ROCK HILL, S.C. --- The Tusculum College men's soccer team has placed seven players on the 2016 South Atlantic Conference All-Conference teams, the league office announced Wednesday. Voting was conducted by the conference's 12 head coaches.
Senior forward Andre De Giorgi was a first-team selection, while four Pioneers were named to the second team: senior goalkeeper Jorge Alvarez, senior defender Guillermo Lazcano, junior forward Andreas Kvam and freshman defender Georgios Charkoutsakis. Earning honorable mention status were freshman midfielder Isai Hernandez and senior defender Nathaniel Scere.
The group helped the Pioneers set a program record with 12 consecutive victories and achieve a national ranking as high as seventh this season, en route to a second-place finish in the SAC with an 8-3 record. Tusculum will take a 14-3-0 overall record into the semifinals of the SAC Men's Soccer Championship on Friday night against Coker in Rock Hill.
De Giorgi leads the Pioneers and ranks second in the SAC with 13 goals and 27 points. Nine of his 13 goals were scored in 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 has not gone more than two games without a goal all season.
The Lisbon, Portugal native is a two-year member of the program who has 14 goals and five assists for 33 points in 33 career matches, including four game-winning goals this season.
Alvarez has started 16 of the Pioneers' 17 matches, compiling a 14-2 record with six shutouts and a 1.04 goals against average. Alvarez led all SAC goalies in save percentage in conference matches at .846, while ranking third overall in goals against average at 1.04 and second in overall save percentage at .779. Alvarez had five shutouts in 10 conference matches, including road victories at Lincoln Memorial, Coker and Anderson.
A three-year starter, the native of Gijon, Spain has compiled a 31-9-4 record in 44 starts, with 16 shutouts and a goals against average of 1.00 which is the lowest career average in school history. Alvarez also ranks fifth in program history with 176 saves and second with 16 shutouts.
Lazcano has appeared in 13 matches for the Pioneers and has four goals, three of which came in one-goal victories. Lazcano scored on penalty kicks in a 3-2 overtime win over Pfeiffer on Sept. 28 and a 2-1 victory against Mars Hill on Oct. 14, and added a goal in a 2-0 win at Coker on Oct. 25. Lazcano's biggest goal came against Mars Hill in the SAC quarterfinals on Tuesday night when he scored with 1:37 left to send the match into overtime.
The Aviles, Spain native has started 45 matches over three seasons for the Pioneers, recording seven goals and three assists for 17 points. Four of Lazcano's goals have come on penalty kicks.
Kvam has been a key contributor off the bench for the Pioneers, scoring six goals and adding a pair of assists for 14 points. Kvam opened the season with goals in four of his first five matches, including an overtime goal in a 2-1 win at Lees-McRae on Sept. 7 and the winning goal in a 2-1 conference win over Lenoir-Rhyne on Sept. 17. The native of Valderoey, Norway also scored in a 2-0 win over Trevecca Nazarene on Oct. 4 and had a goal and an assist in a 4-1 victory over Brevard on Oct. 12.
In three seasons, Kvam has come off the bench 40 times and contributed 18 goals and five assist for 41 points, along with six game-winning goals. He has scored at least five goals in each of his first three seasons with the Pioneers.
Charkoutaskis has been a key contributor for the Pioneers from the start of the season, and is the only player on the team to have been on the field for every second of action. He has scored three goals and dished out three assists for nine points, including the game-winner in double overtime against Mars Hill in the SAC quarterfinals. The native of Crete, Greece scored his first career goal in a 2-1 win over Lenoir-Rhyne on Sept. 17, and tallied in a 2-0 victory over Trevecca Nazarene on Oct. 4.
Scere has started 16 matches on defense for the Pioneers and ranks third on the team among field players with 1,427 minutes played of a possible 1,582. The Roanoke, Virginia product scored his first career goal in a 2-0 victory at Lincoln Memorial on Sept. 21. Scere is a two-year starter for the Pioneers who has a goal and two assists for four points in 30 career matches (29 starts).
Hernandez is one of five freshmen who have been regulars in the Pioneer lineup, scoring two goals and adding three assists for seven points in 13 matches. He scored his first career goal in double overtime in a 1-0 win over Queens on Sept. 14, and added his second goal also in overtime of a 3-2 win against nationally-ranked Pfeiffer on Sept. 28. Hernandez also had two assists in a 3-0 victory over Newberry on Oct. 2.
The conference Player of the Year was Ismael Noumansana of Lenoir-Rhyne, with Daniele Proch of Catawba capturing Freshman of the Year honors. Gary Hamill of Wingate was named Coach of the Year after leading the Bulldogs to the number-one ranking in the country and the SAC championship.
The Pioneers will play Coker at 7:30 p.m. Friday in the SAC Tournament semifinals at Manchester Meadows in Rock Hill. The winner of Friday's semifinal will play the winner of the other semifinal match between Lincoln Memorial and Brevard for the championship on Sunday at 4 p.m.
2016 All-South Atlantic Conference Men's Soccer Team
First Team
F – Ismael Noumansana, Lenoir-Rhyne
F – Elma N'For, Wingate
F – Jon Ander, Wingate
F – Andre De Giorgi, Tusculum
MF – Aksel Juul, Wingate
MF – Callum Ross, Wingate
MF – Danilo da Silva, Lincoln Memorial
MF – Tom Read, Carson-Newman
D – Alex Nelson, Wingate
D – Tom Seery, Lenoir-Rhyne
D – Vicente Munoz, Wingate
D – Damian Gaona, Wingate
GK – Pablo Jara, Wingate
Second Team
F – Victor Peres, Lincoln Memorial
F – Ryan Ejezie, Queens
F – Aladdin Elfares, Coker
F – Andreas Kvam, Tusculum
MF – Corey Brown, Queens
MF – Mark Fernandez, Lenoir-Rhyne
MF – Daniele Proch, Catawba
MF – Josh Alderson, Lenoir-Rhyne
D – Guillermo Lazcano, Tusculum
D – Georgios Charkoutsakis, Tusculum
D – Matt Wilkinson, Catawba
D – Oscar Mitchell, Mars Hill
GK – Jorge Alvarez, Tusculum
Honorable Mention
F – Stian Sanner, Mars Hill
F – Marius Staalby, Carson-Newman
F – George Burne, Lincoln Memorial
F – Ryan McPhillips, Brevard (Tie)
F – Tyler Nelson, Brevard (Tie)
MF – Ian Orr, Catawba
MF – Henrique Rezek, Lincoln Memorial
MF – Isai Hernandez, Tusculum
MF – Alvaro Urena, Coker
D – Ronaldo de Jesus, Lincoln Memorial
D – Phillipp Hollenhorst, Catawba
D – Nathaniel Scere, Tusculum
D – Hisham Abdelaziz, Lincoln Memorial
GK – Joe Boyd, Carson-Newman
SAC Player of the Year: Ismael Noumansana, Lenoir-Rhyne
SAC Freshman of the Year: Daniele Proch, Catawba
SAC Coach of the Year: Gary Hamill, Wingate
SAC Fair Play Award: Coker
Statistical Champions
Goals per Match: Ismael Noumansana, Lenoir-Rhyne (0.94)
Points per Match: Ismael Noumansana, Lenoir-Rhyne (1.94)
Assists per Match: Tom Read, Carson-Newman (0.75)
Goals Against Average: Pablo Jara, Wingate (.465)
Save Percentage: Zach King, Lenoir-Rhyne (.810)
Shutouts: Pablo Jara, Wingate (7)
Team Points per Match: Wingate (8.15)
Team Goals per Match: Wingate (2.85)
Team Assists per Match: Wingate (2.46)
Team Shutouts: Wingate (7)
Team Goals Against Average: Wingate (0.46)
Team Winning Percentage: Wingate (1.000)
