GEORGETOWN, TEXAS - Southwestern University Men's Soccer earns a sweep of the major SAA awards and also garners a total of ten Pirates on the All-Conference squad. The ten honors marks the most ever in program history
Following a historical regular season, capped by a Regular Season Title on Sunday, the SAA awards were announced. The Pirates won Coaching Staff of the Year Offensive Athlete of the Year, Defensive Athlete of the Year, and Newcomer of the Year. The Pirates completely swept the board for major awards. The squad also garnered four athletes of the First Team, two on the Second Team, three on the Honorable Mention squad, and one on the All-Sportsmanship Team.
HONOREES
Coaching Staff of the Year: Head Coach Dustin Norman, Assistant Coach Devan Pilarski, and Volunteer Assistant Coach Malcolm Framjee.
Offensive Athlete of the Year: Grey Richards
Defensive Athlete of the Year: Cooper Pero
Newcomer of the Year: Brady Faulkner
First Team: Landon Guenther, Richards, Pero, and Faulkner
Second Team: Chase Johnson & Connor Gritzmacher
Honorable Mention: TJ Bass, Danny Wasserman, and Ross Anderson
All-Sportsmanship: Quinn MacLeod
The Pirate coaching staff wins their second straight SAA Coaching Staff of the Year in two years in the league. Norman, Pilarski, and Framjee bring discipline, consistency, energy, and an element of focus to this team which makes the difference. After a tough loss in the second game of the season, the staff helped this squad bounce back and rattle off 15 straight games unbeaten and the school's first ever regular season championship. The team attitude and culture is palpable thanks to their direction.
Richards was named Offensive Athlete of the Year after erupted in his sophomore season with 10 goals and 4 assists. Richards is the engine of the offense and always seems to score in the most crucial games with 5 game-winners and three multi-goal games.
Pero was the second straight Pirate to win Defensive Athlete of the Year on a similar path of Raghav Sharma last season as one of the most dominant defenders to ever put on the Pirate uniform. Pero finished with 6 goals and 1 assist as a defender, highlighted by his game-winning header goal against Centre College. The senior leads the defense who is one of the best in the nation with 10 shutouts, surrendering only 9 goals all season. Pero will play in his 70th career game this weekend.
Faulkner continued to improve game by game, finishing his freshman season as the Newcomer of the Year with 4 goals and 2 assists. The Pirate winger relished his opportunity in a starting role on a stacked team with a fearless mentality and arguably the best speed threat in the league. Faulkner wrapped up the regular season with two goals against Rhodes College to clinch the league title.
Guenther stepped up in the Pirate midfield this season, earning the First Team nod. The senior was a lethal offensive threat, scoring multiple screamer goals with 4 on the year. Guenther also held together the midfield shape and struck fear in oppositions by playing hard for every loose ball. Guenther and his other senior classmates have won 51 games in four years as the most successful class in school history.
Johnson stepped up this season in a huge way, replacing an All-American in the center back role. The sophomore also grew in confidence each game and became dominant down the stretch earning a Second Team honor. Johnson was tactical in the air and on tackles, keeping goalie TJ Bass away from numerous scoring chances. Johnson is another incredible example of the Pirates system of reloading instead of rebuilding.
Gritzmacher is the second freshman on this list who garnered a Second Team nod. The freshman was fearless all season and stepped up for injured Amar Singh in a time where the Pirates could have fell behind after such a big presence went down. Instead, Gritzmacher kept the defensive momentum going while battling early season injuries and coming out on the other side stronger than ever.
Bass came into the season with zero starts, replacing another Pirate legend between the pipes. The Pirate keeper excelled, winning Honorable Mention as one of the league's best goalies. Bass started every game, winning two SAA Defensive Athlete of the Week honors, surrendering only 9 goals all year. The sophomore had nine shutouts, ten team shutouts, 17 starts, with an 85% save rate. The Pirate keeper only had to make 52 saves this year as the defense was fantastic, but each game brought a clutch moment from Bass. His highlight moment came in a breakaway save to seal the 2-1 victory over Maryville College.
Anderson improved once again in the midfield, earning Honorable Mention for the second straight year. The junior totaled a monstrous nine assists on the year, contributing to 29% of Pirate goals while holding down the defensive midfield. He started all 17 games, playing every match for the second straight season. Ross allowed the Pirate defenders to get up top on set pieces and deliver dimes through the air, while also stifling opposing offenses.
Wasserman also earned a second straight All-SAA award on the Honorable Mention Team. The junior scored two goals and assisted on five Pirate scores. He started all 17 games, constantly starting Pirate attacks. His highlighting game was in his two assist game Sewanee to help secure a 2-1 road victory.
MacLeod captured a spot on the All-Sportsmanship squad. The Pirate captains impact goes so much further than his two goals this season as he keeps the Pirates mentally focused and causes terrors on opposing right backs. This marks the second straight senior he was named All-Conference.
The Pirates will travel to Oglethorpe University on Friday to play Sewanee or Rhodes College.
