LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. – In exclusive voting by the league’s head men’s soccer coaches, Matt Fechter of Colorado College and Evan Perkins of Southwestern University were selected SCAC Offensive Co-Players-of-the-Year while Nick Lammers of Colorado College was voted SCAC Defensive Player-of-the-Year. Complete Release
In that same balloting, Tom Carwile of Trinity University was
tabbed SCAC Newcomer-of-the-Year, and Colorado College’s
Horst Richardson was voted SCAC Coach-of-the-Year.
Matt Fechter, the league’s 2011 Offensive Player-of-the-Year
and a Second Team NSCAA All-America selection, currently leads the
league in both goals scored (16) and assists (15) and is tied for
second in the nation in assists per game at 0.68. Fechter would be
the first player since 1993 to lead the league in both categories
should that lead hold through the NCAA tourney, and his 47 points
are tied for the ninth-most in conference history in a
single-season. A senior forward from Westfield, N.J., Fechter is
just the 14th player in league history to post the rare
single-season double/double of double digit totals in both goals
and assists, and he is one of just eight players to earn First Team
All-SCAC honors all four years of his career. The Tiger captain had
two assists in Colorado College’s 3-1 victory over Babson
(Mass.) College in the first round of the 2012 NCAA Tournament, the
program’s first postseason appearance since 2004.
Evan Perkins, a senior forward from Keller, Texas, finished the
season with 15 goals (second in the SCAC) and eight assists (tied
for third in the SCAC) for 38 points, the most points scored in a
single season by a Southwestern men’s player since the
Pirates joined the conference in 1994. He had the game-winner in
the Pirates’ 1-0 quarterfinal win over Centenary College in
the SCAC tournament and led his team to a second-place finish.
Perkins is a four-time All-SCAC selection (Third Team in 2009 and
2010, Second Team in 2011) and he was a NSCAA Third Team All-West
region selection last season. He is the first men’s soccer
player from Southwestern to earn one of the league’s
Player-of-the-Year awards.
Fechter and Perkins each received three votes from the coaches in
the SCAC Offensive Player-of-the-Year balloting to share the
award.
Nick Lammers, a senior center back from San Antonio, Texas,
anchored a Colorado College defense that had 12 shutouts and only
10 goals against during the regular season. A NSCAA Second Team
All-West Region selection in 2011, Lammers was a pillar of strength
and exuded calm under pressure in helping lead the Tigers to an
undefeated mark at home and a second-place regular season finish.
The CC defense allowed just 13 goals in 22 contests and
Lammers’ ability to win almost every head ball and 1-on-1
situation was vital in the team’s defensive dominance.
Lammers is the first Colorado College player to win SCAC Defensive
Player-of-the-Year honors since the Tigers joined the conference in
2007.
Lammers received three votes in the tightly contested SCAC
Defensive POTY vote, followed by senior center back Denny Mask of
Trinity, who received two votes. Junior center back Matt Nickell of
Southwestern earned the remaining first-place vote.
Tom Carwile, a first-year defender from Tulsa, Okla., started
every game for the conference champion Tigers, playing at the heart
of the team in the holding midfielder role and showing the maturity
and composure under pressure of a veteran. Carwile is a key figure
on a Trinity defense that has allowed a league-low 12 goals through
23 contests while posting 14 shutouts. But the versatile freshman
also provides an offensive spark – taking 39 shots and
scoring five goals while assisting on two others for 12 points,
tying him for 12th in the conference in that category. Carwile is
the third consecutive Trinity player to earn the league’s
Newcomer-of-the-Year award and the fifth overall since the award
was introduced in 2001.
Carwile was the clear choice among the league’s coaches for
SCAC Newcomer-of-the-Year, receiving five of the six first-place
votes. Sophomore transfer James Saulnier of Austin College received
the remaining first-place vote.
Colorado College head coach Horst Richardson guided his Tigers to
a 14-5-3 mark this season, a second-place regular season finish in
the SCAC and an at-large berth into the 2012 NCAA Tournament
– the team’s first postseason appearance since 2004.
Since taking control of the Colorado College program in 1966,
Richardson has compiled a record of 538 victories, 294 defeats and
67 ties (.636 winning percentage) and is the currently ranked
fourth among all active Division III men’s soccer coaches for
career victories. He has taken the Tigers to the NCAA playoffs 19
times and has earned NCAA regional coach-of-the-year honors four
times. In this, his team’s sixth year as a member of the
SCAC, this is Richardson’s first COTY honor.
Richardson received three votes from his peers in the COTY voting
while Don Gregory of Southwestern, Mark Hudson of Austin College
and Paul McGinlay of Trinity received one vote each.
To view the complete 2012 All-SCAC Men's Soccer team, click
here.