All-WHAC Release

Grand Rapids, Mich. – The Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) announced its annual conference awards for the 2024 men's soccer season on Thursday (Nov. 7) morning. Aquinas took home three all-conference honors, including one major award after the voting conducted by the league's head coaches.

AQ is once again home to the WHAC Offensive Player of the Year after Ricardo Rittersberger was given the prestigious award for the second consecutive season. He is the first player since Aquinas Hall of Fame inductee, Jeo Pantoja, to be given the award in back-to-back seasons – a feat that Pantoja accomplished back in the 2009 and 2010 seasons. Rittersberger, Pantoja, and Tyler Fischer are the only three players in AQ history to be given the Offensive Player of the Year award.

It comes as a surprise to nobody that Rittersberger repeated as the WHAC Offensive Player of the Year after leading the conference for a second consecutive season with 17 goals during the regular season. He netted 17 goals in 17 appearances while adding on an additional three assists for a total of 37 points. His numbers were nearly identical to the 2023 season where he also found 17 goals and 43 total points.

Rittersberger was incredibly efficient once again, tallying his 17 goals on 64 shots. The German native scored at least three points in seven different contests, including a hat trick against UM-Dearborn back on October 16th. He also scored or assisted a goal in 11 of the 17 games this season. Naturally, Rittersberger was also named First Team All-WHAC for the second consecutive season.

The Saints also have two recipients being named Second Team All-Conference with Joe Lockey and Joshua Clemitson returning to all-conference teams.

Lockey was named to the 2023 All-Conference Second Team and returns to that team in 2024. Lockey has been a rock on the backline all season next to Josh Freeman-Wright. The England native has the most minutes played this season for the Saints, totaling 1,449 minutes over 17 contests. Lockey has been a workhorse, playing all 90 minutes in 11 of his 17 games this year. He has also scored four goals this year including, most recently, a game-tying goal in the WHAC Quarterfinals against UNOH on Tuesday (Nov. 5). His four goals more than double his goal total from the previous three seasons.

AQ's defensive midfielder, Clemitson, joins Lockey on the All-WHAC Second Team after being named to the first team in 2023. Clemitson currently sits with the third-most minutes played on the team (1,401), trailing only Lockey and Rittersberger. AQ's midfielder from Newcastle has had another great season, applying defensive pressure and facilitating the ball well throughout the field. Clemitson has scored three goals and provided three assists this year.

Aquinas also placed 11 athletes on the WHAC All-Academic Team. To qualify, a student-athlete must be a sophomore or above in academic standing with a cumulative GPA of 3.25 or better and in attendance at its institution for one full year. The Saints that received this honor are: Rittersberger, Clemitson, Lockey, Angelo Colucci, Parker Fenton, Milan Hoeffnagel, Peyton Huffman, Stefano Moraccini, Ivan Radovic, Jasper Schinkel, and Jackson VanderMeer.

Huffman is also AQ's representative on the WHAC Champions of Character Team, as the student-athlete who best represents the five core character values of integrity, respect, responsibility, sportsmanship, and servant leadership. 

Up Next

The Saints will be back in action on Saturday (Nov. 9) with a road trip to Livonia to take on the top-seeded Madonna Crusaders in the WHAC semifinals.