2013 D3soccer.com Men's All-America team

(l. to r.) Forward of the Year Josh Wood, Midfielder of the Year Jeremy Payne, Defender of the Year Dan Figura, and Goalkeeper of the Year Mike Randall.

D3soccer.com has announced its 2013 men's All-America teams. The teams were chosen by D3soccer.com staff, Division III soccer coaches and sports information directors from a field of over 400 nominations. This is the fourth year that D3soccer.com has recognized the top men's and women's players from across the nation.

Eight of this year's thirty-three named players are repeat selections, six having been honored in 2012 while two were cited in 2011. That is the most repeat selections in the short history of the D3soccer.com awards. Moreover, this year's honorees include four two-time first team All-Americans, something that hadn't happened previously.  There has yet to be a three-time All-American.

Fifth-year senior Josh Wood from Messiah College is the D3soccer.com Forward of the Year.  Wood scored a team-high 21 goals for the national champions, assisting on an additional seven goals for 49 points which ranked sixth nationally. The center forward was credited with 10 game-winning goals and tallied four goals, three assists in the NCAA tournament to help the Falcons to their tenth national title and fourth during Wood's time on the team. He was also named a first team Capital One Academic All-American which followed his second straight Academic All-District honor and the Middle Atlantic Conference Scholar-Athlete award for men's soccer. 

For the second straight year the D3soccer.com Midfielder of the Year is Messiah College's Jeremy Payne, our first repeat Player of the Year.  The junior's 17 goals and 10 assists matched his 2012 output as he registered a point in nineteen of twenty-six games, including four of six tournament matches. Payne's seven game-winning goals included the last kick of the 2013 season when he scored in overtime of the national final to give the Falcons back-to-back titles. His on-field exploits already garnered him the Commonwealth Conference Offensive Player of the Year award while his outstanding work in the classroom placed him on the inaugural Middle Atlantic Conference Academic All-Conference team. 

Senior Dan Figura from Loras College earned D3soccer.com Defender of the Year honors. This is Figura's second straight D3soccer.com First Team All-America award and he was an Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference All-Conference award winner for the third straight season. In a schedule where the Duhawks opponent's winning percentage was an astounding .667, Figura anchored a Loras defense that held opponents to 3.7 shots-on-goal per game while boasting a .61 goals-against-average that led to a 19-2-3 record and a second straight trip to the Final Four. Over the last two seasons, Figura and the Loras defense have earned 29 shutouts on the way to a 44-4-4 record.

The D3soccer.com Goalkeeper of the Year award goes to Mike Randall from Rutgers University—Camden.  The senior posted a .865 save percentage, 15th best nationally, while playing one of the toughest Division III schedules. Facing an average of 13.2 shots per game, of which an average of 5.6 were on target, his shot-blocking ability enabled to the national runners-up to remain undefeated up until the final where, if not for a deflected shot, he may have shut-out Messiah to give his Scarlet Raptors their first title instead. Posting the best save percentage and goals against average in New Jersey Athletic Conference play, the two-year starter earned second team all-conference recognition.  Following a tournament run that consisted of four straight Top 10 opponents, Randall finished the season with a 0.75 goal against average.

The D3soccer.com Coach of the Year is Tim Oswald of Rutgers University—Camden. In a year when Oswald led the Scarlet Raptors to their first ever national championship match, he also earned his 100th victory on the way to a 122-39-22 record in eight years. The 23-1-2 record and the 12 shutouts earned in the 2013 season are program bests. Oswald also won his second NJAC Coach of the Year award this season, and during his eight seasons at Rutgers-Camden, Oswald has coached his teams to the only four NCAA tournament berths in program history.