UTICA, NY - The Empire 8 has announced its all-conference teams for the 2025 men's soccer season. Utica University's team had several men be awarded honors by the conference for their performances. The Pioneers finished 9-5-5 overall this campaign, with their season concluding in a penalty kick shootout in the semifinals.
Byamungu Mugushu (Syracuse, NY/Bishop Grimes) led the Pioneers this season, earning an E8 First Team selection for his performance. Mugushu had not only his best personal season, but quite possibly the best individual season in program history. In 2025, he set single-season program records in points (39), points per game (2.29), game-winning goals (6), and tied the goal record with 16. He also broke several career records this season, holding tight leads on the total goals (37), and shots on goal (100) tallies, while holding sizable leads on the total points (91) and game-winning goals (13).
Noah Nassberg (Naples, FL/Gulf Coast) provided a strong veteran presence in the midfield for the team, ranking as the fourth Pioneer above six points (13), and being named to the E8 Second Team. He scored four goals and assisted on another five in his senior season.
Carter Cookinham (Poland, NY/Poland) has already kicked off what can be an incredible collegiate career. In addition to now being named to the E8 Third Team, Cookinham scored the second-most points on the team with his five-goal, six-assist freshman season. He was effective with his shot selection, taking the fewest shots of any player with more than two goals.
Henry Schweitzer (Clinton, NY/Clinton), another freshman, joins his rookie teammate on the Third Team. Schweitzer earned the honors with a very similar stat line to Cookinham, as each scored five goals, but Schweitzer had two fewer assists. He played 926 minutes this season, 9th most on the team, and the 2nd most of any freshman or sophomore-level player.
Santiago Consalvo (Buenos Aires, Argentina/Faulkner University (NAIA)) has been named Utica's recipient of the Empire 8 Tomorrow's Leaders award. One member of each team was named that institution's representative on the 2025 Men's Soccer Tomorrow's Leaders Team. This team honors a student-athlete who has emerged as a leader not only on the field of play, but in the classroom and in the community. In addition, they "compete with honor and integrity" and have distinguished themselves and consistently exhibit the critical traits as outstanding sportsmen.
