This year’s men’s soccer team is already cemented in WVU history for making the school’s first Men’s College Cup appearance, but each of the team’s senior leaders has a legacy of his own.
The NCAA semifinalists were primarily led by non-graduating players, namely forwards Marcus Caldeira and Yutato Tsukada, who were named All-America second team and third team respectively. Tsukada is a senior but was not recognized on the team’s Senior Night and is expected to stay at WVU.
While many stars are expected to maintain WVU’s success in seasons to come, though, the team’s eight seniors cannot be disregarded as keys to its success. Each player has an individual place in West Virginia history alongside the semifinalist recognition.
#4: Brayden Borutskie, Defender
A fifth year senior, Borutskie transferred to WVU from Liberty for the 2023 season. He played in 14 games and started in seven as a defenseman for 673 total minutes.
Though his contribution does not stand out on the page, especially considering the lack of defensive statistics, Borutskie provided defensive depth, veteran experience and leadership, and flexibility in a way few others could. He started 54 matches for Liberty in four years, totaling 4799 minutes and even scoring two goals.
For West Virginia, one of Borutskie’s season highlights was his assist to Sergio Ors Navarro in the Sun Belt Championship against Marshall. Borutskie started the match after not seeing the field in the previous round against South Carolina. This tended to be the case throughout the season for him, as he would play in some situations but not in others based on coach Dan Stratford’s plan for the match. Regardless, Brayden Borutskie was always ready when called upon and was proven a reliable centerback in his one season at WVU.
#10: Ryan Crooks, Midfielder
Surrounded by talented transfers and international recruits alike, Crooks stands out as a Mountaineer, through and through.
The midfielder spent all four of his collegiate seasons at WVU. After not seeing the field his freshman year, Crooks burst onto the scene in 2021 to lead the team in assists in 14 starts and 21 matches played. He also made two game-winning plays his sophomore season, as he scored the final goal in a regular season match against Western Michigan and passed the game-winning assist in the NCAA Tournament Third Round.
His junior season, Crooks led the team in assists again with six in his 11 starts and 14 matches played. Crooks also scored four goals to tie for the most points of the season for the team.
Crooks took a lesser role in his senior year, starting just one game and seeing the field 410 minutes in 16 matches, but his time with the team still made him more than capable of providing veteran leadership and great value to the College Cup qualifiers.
#33: Thomas Decottignies, Defender
Decottignies played four seasons for the UConn Huskies before transferring to WVU in 2023. He played 726 minutes in 16 games. He started in 11 matches, including the College Cup semifinal loss against Clemson.
As a defender, Decottignies tallied one goal and two assists in the regular season for the Mountaineers. He added to the team’s deep defensive lineup and strong cast of experienced veterans.
#19: Kasimir Lauber, Midfielder
After two seasons at Lincoln Memorial, Lauber transferred to West Virginia for his junior season in 2021. He only played 33 minutes between four games, but he still managed to tally his only assist of his WVU career. He saw play time in three games his senior season, including a career high 35 minutes played against American.
In WVU’s historic 2023 campaign, Lauber managed to increase his role in a competitive pool at the midfielder position. He played in 10 games for 115 total minutes. He saw the field for 17 minutes in the third round win over Vermont and again in his final college game against Clemson.
#1: Jackson Lee, Goalkeeper
Jackson Lee played all 2160 minutes of the 24-game season in 2023. He marked 66 saves and allowed 23 goals in the historic year for the Mountaineers.
Lee played two seasons at George Mason before joining the Mountaineers as a junior in 2022. He started 15 games at goal that season and won five. He recorded 30 saves and allowed 21 goals for the year. He improved significantly his senior year, decreasing his average goals allowed to less than one per game in the 17-3-4 season. He also recorded two assists.
Lee made the Sun Belt Conference’s Second Team All-Conference at goalkeeper, placing only lower than Marshall’s Gabriel Perrotta.
#26: Kyle Lehnert, Defender
Lehnert played 22 matches as a redshirt senior this season. He started four matches and played 686 total minutes for a talented West Virginia defense.
A Charlottesville, Va. native, Lehnert spent his entire collegiate career at WVU. He was named to the Big 12’s Academic At-Large First Team since his freshman season. As a sophomore, Lehnert made the game-winning assist against Pitt and scored a goal.
#11: Luke McCormick, Midfielder
McCormick stands out as an all-time star for the Mountaineers offense. He played all five seasons for WVU and won awards since his freshman year.
In 2019, McCormick was named to the MAC All-Tournament team for the Mid-American Conference champions, playing in all 21 matches for the year. He scored two goals and recorded nine assists for the year. He was named to the All-MAC First Team his sophomore and junior seasons, winning numerous Player of the Week honors from different publications.
In both his senior and fifth year seasons, McCormick earned a spot on the Sun Belt’s Second Team All-Conference. He started in 19 games and played in 22 this year for his career high of 1514 minutes for the season. He scored seven goals and passed three assists for the fourth most points on the team.
McCormick was kept out of the College Cup loss to Clemson due to an ankle injury. He scored a goal in his final game in the NCAA Quarterfinals against Loyola Marymount. He played 45 minutes in the match.
#20: Sergio Ors Navarro, Midfielder/Defender
As a redshirt senior, Ors Navarro was third on the team in points for the No. 5 Mountaineers. He scored eight goals and tallied two assists in 1423 minutes spanning all of the team’s 24 games. This roughly doubled his production from his junior season, where he scored three goals in 865 minutes across 18 games.
Ors Navarro played his entire collegiate career at WVU. He never became a superstar at the collegiate level, but he was an incredibly valuable and versatile player for the team. Without McCormick, Ors Navarro led the charge at midfielder in the semifinals of the College Cup, playing 81 minutes and taking two shots off near-assists from Yutaro Tsukada.
Photo by Aaron Parker, Blue Gold Sports
