CAA Regular-Season Champion Hofstra Collects Three Of Four Major Men's Soccer Awards; Drexel's Chris Donovan Named Player Of The Year
Miles McQuiggan
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 15
th. It was the 12
th goal of the year for Donovan – a golden goal in the 102
nd 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 11
th 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 300
th 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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