KANSAS CITY, Mo. --- Three members of the Tusculum College men's soccer team have been recognized by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) with placement on the Division II All-Southeast Region team, as voted upon by the region's head coaches. Senior forward Andre De Georgi was a first-team selection for the Pioneers, while senior Guillermo Lazcano was a second-team pick and freshman defender Georgios Charkoutsakis was a third-team choice.
2016 NSCAA Division II Men's All-Southeast Region Team
Together, they helped the Pioneers win their record sixth South Atlantic Conference Tournament championship and earn the program's first NCAA Division II Tournament berth since 2008, as Tusculum ended the season with a 16-4-0 overall record and in second place in the SAC with an 8-3-0 league mark. The Pioneers also set a program record for most consecutive victories with 12, and were ranked as high as seventh in the NSCAA Division II coaches poll during the season.
De Giorgi had a team-high 16 goals in 20 matches, including five game-winners, and finished second in the SAC in both goals and points to earn first-team All-Conference honors. The native of Lisbon, Portugal scored at least one goal in 12 of the Pioneers' 20 matches, including a pair in Tusculum's 2-1 double-overtime victory over Lincoln Memorial in the SAC Tournament finals en route to earning conference tournament Most Valuable Player honors.
Nine of his 16 goals were scored in the Pioneers' 11 conference matches, including two goals apiece in a 3-0 win over Newberry on Oct. 2 and a 4-1 victory over Brevard on Oct. 12. De Giorgi had two separate streaks of scoring goals in three straight matches, and did not go more than two games without a goal all season.
Lazcano, a third-team NSCAA All-Region pick last season, played in 14 matches with 13 starts for the Pioneers and registered four goals, two of which came on penalty kicks against Pfeiffer and Mars Hill. He also scored late in regulation against Mars Hill in the SAC Tournament quarterfinals to send the match into overtime, which the Pioneers went on to win 3-2 in double overtime.
A team captain, the native of Aviles, Spain was also a second-team CoSIDA Academic All-America selection this season and is a three-time All-South Atlantic Conference pick, including a second-team choice this season.
Charkoutsakis was the only member of the Pioneers to play in every minute this season, logging 1,871 minutes of playing time. He finished fourth on the team in scoring with three goals and four assists for 10 points, including the goal in double overtime against Mars Hill in the SAC Tournament quarterfinals. The native of Crete, Greece also had the game-winning goal in a 2-0 victory over Trevecca Nazarene, and was named to the SAC All-Tournament team.
On defense, Charkoutsakis helped the Pioneers record seven shutouts in 20 matches, while limiting the opposition to no more than 10 shots on goal in any match. Tusculum ranked second in the SAC in overall team goals against average at 1.10 and third in goals against average in conference matches at 0.88.
Tusculum's three NSCAA All-Region selections are its most since having five players named in 2008. De Giorgi is the Pioneers' 10th all-time NSCAA All-Region first-team selection, and the first since Bruno Conceicao, Anteneh Lemma and Lance Moore were all honored in 2008.
