CHARLESTON, W.Va. – The 2017 Division II Conference Commissioners Association announced the Men's Soccer All-America Teams on Friday morning with six Golden Eagles earning honors, highlighted by First Team recognition for Thomas Vancaeyezeele and Paulo Pita.
Charleston, which will meet Lynn (Fla.) for the national championship on Saturday in Kansas City, Mo., leads the All-America teams with six selections - two each on the first, second and third teams.
Charleston advanced to the national title game with a 1-0 win over Cal Poly Pomona on Thursday night. Lynn advanced on penalty kicks after a 0-0 tie vs. Rockhurst (Mo.).
Thirteen players were selected to the first team - four forwards, four midfielders, four backs and one goalkeeper.
Charleston and California Baptist both have two players on the first team - sophomore goalkeeper Paulo Pita and senior back Thomas Vancaeyezeele for Charleston, and Apodaca and senior back Abe Placito for Cal Baptist.
There are two repeat selections on the first team in senior midfielder Esteban Berumen of Notre Dame de Namur (Calif.) and senior back Ty Mobley of St. Edward's (Texas).
Joining Apodaca on the first team at forward are junior John Haist of Colorado School of Mines (22 goals, 4 assists), senior Sergi Monso of Cal Poly Pomona (18 goals, 7 assists) and junior Brogan Shrimpton of Davenport (Mich.) (19 goals, 2 assists). Haist (South Central) and Shrimpton (Midwest) were named Player of the Year in their respective regions. Apodaca and Monso represent the West Region.
In the midfield, Berumen (16 goals, 4 assists) is joined by junior Chahin Aghrim of Goldey-Beacom (Del.) (10 goals, 15 assists), junior Moshe Perez of Colorado Mesa (13 goals, 8 assists) and sophomore Gabriel Torres of the University of District of Columbia (19 goals, 11 assists), who was named East Region Player of the Year.
The back line is comprised of Mobley, Placito, Vancaeyezeele and senior Magnus Kristensen of Simon Fraser (B.C.), who earns his third All-America honor after being named to the second team in 2016 and first team in 2013.
Senior forward Will Roberts of Charleston, named to the second team, is a four-time All-America selection. He was on the first team in 2015 and 2016, and the third team as a freshman in 2014. Junior midfielder Patrick Guier, named to the first team last year, was also a second team choice and scored the game-winning goal late in Thursday night's 1-0 semifinal win.
Pita, the first team goalkeeper, ranks third in DII in goals against average (0.43) in helping Charleston to the national championship game. The Golden Eagles are also represented by freshman midfielder Kieran Bywater and freshman back Armando Tikvic on the third team.
Eleven of the 13 first team selections led their teams to the NCAA DII Tournament - Charleston (2), California Baptist (2), Cal Poly Pomona, Colorado Mesa, Colorado School of Mines, District of Columbia, Goldey-Beacom, Simon Fraser and St. Edward's.
Lynn, which has carried the No. 4 seed in the South Region to the national title game, is represented by junior back Niklas Tasky on the second team.
Cal Poly Pomona, which won the West Region and advanced to the Final Four as the No. 6 seed, has Monso on the first team and junior back Nadeer Ghantous on the third team.
Rockhurst, the Midwest Region champion, has senior forward Kaleb Jackson on the second team.
A total of 39 student-athletes were recognized on the three All-America teams, with an additional 19 earning honorable mention. Twenty-seven schools are represented on the first three teams.
Along with Charleston's six selections, Midwestern State and Palm Beach Atlantic had three each, and California Baptist, Cal Poly Pomona and Colorado Mesa all had two selections.
Sports information directors from NCAA Division II schools and conferences sponsoring men's soccer selected the D2CCA All-America teams. The process begins at the regional level with all first team All-Region picks advancing to the national ballot.
This marks the 12th year that teams have been selected since the program began in 2006.
Regional Athletes of the Year, announced two weeks ago, were Torres (East), Roberts (Atlantic), senior midfielder Charlie Dennis of Palm Beach Atlantic (South), senior midfielder Tom Deeley of Lees-McRae (Southeast), Shrimpton (Midwest), senior midfielder Derick Gonzalez of Fort Hays State (Central), Haist (South Central) and Apodaca (California Baptist).
The Division II Conference Commissioners Association encourages and promotes Division II athletics and high standards of sportsmanship as important elements of higher education. The CCA is a key communications link among the conferences as they discuss views, policies and regulations that impact Division II intercollegiate athletics and works closely with the NCAA as a communications channel to NCAA Division II member colleges and universities.
2017 Division II Conference Commissioners Association Men's Soccer All-America First Team
Pos. Name School Class Hometown
GK Paulo Pita Charleston (W.Va.) So. Sao Paulo, Brazil
F * Aidan Apodaca California Baptist Sr. Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.
F John Haist Colorado School of Mines Jr. Wantage, England
F Sergi Monso Cal Poly Pomona Sr. Barcelona, Spain
F Brogan Shrimpton Davenport (Mich.) Jr. Benoni, South Africa
M Chahin Aghrim Goldey-Beacom (Del.) Jr. Bonn, Germany
M Esteban Berumen $ Notre Dame de Namur (Calif.) Sr. Pittsburg, Calif.
M Moshe Perez Colorado Mesa Jr. Beercheeva, Israel
M Gabriel Torres District of Columbia So. Salvador, Brazil
B Magnus Kristensen #% Simon Fraser (B.C.) Sr. Stavanger, Norway
B Ty Mobley $ St. Edward's (Texas) Sr. Deer Park, Texas
B Abe Placito California Baptist Sr. Perris, Calif.
B Thomas Vancaeyezeele Charleston (W.Va.) Sr. Caan, France
* Ron Lenz National Player of the Year
$ 2016 1st team
# 2016 2nd team
% 2013 1st team
Second Team
GK Carlos Rubio Ohio Valley (W.Va.) Sr. Valencia, Spain
F Kaleb Jackson Rockhurst (Mo.) Sr. St. Louis, Mo.
F Lukas Ostermann LIU Post (N.Y.) Sr. Saterland, Germany
F Will Roberts $&@ Charleston (W.Va.) Sr. Denbigh, Wales
F Marek Weber Le Moyne (N.Y.) Jr. Fulda, Germany
M Pierre Bocquet Midwestern State (Texas) Sr. Montreuil-Sur-Mer, France
M Tom Deeley Lees-McRae (N.C.) Sr. Oxford, England
M Derick Gonzalez Fort Hays State (Kan.) Sr. Houston, Texas
M Patrick Guier $ Charleston (W.Va.) Jr. Aachen, Germany
B Slater Elkind Colorado Mesa Sr. Encinitas, Calif.
B Patrick Fitzgerald Midwestern State (Texas) Jr. Waterford, Ireland
B Seiji Rose Jefferson (Pa.) Sr. Toulouse, France
B Niklas Tasky Lynn (Fla.) Jr. Hannover, Germany
$ 2016 1st team
& 2015 1st team
@ 2014 3rd team
Third Team
GK Elliott Barker Palm Beach Atlantic (Fla.) So. Harrogate, England
F Juwon Akintunde West Virginia Wesleyan Sr. London, England
F Ali Brador West Alabama Sr. Ronchin, France
F Scott Doney Midwestern State (Texas) Sr. Tauranga, New Zealand
F Finn Reese Nyack (N.Y.) Sr. Hamburg, Germany
M Kieran Bywater Charleston (W.Va.) Fr. Manchester, England
M Joe Garcia Northeastern State (Okla.) Jr. Grand Prairie, Texas
M Charlie Dennis Palm Beach Atlantic (Fla.) Sr. Brighton, England
M Christopher Makengo Mercyhurst (Pa.) Sr. Lyon, France
B Nadeer Ghantous Cal Poly Pomona Jr. Hifa, Israel
B Juan Sanchez Palm Beach Atlantic (Fla.) Jr. Madrid, Spain
B Jordan Skelton Lander (S.C.) Jr. Newcastle, England
B Armando Tikvic Charleston (W.Va.) Fr. Hamburg, Germany
Honorable Mention
GK Wiktor Lasota Point Loma (Calif.) Sr. Lodz, Poland
GK Lucas Rezende Merrimack (Mass.) Sr. Weymouth, Mass.
F Jon Ander Wingate (N.C.) Sr. Bilbao, Spain
F Dylan Armstrong St. Edward's (Texas) Jr. Newcastle, England
F Ignacio de Goya Lenoir-Rhyne (N.C.) Sr. Madrid, Spain
F Sebastian Loibl Mount Olive (N.C.) So. Passau, Germany
F Leonardo Paiva $# Notre Dame (Ohio) Sr. Vitoria, Brazil
M Niki Grotz % Colorado School of Mines Sr. Grafath, Germany
M Hugo Gutierrez California Baptist Sr. Pico Rivera, Calif.
M Adam Michel Rockhurst (Mo.) Sr. St. Louis, Mo.
M Luis Najera, Jr. Cal Poly Pomona Sr. Tulare, Calif.
M Tom Read Carson-Newman (Tenn.) Sr. London, England
M Paul Smith West Virginia Wesleyan Sr. Glasgow, Scotland
M Toni Soler Adelphi (N.Y.) Sr. Valencia, Spain
M Alun Webb Lynn (Fla.) Sr. Llanduano, Wales
B Keelby Espinola East Stroudsburg (Pa.) Sr. Philadelphia, Pa.
B Macauley King Young Harris (Ga.) Jr. Narborough, England
B Johan Mauritzson LIU Post (N.Y.) Sr. Halmstad, Sweden
B Connor Mullen & Rockhurst (Mo.) Sr. St. Louis, Mo.
$ 2016 1st team
& 2016 3rd team
% 2015 1st team
# 2015 3rd team
