2021 D3soccer.com Men's All-America teamshttps://d3soccer.com/awards/all-america/2021/2021-Mens-AA (https://d3soccer.com/awards/all-america/2021/2021-Mens-AA)
2021 MEN'S PLAYERS OF THE YEARForward of the Year: German Giammattei (Sr.), Amherst
Midfielder of the Year: Peder Olsen (Sr.), North Park
Defender of the Year: Richard Gillespie (Jr.), Chicago
Goalkeeper of the Year: Ryan Grady (So.), Middlebury
2021 MEN'S ALL-AMERICANS FIRST TEAM
F | German Giammattei * | Sr. | Amherst |
F | Michael Meese | Fr. | Trinity (Texas) |
M | Peder Olsen ** | Sr. | North Park |
M | Hector Gomez * | Sr. | Ohio Wesleyan |
M | Augie Djerdjaj | Jr. | Connecticut College |
M | Calvin Aroh * | Sr. | Tufts |
D | Richard Gillespie | Jr. | Chicago |
D | Griffin Wada | Jr. | Chicago |
D | Luke Muther | Sr. | Kenyon |
D | Jake Lent-Koop | Jr. | Messiah |
GK | Ryan Grady * | So. | Middlebury |
SECOND TEAM
F | Amer Lukovic | Fr. | Montclair State |
F | Hakeem Morgan | So. | St. Olaf |
M | Michael Kutsanzira | Jr. | Washington and Lee |
M | Marvin Sibanda | Jr. | St. Lawrence |
M | Victor Gaulmin | So. | St. Olaf |
M | Gustav Ericsson | Sr. | North Park |
D | Jack Rawlins | Sr. | Washington and Lee |
D | Michael McFarlane | Sr. | Middlebury |
D | Biagio Paoletta * | Sr. | Tufts |
D | Ian Daly | Sr. | Tufts |
GK | Matt Martin | Sr. | Washington U. |
THIRD TEAM
F | Sergio Rivas | Jr. | Washington U. |
F | Sam Twigg | Sr. | Calvin |
F | Evan Blow | Sr. | Randolph |
M | Blake Aronson | Gr. | Cortland State |
M | Luke Brautigam | Sr. | Messiah |
M | Peter Novoa | Sr. | MIT |
M | Samuel Bass | Jr. | Washington and Lee |
D | Drew Van Andel | Sr. | Calvin |
D | Brady Johnston * | Sr. | Trinity (Texas) |
D | Ryan Kuster | Sr. | Alvernia |
GK | Sid Marquardt | So. | North Central (Ill.) |
| * previous D3soccer.com All-America honors |
2021 MEN'S COACH OF THE YEAR| Reuben Burk | | Connecticut Col. (19-4-1) | | 2021 National Champion |
Christan: I appreciate the depth of thought and analysis that you and the rest of the staff put into these teams. You are the gold standard for Division 3 soccer awards and rankings because you take the time to give it your best shot and not just take the top ranked team from each region and slot them as the top 10. You are the resource for D3 Soccer, and the fans out there are truly thankful for what you guys do.
I echo everything that CSO said above.
Appreciate the difficulty of putting together a list like this.
But can't seem to understand why Yeonas from Conn was not included? Mind providing some insight on his exclusion from all three of your teams?
He was the stand-out player to me in every single match I watched them play. Rarely lost the ball, played almost the entire game in multiple positions, high defensive work rate, ridiculous engine, and provided timely goals/assists.
His stats might not compare to others but I do not think that Conn team has the level of success they did without him.
Quote from: Camel_Supporter on January 27, 2022, 04:36:33 PM
His stats might not compare to others but I do not think that Conn team has the level of success they did without him.
No particular insight here, and not that the above
was the case, but I think you might have answered your own question. Even though D3soccer does a great job at looking beyond region in terms of deciding teams/etc., there still has to be some kind of way to segment a ton of worthy nominees. Obviously defenders are primarily on the pitch to contribute defensively and not through attacking actions, but when you have a defender like Daly from Tufts who registered 8 goals and 5 assists from left back (3 goals vs. NEC) on top of his defensive play, it's hard to justify taking him over someone who had a comparable season defensively but less offensive output.
Don't dispute that Yeonas would have been a worthy selection, as would Cano of Tufts (who as a forward registered the same 8g/5a combo as Daly, albeit +1 GW).
Somehow I missed that the Camels made it out of the 1st Round via a shootout victory over Salem State. Just goes to show that national titles are won and lost by fine margins...
Great to see UChicago's dynamic duo of Gillespie and Wada get recognition here. They are the best center back combo in the country and Gillespie was on fire the second half of the season. They're big boys (6-3 and 6-5) who are never beaten in the air, and Gillespie's athleticism is impressive. His ability to provide big goals as well was notable for an offensively-challenged team and ended up second on the team in scoring. Hoping for great senior seasons from them both in 2022.
Congrats to all the selections as well as those who feels vindicated. Very impressive list that resonates well with what many of us observed during the season (while realizing that many of us were probably focused on maybe 30-35 of the more top tier teams in terms of what we watched and of course we tend to lock in even more during the tournament).
It's not for me to say who is or isn't most deserving and of course there are always more worthy candidates than slots. Ask Devin Booker today. That said, Yeonas, from a distance as I know nothing about him other than watching the games, seems to be the consummate, coach's dream, D3 top tier player. He is a winner. Conn had 4-5 guys who were just outstanding, but he very well might have been my pick for POY overall (again, with the caveats noted above in terms of who I saw enough).
Quote from: PaulNewman on January 28, 2022, 03:17:18 PM
Congrats to all the selections as well as those who feels vindicated. Very impressive list that resonates well with what many of us observed during the season (while realizing that many of us were probably focused on maybe 30-35 of the more top tier teams in terms of what we watched and of course we tend to lock in even more during the tournament).
It's not for me to say who is or isn't most deserving and of course there are always more worthy candidates than slots. Ask Devin Booker today. That said, Yeonas, from a distance as I know nothing about him other than watching the games, seems to be the consummate, coach's dream, D3 top tier player. He is a winner. Conn had 4-5 guys who were just outstanding, but he very well might have been my pick for POY overall (again, with the caveats noted above in terms of who I saw enough).
Paul, I agree. It is so tough to pick amongst so many worthy candidates. And, yes, I, too, would have gone with Steve Yeonas over Augie for Conn but both are very worthy candidates. Yeonas just really stands out to me because of his versatility. Saw him about 6x this year. I real difference maker on so many levels.
Glad to see Marvin Sibanda get some national recognition for his efforts this season. He missed the first 5 games and still finished with 11 goals, the first Saint to reach double digit goals since Sam DeMello who is on the Mt. Rushmore of SLU soccer.
Quote from: stlawus on January 28, 2022, 10:46:40 PM
Glad to see Marvin Sibanda get some national recognition for his efforts this season. He missed the first 5 games and still finished with 11 goals, the first Saint to reach double digit goals since Sam DeMello who is on the Mt. Rushmore of SLU soccer.
Am a huge fan of Sibanda and can totally see him being Player of the Year next year. I know, but think he is super talented.
Quote from: SimpleCoach on January 30, 2022, 04:56:38 PM
Quote from: stlawus on January 28, 2022, 10:46:40 PM
Glad to see Marvin Sibanda get some national recognition for his efforts this season. He missed the first 5 games and still finished with 11 goals, the first Saint to reach double digit goals since Sam DeMello who is on the Mt. Rushmore of SLU soccer.
Am a huge fan of Sibanda and can totally see him being Player of the Year next year. I know, but think he is super talented.
I called him an All-Time gr8 Saint 2 minutes watching him play his first year.
He is QUALITY/CLASS.
Well done D3Soccer.com. Marvin is a class player and deserves to be recognized. I think this kid will have his place amongst the legends of the SLU program when the dust settles on his career. I hope the the squad can have some success next year as I would love to see him have a chance to show what he can do on the national stage with a deep run in the tourney. Only thing is he needs a little bit more quality around him and really hope Coach can bring in a couple of studs or transfers that can help raise the overall level of the group.