KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Ten Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference men’s soccer student-athletes earned recognition with the release of the United Soccer Coaches All-West Region team on Monday.
It marks the 13th consecutive year the SCAC has had 10 or more student-athletes land on an All-Region team, with a minimum of four first-team selections each season. Colorado College, Texas Lutheran and Trinity each placed three student-athletes on an All-Region squad, while St. Thomas had one representative in its inaugural year in the SCAC.
Trinity teammates Jacob Galan and Quentin Van Der Lee, along with St. Thomas’ Carlos Marquez and Texas Lutheran’s Luis Green were named to the region’s first team.
Galan, a sophomore defender, is making his debut appearance on an All-Region team after earning first-team All-SCAC honors and anchoring a Trinity defense that posted six shutout victories and allowed 2.05 goals per game. Galan also contributed offensively with one goal, which was also a game-winner.
Van Der Lee is making his second-straight appearance on the All-West Region first-team after earning first-team All-SCAC honors this year. The junior midfielder played in 19 of the Tigers’ 21 games during the year and chalked up three goals, with one game-winner, and added two assists for eight total points.
Marquez, a senior defender and SCAC Defensive Player-of-the-Year, earned All-Region accolades for the first time in his career. He spearheaded a Celts defense that allowed just seven goals in conference play and gave up just one goal or fewer in 12 of the team’s 16 matches this season. A versatile player who could play anywhere on the field, Marquez led the Celts in scoring with six goals.
Green, the back-to-back SCAC Offensive Player-of-the-Year, earned first-team honors for the second-straight season after leading the league in points (43), goals (20) and shots (98). The Most Outstanding Offensive Player at the SCAC Tournament, Green registered three hat tricks in 2019 and scored nine goals in his last six matches of the season to bring his career total to 38 in 39 games for the Bulldogs.
The SCAC also landed three-student athletes on the All-West Region second team in Colorado College teammates John Schuler and Keleher Felton along with Trinity’s Andrea Codispoti.
Schuler, a first-team All-SCAC honoree, was a key factor at both ends of the field as one of just four Tigers to start all 18 games and led the team with 1,291 minutes played. As a holding midfielder he figured prominently in the defensive effort that led the conference with a 0.56 goals-against-average, five shutouts and just five goals conceded in conference play. Schuler, making his first appearance on an All-Region team, also contributed on the offensive side of the ball with two goals and two assists for six total points.
Felton, a sophomore goalkeeper and first-team All-SCAC member, posted an 8-1-0 record in net for the Tigers with a 0.72 goals-against-average, a .864 save percentage and four shutouts. Felton made a career-high 10 saves in the 2-1 victory at Dallas, and then four against Trinity when CC clinched at least a share of the regular-season title.
Codispoti, a forward, was elevated to the All-Region second-team after earning third-team honors last year. The junior is coming off a first-team All-SCAC campaign in which he led the Tiger team with nine goals and three game-winners. He finished the year with 21 points on nine goals and three assists.
Rounding out the All-Region selections, the SCAC had three additional student-athletes named as senior teammates Lalo Lopez-Rivera and Cameron Townes of Texas Lutheran, along with Colorado College freshman Griffin Meyer earned third-team accolades.
Lopez-Rivera, a first-team All-SCAC selection and Most Outstanding Defensive Player of the SCAC Tournament, led a TLU defensive effort that produced seven shutouts during the year and held opponents to a 1.27 goals-against-average. He played and started in 20 matches this year from his defensive position and added a goal and two assists.
Playing in all 21 matches this year, Townes posted career-highs in points (25), goals (10) and assists (5) on his way to an All-SCAC second-team certificate from his midfield position. Townes, Green and Lopez-Rivera helped guide the Bulldogs to their first SCAC Tournament Title and just the program’s second NCAA Tournament appearance.
Meyer, who led CC and finished second in the SCAC with 11 goals, became the first Tiger to record double-digit goals in their rookie campaign since Matt Fechter struck for 11 in 2009. The SCAC Newcomer-of-the-Year and second-team All-Conference performer, the forward finished with 24 points on 11 goals and two assists.
To view the entire United States Coaches All-Region Teams, click here.
