Tusculum College head men's soccer coach Allen Vital was named South Atlantic Conference Coach of the Year, and freshman defender Matias Rubio led a group of six Pioneers honored as members of the All-SAC team, league officials announced Thursday.

Vital, in his first season as head coach at his alma mater after 14 seasons at Carson-Newman, earned SAC Coach of the Year honors for the sixth time in his career after leading the Pioneers to a remarkable turnaround season. Tusculum finished 1-8 and in ninth place in the SAC in 2010, but under Vital's tutelage the Pioneers soared to second place in the league with a 6-1-2 record despite starting as many as 10 freshmen. It is the ninth time in Vital's 15-year career in the SAC that he has guided a team to either first or second place in the conference standings.

Rubio was the lone Pioneer to earn first-team All-SAC honors, while second-team recognition went to forwards Javier Portillo and Pontus Rosen, midfielders Kjetil Paulsen and Roberto Pimentel and defender Fredrik Muren -- all freshmen except the senior Portillo. It is the fifth time in the last 11 years that Tusculum has had at least six All-SAC honorees and increases the program's number of All-Conference performers to 55 since Tusculum joined the SAC in 1999.

Rubio (Bradenton, Fla.) started 16 matches for the Pioneers, playing a key part in limiting opponents to a total of 20 goals during the regular season. He played 1,511 of a possible 1,516 minutes, missing only five minutes due to a brief injury substitution early in the year. Rubio scored his first goal of the season in the Pioneers' 4-0 win over Carson-Newman on Oct. 12.

Portillo (Guatemala City, Guatemala) appeared in 16 matches (11 starts) and accumulated four goals and two assists for 10 points to rank second on the team in both goals and points. Portillo, who took a team-high 40 shots and put a team-best 16 on goal, tallied the only goal in a 2-1 double-overtime loss to SAC champion and nationally-ranked Anderson on Oct. 15, and netted the tying goal in a 3-2 overtime win at Lincoln Memorial on Oct. 18.

Rosen (Kumla, Sweden) saw his first action in mid-September and made an immediate impact at forward, scoring three goals and two assists for eight points as the Pioneers went 7-2-3 in the 12 matches he played. Rosen scored his first goal of the year in a 2-0 win over Brevard on Sept. 28, and tallied the lone goal in a 1-0 victory over Mars Hill on Oct. 5. His second game-winner of the season was the opening goal in the Pioneers' 4-0 win over Carson-Newman on Oct. 12.

Paulsen (Fosnavag, Norway) helped the Pioneers to a 7-1-2 record in the 10 matches in which he played, controlling the midfield while contributing a goal and an assist for three points on the offensive end. His goal provided the insurance in a 2-0 victory at Wingate on Oct. 27 which helped the Pioneers clinch second place in the SAC.

Pimentel (Campinas, Brazil) was one of two Pioneers to start all 17 matches, and he finished the season with a team-high three assists while ranking third in both goals (three) and points (nine). He scored his first goal of the season against Young Harris on Sept. 17, and assisted on the game-winning goal in a 1-0 upset of then 13th-ranked Clayton State on Oct. 8. Pimentel added his second goal of the season against Carson-Newman on Oct. 12, and came through with his third goal in overtime to help the Pioneers defeat Lincoln Memorial 3-2 on Oct. 18.

Muren (Bolandet, Norway) joined Pimentel in starting all 17 games, and played every minute except the final 10 minutes of the 4-0 victory over Carson-Newman. Along with Rubio, Muren helped the Pioneer defense limit opponents to just over six shots on goal per game, and over the final 10 regular-season matches the Pioneers conceded just five goals.

Tusculum also claimed a SAC statistical champion as junior goalkeeper Andy Goellner led the conference with seven shutouts. The Pioneers also shared the league's Fair Play Award with Wingate, which recognizes the teams that accumulated the fewest red and yellow cards during conference play.

Anderson's Lasse Sohrweide was named SAC Player of the Year for the second straight season, while Mario Pinto of Lincoln Memorial was honored as the Freshman of the Year.

Lasse Sohrweide (Anderson)
SAC Freshman of the Year: Mario Pinto (Lincoln Memorial)
SAC Coach of the Year: Allen Vital (Tusculum)

All-SAC First Team
Forward: Lasse Sohrweide (Anderson), Robbie Hill (Carson-Newman), Mario Pinto (Lincoln Memorial), Stephen Bivens (Mars Hill)
Midfielder: Shu Ogawa (Anderson), Mark Smith (Anderson), Chris Nash (Lincoln Memorial), Rury Caulfield (Mars Hill)
Defender: Kevin Butler (Anderson), Callum Home (Lincoln Memorial), Troy Chavez (Mars Hill), Matias Rubio (Tusculum)
Goalkeeper*: Lukas Hesse (Anderson), Michael Watkins (Lincoln Memorial), Zac Scott (Mars Hill)
* Three-way tie for first-team goalkeeper; no second team distinction.

All-SAC Second Team
Forward: Carson Smith (Catawba), Leonardo Germiniani (Lincoln Memorial), Felipe Ferraro (Mars Hill), Pontus Rosen (Tusculum), Javier Portillo (Tusculum)
Midfielder: Corey Faughnan (Catawba), Alex Mullen (Mars Hill), Kjetil Paulsen (Tusculum), Roberto Pimentel (Tusculum)
Defender: James Moseley (Anderson), Domhnall Minogue (Catawba), Evan Preston-Kelly (Carson-Newman), Fredrik Muren (Tusculum)

Statistical Champions
Goals per Match: Lasse Sohrweide (Anderson), .880
Points per Match: Lasse Sohrweide (Anderson), 2.41
Assists per Match: Lasse Sohrweide (Anderson), .650
Goals Against Average: Zac Scott (Mars Hill), .630
Shutouts: Andy Goellner (Tusculum), 7
Save Percentage: Zac Scott (Mars Hill), .865
Team Points per Match: Anderson, 7.06
Team Goals per Match: Anderson, 2.59
Team Assists per Match: Anderson, 1.88
Team Shutouts: Mars Hill, 8
Team Goals Against Average: Mars Hill, .620
Team Winning Percentage: Anderson, .824