Persenico, Gomez, and Reddy receive Men's Soccer All-Heart honors for 2023 season

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Finishing at a 7-5-4 overall record for their third-straight season of seven or more victories, the Clarke University men's soccer team learned that three individuals earned Heart of America All Conference honors on Thursday morning.

Heart officials released the full selection of all three All-Heart teams on Thursday as Luke Persenico (2nd Team), Jose Gomez (2nd Team), and Joshua Reddy (3rd Team) received recognition for their outstanding play in the 2023 season.

Persenico, a junior from St. Charles, Ill., was the Pride's leading goal and point scorer on the season as he finished with six goals and five assists on the year for a total of 17 points. The winger saw a drop in his goal production but the five assists set a new career-high as he recorded at least a point in seven of the team's 16 games this season as Clarke never lost in those seven games, with three of those seven games seeing Persenico on the score sheet more than once in the game.

Gomez, a sophomore from Roatan, Honduras, was the straw that stirred the drink for CU as he controlled possession, triggered the offensive attack, and also provided strong defense at his midfield position. Gomez finished the season as the second-leading point scorer for the Pride at a final season tally of nine points with two goals and tying Persenico's team-high five assists as he also recorded a point in seven of the team's 16 games.

Reddy, a junior from Durbin, South Africa, was a mainstay in the middle of Clarke's back line starting in all but one game for the Pride on the year to finish with one goal and two assists on the season, playing a vital role in attacking set pieces as a long throw-in specialist. Either working in a four-back or three-back formation, Reddy worked the CU back line with a lot of different combinations of teammates but was the consistent presence all season for the Pride.

Clarke men's soccer finished Heart play with a 4-5-2 record in conferece to finish in the first spot out of the Heart Tournament in ninth place at the end of the regular season but expect to return a bulk of their roster in an effort to return to postseason play in 2024.