CAA Regular-Season Champion Hofstra Collects Three Of Four Major Men's Soccer Awards; Drexel's Chris Donovan Named Player Of The Year

CAA Regular-Season Champion Hofstra Collects Three Of Four Major Men's Soccer Awards; Drexel's Chris Donovan Named Player Of The Year

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RICHMOND, Va. (Nov. 10, 2021) – Colonial Athletic Association regular-season champion Hofstra collected three of four major awards for CAA men’s soccer in 2021, as announced by the conference on Wednesday.
 
Hofstra senior George O’Malley was selected as CAA Defensive Player of the Year, while freshman Mason Tatafu was named Rookie of the Year and Richard Nuttall earned Coach of the Year honors. Drexel senior Chris Donovan collected CAA Player of the Year accolades for his efforts in the fall campaign.
 
Donovan’s 12 goals and 26 points both rank second in the CAA, with the 12 goals good for ninth in the nation and point total ranking 15th. It was the 12th goal of the year for Donovan – a golden goal in the 102nd minute Saturday vs. Delaware – that propelled the Dragons to their second consecutive CAA Championship appearance. The Dragons are the first team with back-to-back CAA Player of the Year recipients since VCU in 2003 and 2004.


 
O’Malley helped anchor one of the nation’s top defenses this fall, as Hofstra’s 0.573 goals-against average ranks fourth nationally entering the CAA Championship. The Pride recorded nine shutouts in 17 regular-season matches, a percentage (52.9%) that is tied for 11th nationally. O’Malley is the third Hofstra player to win Defensive Player of the Year in the last six seasons and seventh all-time
 
Tatafu added to that defensive dominance while recording a league-high five CAA Rookie of the Week honors to his resume throughout his freshman campaign, including three straight in October. The freshman from Australia added three goals in his first year in Hempstead while playing 1,480 minutes, the most of any field player for Hofstra. Tatafu is the fourth Hofstra player named CAA Rookie of the Year.
 
Nuttall led the Pride to the nation’s sixth-best winning percentage (.882) entering the CAA Championship. Hofstra’s 14 wins are one back of the national lead and the 14-1-2 record makes the Pride one of seven teams with one loss or fewer in 2021. Nuttall won his 300th career game earlier this season and is CAA Coach of the Year for the third time.
 
Hofstra placed a league-high five players on the All-CAA first team, while James Madison was second with three. Drexel, Northeastern, UNCW, and William & Mary all earned one first-team selection.
 
Hofstra, Northeastern, Elon, and Drexel will compete for the CAA title this week on Long Island. Semifinals will be played Thursday with the final contested Sunday at the Hofstra Soccer Stadium in Hempstead, New York. All three games can be seen on FloFC.
 
2021 All-CAA Men’s Soccer Honors
First Team
Name                                          School                          Pos.       Cl.           Hometown
Ryan Carmichael                       Hofstra                        F             So.          Armagh, Northern Ireland
Chris Donovan                           Drexel                          F             Sr.          Paoli, Pa.
Luca Erhardt                              James Madison          F             Sr.          Offenbach, Germany
Matthew Vowinkel                   Hofstra                        F             Gr.          New Hyde Park, N.Y.
Jacob Evans                               UNCW                          M            R-Sr.      Chester, Cheshire, England
Hendrik Hebbeker                    Hofstra                        M            Sr.          Cologne, Germany
Alexander Levengood              William & Mary          M            Jr.           Richmond, Va.
Federico Tellez                          Northeastern             M            So.          Miami, Fla.
Melker Anshelm                        James Madison          D            Sr.          Stockholm, Sweden
Tyler Clegg                                 James Madison          D            Sr.          Woodbridge, Va.
George O’Malley                       Hofstra                        D            Sr.          Harrow, England
Wessel Speel                             Hofstra                        GK          So.          Utrecht, Netherlands
 
Second Team
Name                                          School                          Pos.       Cl.           Hometown
Benjamin Klingen                     Northeastern             F             Sr.          Wadersloh, Germany
Nicolas Molina                           UNCW                          F             Gr.          Buenos Aires, Argentina
Diba Nwegbo                             William & Mary          F             Jr.           Acworth, Ga.
Axel Ahlander                            James Madison          M            So.          Nøtterøy, Norway
Daniel Nesseler                         Drexel                          M            Gr.          Leverkusen, Germany
Rodrigo Robles                          James Madison          M            Jr.           Burgos, Spain
Michael Hornsby                       UNCW                          D            Gr.          Biberach an der Riss, Germany
Kasper Lehm                             Elon                              D            Jr.           Odense, Denmark
Nathan Messer                         William & Mary          D            Jr.           Bethesda, Md.
Jannik Videbaek                        Elon                              D            So.          Silkeborg, Denmark
Gabriel Perrotta                        UNCW                          GK          Jr.           Asuncion, Paraguay
 
Third Team
Name                                          School                          Pos.       Cl.           Hometown
Jack Edwards                             Elon                              F             Sr.          Oak Ridge, N.C.
Timothy Ennin                           Northeastern             F             R-Jr.       Hartford, Conn.
Alex Krakowiak                         James Madison          M            So.          Guelph, Ontario
Storm Strongin                          Hofstra                        M            Gr.          Hicksville, N.Y.
Kyle Tucker                                Drexel                          M            Sr.          Phoenixville, Pa.
Aron Adalsteinsson                  Delaware                    D            Jr.           Reykjavik, Iceland
Stefan Mason                            Hofstra                        D            Jr.           Knowle, United Kingdom
Youri Senden                             Drexel                          D            Fr.          Voerendaal, Netherlands
Mason Tatafu                            Hofstra                        D            Fr.          Perth, Australia
Colby Hegarty                            Northeastern             GK          R-So.     Upton, Mass.
Cameron Sanders                     Drexel                          GK          R-Sr.      York Springs, Pa.
 
2021 CAA Player of the Year: Chris Donovan, Drexel
2021 CAA Defensive Player of the Year: George O’Malley, Hofstra
2021 CAA Rookie of the Year: Mason Tatafu, Hofstra
2021 CAA Coach of the Year: Richard Nuttall, Hofstra
 
2021 CAA Men’s Soccer All-Rookie Team
Name                                          School                          Pos.       Cl.           Hometown
Jack Crocco                                 William & Mary          D            So.          Midlothian, Va.
Calle Edelstam                          Elon                              M            Fr.          Djursholm, Sweden
Carlos Fernandez                      Delaware                    F             Fr.          A Coruña, Spain
Adam Hillis                                 UNCW                          M            Fr.          Tasman, New Zealand
Søren Ilsøe                                 Northeastern             M            So.          Faaborg, Denmark
Daniel Pereira                           Charleston                  D            Fr.          Praia da Vitória, Azores, Portugal
Sebastian Restrepo                  Northeastern             F             Fr.          Miami, Fla.
Lorenzo Selini                            Hofstra                        M            Fr.          Selden, N.Y.
Youri Senden                             Drexel                          D            Fr.          Voerendaal, Netherlands
Mason Tatafu                            Hofstra                        D            Fr.          Perth, Australia
Andres Torrealba                      Northeastern             M            Fr.          Miami, Fla.
Scott Vatne                                Elon                              M            Fr.          Klepp, Norway
 
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