Thaqi, Olivet Nazarene Dominate Men's Soccer Postseason Honor Roll
CHICAGO --- Olivet Nazarene University dominated during both the 2025 regular season and playoffs and the Tiger program did the same on Thursday afternoon when the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference announced its men's soccer postseason awards. ONU captured 12 of the 38 awards presented, or nearly one-third of the total.
Olivet Nazarene's awards count was more than double its next-closest challengers, which were regular-season and tournament runner-up Viterbo University and Saint Xavier University. Each of those programs gained five awards.
Holy Cross College, Judson University and Trinity Christian College were next in line with four all-conference selections each, while St. Ambrose University, University of St. Francis, Governors State University and Calumet College of St. Joseph each gained one honor.
ONU also had the most overall all-conference selections (six) as well as the most first-team picks (five) and nearly swept the top individual honors. There, the Tigers amassed six of the seven awards presented.
Half of those six went to Olivet Nazarene midfielder Atjon Thaqi (Switzerland) as he hit the trifecta with his CCAC Player, Midfielder and Freshman of the Year awards. He dominated the statistical sheet with his 21 goals, 14 assists, 56 points and six game-winning goals all leading the conference. On the national level, he is second in points, tied for second in game-winning goals, fourth in goals scored and tied for fourth in assists.
Joining Thaqi on the awards stand were teammates Maxime Schonenberger (Wattwil, Switzerland) and Daniel Martinez (Puebla, Mexico). Schonenberger was recognized as the CCAC Defensive Player of the Year, while Martinez gained the league's Newcomer of the Year award.
Schonenberger was a key piece to a defensive unit that allowed a league-low five goals in conference matches and authored nine shutouts. Eight of those clean sheets were against league foes, three of which came in the postseason, where the Tigers did not allow a goal.
The junior also has contributed a pair of assists on offense.
Martinez was nearly as impressive as Thaqi with both his 15 goals and 35 points ranking only behind his teammate in the league statistical charts. The graduate forward is also tied for second in game-winning goals (four) and tied for 12th with his five assists.
Claiming CCAC Offensive Player of the Year status was Viterbo's Joaquin Eichhorn (Lima, Peru). The senior forward's top mark was his four game-winning goals, which ties him for the No. 2 position in the league. He is one spot back from that with his 13 goals and 32 points, while tying for eighth with six assists.
Recognized as the CCAC Coach of the Year was Olivet Nazarene's Jon Forsythe, who guided the Tiger program to both league titles as well as its current 18-2-1 record heading into the NAIA National Tournament Opening Round.
The 38 awards were broken down into a pair of 15-member all-conference teams, the seven individual honors and the Karl Boeck Champions of Character award. The latter, which went to Calumet College of St. Joseph, is named in honor of the longtime CCAC official and assignor and is a sportsmanship award that embodies the spirit of the NAIA National Champions of Character program.
Of those named to the 15-member all-conference first team, three individuals garnered the distinction for the second time in their collegiate careers. That list was made up of Saint Xavier's Jaedan Aguilera (Belvidere, Ill.), Olivet Nazarene's Kai Bucher (Lucerne, Switzerland) and Trinity Christian's David Hernandez (Madrid, Spain).
For the complete list of award winners, go to Awards.