The Ohio Valley Conference released the 2025 All-OVC Award winners this afternoon, which featured seven total Lions and Head coach Kris Bertsch. The Lions finished the 2025 regular season with an overall record of 13-2-3 and won their first OVC regular season championship in the Division I era. 

OVC Coach Of The Year
Head coach Kris Bertsch was named the OVC Coach of the Year, his first as a head coach in his college coaching career. Bertsch led the Lions to their first Division I regular season conference title and posted the most wins in a single season for the program since 2016 as well as the most wins in a single season in the Division I era. In 2025, the Lions recorded 11 shutouts which ranked tied for second in the country across all of Division I soccer and led the OVC in points with 124. 

"It's wonderful to be honored as Coach of the Year but I know no one achieves success alone, it takes a team. I am so thankful and appreciative for everything our staff, players, and administration do to help our program be successful." said Bertsch.

OVC Defender Of The Year 
Leandro Haesler was named the 2025 OVC Defender of the Year. The 6'3 Senior Defender from Germany led all Defenders in the OVC with four assists and three goals scored. Haesler anchored a defense that posted 11 shutouts during the 2025 season, which ranked tied for second in the country. He was also named the OVC Defender of the Week two different times during the regular season on September 9 and October 28, scoring a goal and leading the defense to a shutout during those two weeks of the season. 

OVC Forward Of The Year
Luca Bartoni was named the 2025 OVC Forward Of The Year. Bartoni scored two goals and led the OVC in assists with four during conference play. On October 2 at Eastern Illinois, the 6'1 Senior from St. Louis scored one goal and registered two assists in the Lion's 3-0 win over the Panthers. His four point performance in that game led to him being named the OVC Offensive Player of the Week on October 7. Bartoni finished the 2025 regular season with 15 points, scoring five goals and adding five assists in 18 games played for the Black and Gold. 

In addition to being named the OVC Defender and Forward of the Year, Haelser and Bartoni were also named to the All-OVC First Team along with teammate Matteo Landais. Landais had nine assists during the regular season, which ranked tied for fifth in the nation. The 6'0 Graduate Student from France scored two of his five goals during OVC competition, and finished the regular season with a team-leading 19 points. 

Haesler and Landais were also recognized among the All-OVC Newcomer Team alongside Alander Soares and Gavin Csiszar. Soares scored three of his four goals during conference play, including the game-winning goal at SIUE on September 27 to help the Lions defeat the Cougars for the first time in the Division I era. Soares was also named the OVC Offensive Player of the Week back on October 21 for scoring goals in back-to-back games in wins over UIW and HCU to help the Lions go 2-0 during that week. Meanwhile, Csiszar led the 2025 squad in goals scored with six and added four assists to finish the regular season with 16 points. The 5'10 Graduate Student from Medina, Ohio scored two goals during conference play in wins over Western Illinois and SIUE. 

Among the returners, Gavin Roberts and Ethan Blake were named to the All-OVC Second Team. Roberts started eight out of 10 conference matches and posted a GAA of .58 during those eight matches. The Senior Goalkeeper from Florissant, Missouri went 4-2-2 in conference play, and made a total of 39 saves. His .886 save percentage ranked first in the OVC amongst all Goalkeepers during conference play. Roberts won OVC Goalkeeper of the Week honors twice during the 2025 season on October 7 and October 28. 

Ethan Blake made his third straight All-OVC Team in as many years as the Senior Forward scored one goal and added two assists during OVC play. His lone goal scored in conference play was a game-winning goal against UIW on October 16 and Blake finished the 2025 season with a total of 14 points, scoring four goals and recording six assists. Blake was named the OVC Offensive Player of the Week back on August 26 for his five point performance in the season opener at Chicago State as he scored two goals and added an assist in the Lion's 7-0 win over the Cougars. 

"It's really exciting to see seven of our student-athletes recognized for their success on the field including earning the OVC Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year. We pride ourselves on recruiting players who value being a part of something bigger than themselves and being open to continual growth. I am extremely proud they have been recognized and for their success individually and collectively for the work they've put in this season." said head coach Kris Bertsch.

All-OVC First Team
Alex Aitken, HCU GK 
Leandro Haesler, Lindenwood D 
Wes Gibson, SIUE D 
Nico Kross, HCU D 
D'Alessandro Herrera, HCU MF 
Matteo Landais, Lindenwood MF 
Yuki Nakamura, Eastern Illinois MF 
Carles Zomeño, SIUE MF 
Luca Bartoni, Lindenwood F 
Ryan Okerayi, HCU F
Evan Howard, SIUE F 

Al-OVC Second Team
Gavin Roberts, Lindenwood GK
Alejandro De La Torre, UIW GK
Casey McCarthy, Liberty D 
Nathan Bessinger, Western Illinois D
Perry Blay, Liberty D 
Aidan Morrison, Liberty MF 
Ethan Blake, Lindenwood MF 
Ricardo Garcia, HCU MF 
Leo Conneh, Liberty F 
Liam Gainey, Western Illinois F 
Zach Lifferth, Liberty F 
David Davila, Southern Indiana F 

All-OVC Newcomer Team
Yuki Nakamura, Eastern Illinois MF 
Joby Reid, HCU F 
Ben Thirkill, HCU MF 
Tyler Beck, Liberty GK 
Matteo Landais, Lindenwood MF 
Leandro Haesler, Lindenwood D 
Gavin Csiszar, Lindenwood MF 
Alander Soares, Lindenwood F 
Evan Howard, SIUE F 
Noah Scheidweiler, SIUE GK
Noe Robles, UIW MF 
Nathan Bessinger, Western Illinois D