2015 CoSIDA Academic All-America® Soccer Teams release dates:
College Division Team: below
NCAA Division III Team: Fri., Nov. 20
NCAA Division II Team: Mon., Nov. 23
NCAA Division I Team: Tue., Nov. 24
Academic All-America Program Overview & Links
• Academic All-America® Soccer Teams - College Division
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AUSTIN, Texas – Seniors
Annie Kessler of Ottawa University and
Aleksi Pahkasalo of Lindsey Wilson College headline the 2015 Academic All-America® College Division soccer teams as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
A defender for the Braves,
Kessler has been selected as the 2015-16 CoSIDA Academic All-America® of the Year for College Division Women’s Soccer while Blue Raiders’ Pahkasalo has been named as the CoSIDA Academic All-America® of the Year for College Division Men’s Soccer.
The CoSIDA Academic All-America® College Division soccer teams are comprised of student-athletes from NAIA, Canadian and two-year institutions.
A three-time first team selection, Kessler is a biology/math major with a perfect 4.0 G.P.A. The Paola, Kansas, native led the Braves to a 14-4-0 record and a berth in the semifinals of the Kansas Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. This season Kessler has scored one goal, assisted on four goals, taken 23 shots with 11 of them on goal, and has scored four points.
Kessler is a three-time CoSIDA Academic All-America® selection after being named to the second team in 2013 and first team in 2014. She was named First Team All-KCAC for the second straight season. She earned honorable mention and second team honors as a freshman and sophomore. Kessler was also named KCAC Defensive Player of the Year. She has played and started in 17 games, tallying one goal and five assists. Kessler was named KCAC Defensive Player of the Week once this past season.
Named a second team CoSIDA Academic All-America® in 2014,
Pahkasalo boasts a 4.0 G.P.A. and is majoring in recreation/tourism and sport management. The midfielder was voted as the 2015 Mid-South Conference Player of the Year as he led the MSC with 21 goals and 50 points, which ranked him second and fourth in the NAIA, respectively.
The Vantaa, Finland native, also recorded eight assists – leading Lindsey Wilson – and was the third-most in the conference. He also earned All-MSC first team honors for the second straight season.
The junior has led the Blue Raiders to a an overall record of 14-5-1 as they have been ranked inside the Top-25 all season and finished third in the regular season standings in the MSC.
Academic All-America® Women’s Soccer College Division Team
The 12-member CoSIDA Academic All-America® College Division Women’s Soccer first team has an average grade point average of 3.88, which includes three student-athletes with a 4.0 G.P.A. The team consists of one graduate student, eight seniors, two juniors and one sophomore.
Kessler is the only repeat selection from the first team a year ago as 11 are making their first appearance on any All-America® team honored by CoSIDA.
Keiser University, which is ranked No. 9 in the latest NAIA Top 25 poll, boasts a pair of first team selections in senior defender
Louise Anderson and senior midfielder
Linnea Lindmark.
Kessler, senior forward
Rachel Veatch of Campbellsville University and junior forward
Emma Cuda of Friends University were one of three players on the first team with a 4.0 G.P.A.
Lindmark, Anderson, Veatch and Kessler are joined on the first team by sophomore goalkeeper
Abby Schue and senior midfielder Carianne Sobey Grace College, graduate student
Erika Thompson of Our Lady of the Lake University, senior defender
Sydney Woods of the College of Idaho, senior midfielder
Sara Cushing of Doane College, junior midfielder
Megan Kruse of Hastings College, and senior midfielder
Amy Samuelson of Morningside College.
Grace’s Mallory Rondeau leads the second team after being named to the CoSIDA Academic All-America® first team a year ago. Rondeau helped lead the Lancers to their first-ever berth in the NAIA National Tournament as she was named the Crossroads League Offensive Player of the Year after scoring eight goals and assisting on four others for 20 points.
The second team includes seniors
Morgan Hiles of Union (Ky.) College,
Erica Manchess and Mallory Rondeau of Grace and
Karlee Perez of Kansas Wesleyan University. There were a pair of juniors in
Nadine Stonjek of the University of Northwestern Ohio and
Kaelin Trippe of Saint Ambrose University and it also had four sophomores in
Katie Goodrich of Reinhardt University,
Amanda Kander of Lindsey Wilson,
Laurie Frew of Columbia (Mo.) College and
Samantha Silva of Middle Georgia State College.
Academic All-America® Men’s Soccer College Division Team
The 11-member CoSIDA Academic All-America® College Division Men’s Soccer first team has an average grade point average of 3.87, which includes four student-athletes with a 4.0 G.P.A. The team is represented by six seniors, four juniors and one sophomore.
In addition to Pahkasalo, senior defender
Kellen Luey of Corban University and senior defender
Andrew Berg of Thomas (Ga.) University are repeat Academic All-America® selections on the first team
It marks the marks the second straight year that Luey, a Beaverton, Oregon, native has earned first team honors. Luey, who boasts a perfect 4.0 cumulative GPA as an accounting/finance management major, has been one of the key pieces of the Warriors' dominant defense in 2015. Corban's defense currently ranks leads the NAIA in goals-against average (0.36) and in total shutouts (14). Luey, also named the recipient of the A.O. Duer Scholarship earlier this fall for his efforts both on and off the field for Corban.
Berg, who has a 3.97 G.P.A. as a business administration major, was an Academic All-America® second team honoree in 2014. Berg started 11 of the 12 matches in the backfield for the 14-5-0 Night Hawks, who advanced to the semifinals of The Sun Conference Tournament. Berg has been named tSeverin Abt of Thomas (Ga.)o the league’s All-Academic team and to the Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athlete Team.
Grace is represented by two first team selections in goalkeeper
Robbie Barnhill and forward
Kyle Hamlin. Barnhill boasts a perfect 4.00 G.P.A. as a health science major while Hamlin's G.P.A. is 3.92 and they have led the Lancers into the Crossroads League championship match with an overall record of 12-5-2.
Joining Barnhill and Hamlin on the College Division first team are junior defender
Michael Caccavo of Spring Arbor University, senior defender
Nick Saunders of Midland University, junior midfielder
TJ Ifaturoti of Davenport University, senior midfielder
Wesley Smith of Nebraska Wesleyan University and senior forwards
Dominic Caruso of Culver-Stockton College and
Mateusz Gibiec of Lawrence Technological University.
The second team features all new selections in 2015 and making the team are senior goalkeeper
Alex Guyer of Hastings, senior defenders
Rocky Byrd of Taylor University,
Chad Gordon of Davenport and
Andrew Nyberg of Menlo College and junior defender
Tom Reilly of Cumberland University, junior midfielders
Sella Gannot of Cumberland and
Gabe Garbin of Doane, and senior midfielder
Richard Paret of Olivet Nazarene University, junior forward
Severin Abt of Thomas (Ga.) and senior forwards
Marcelo Petit of Campbellsville and
Felix Proessl of Hastings.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Michael MacEachern, Young Harris College (
mfmaceachern@yhc.edu) (706) 379-5106
Academic All-America® Co-Chair for Publicity/Communications
Aaron Sagraves, Cornerstone University (
aaron.sagraves@cornerstone.edu) (616) 977-5415
Academic All-America® Coordinator of Publicity