines the group as the Conference Carolinas Defensive Player of the Year. He becomes the second men's soccer student-athlete at Converse to win a major award.
Three Valkyries were selected all-conference first team: junior forward Guilherme Fontes, senior defender Gabriel Verona and sophomore goalkeeper Mateo Sanchez. Senior forward Hayden Gensler earned second-team honors while fellow senior midfielder Nicholas Gartung was named to the third team.
Head coach Rob Miller was also named the Conference Carolinas Coach of the Year, the second time he has received that honor. The other time was when the then-second-year Valkyries won the conference's regular season championship en route to Converse's first-ever NCAA tournament appearance in any sport. In 2024, Miller led the Valkyries to their second consecutive outright division championship and an undefeated season in conference play.
Verona, a senior from Santa Catarina, Brazil, was selected as the Conference Carolinas Defensive Player of the Year. He appeared and started in all 17 games this season, playing all 90 minutes 10 times and playing less than 60 minutes just once. Verona anchored the Valkyries backline and helped the team record the second-most shutouts in Conference Carolinas this season. He was twice named the Conference Carolinas Defensive Player of the Week. This is the second consecutive year he was selected first team all-conference.
Fontes, a junior from São Paulo, Brazil, played in all 17 games this season and made 16 starts. He finished the season second in Conference Carolinas in goals with nine and fourth in assists with seven. Fontes was the conference's second-leading scorer with 25 points and led the league in game-winning goals with four.
Sanchez, a sophomore from Anderson, South Carolina, played and started in 16 games for the Valkyries this season, totaling 1,385 minutes in the box. He had a goals allowed average of 0.84, the best mark in Conference Carolinas. Sanchez recorded 41 saves and a save percentage of 0.759, the sixth-highest percentage in Conference Carolinas. His five solo shutouts were tied for the most in the conference this season.
Gensler, a senior from Cleveland, Georgia, earned his second all-conference selection of his career. He earned first-team honors in 2022 and was named the 2022 Offensive Player of the Year. In 2024, Gensler played and started in all 17 of the Valkyries' games. He netted six goals and two assists for 14 points. His six goals tied him for the sixth-most in Conference Carolinas this season.
Gartung, a senior from Lexington, South Carolina, appeared in all 17 games this season and made 16 starts. He scored one goal and one assist for three points.
The Valkyries are back on the pitch in the Conference Carolinas Semifinals at Bryan Park in Browns Summit, North Carolina. The game is set to begin at 7:30 P.M.
Follow Converse
https://www.facebook.com/ConverseValkyries
Twitter: @Valkyries_MSO
Instagram: @converse_msoc
Youtube.com/Converse Athletics
