2014 D3soccer.com Men's All-America teams

(l. to r.) Forward of the Year Jeremy Payne, Midfielder of the Year Marshall Hollingsworth, Defender of the Year Conor Lanahan, and Goalkeeper of the Year Sam Clougher.

D3soccer.com has announced its 2014 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 fifth year that D3soccer.com has recognized the top men's and women's players from across the nation.

The three men's All-America teams are comprised of thirty-three total players representing twenty-four schools.  Ten of this year's honorees are repeat selections, the most men's repeats in the short history of the D3soccer.com awards. Moreover, three members of Messiah's stellar out-going senior class represent the first ever three-time men's All-Americans, two of which were named to the first team for the past three years. They were joined by another repeat first team honoree.

Jeremy Payne from Messiah College is the D3soccer.com Forward of the Year, adding to his back-to-back Midfielder of the Year awards in 2012 and 2013.  The senior stands as D3soccer.com's only repeat player of the year to date.  Payne spearheaded one of Division III's most potent attacks by scoring a team-high and personal best 21 goals, tied for fifth most in the nation.  Assisting on an additional ten goals for the third straight season, the center forward registered a point in 19 of 23 games played.  His 52 points ranked seventh nationally while he was joint leader with 8 game-winning tallies.  Payne helped Messiah to a 3.08 GSA, a 21-1-1 record, the Commonwealth Conference championship, and an Elite 8 finish in the NCAA tournament.  He was tabbed the Commonwealth Conference Offensive Player of the Year. 

D3soccer.com Midfielder of the Year is Marshall Hollingsworth from Wheaton College (Ill.).  A third team selection in 2013, the junior was instrumental in Wheaton's run to this year's NCAA title game.  A tireless worker, Hollingsworth covered lots of ground from box to box for the Thunder.  He scored nine goals and was credited with eight assists, good for third (tied) and second (tied), respectively, on one of the nation's most dynamic attacking squads. Three of Hollingsworth's tallies were game-winners as he helped lead Wheaton to a 2.75 GSA, a 22-4-0 mark and a CCIW title.  His exploits earned him the CCIW Player of the Year award and a spot on the NCAA All-Tournament team. 

With his first All-American selection, junior Conor Lanahan from Brandeis University has also earned D3soccer.com Defender of the Year honors.  Lanahan anchored a Judge defense that limited opponents to just 3.3 shots-on-goal per game despite playing one of the most challenging schedules in Division III.  This contributed to setting a pair of program records, recording 17 shutouts, second most in the nation, and posting a 0.38 goals-against-average, third best nationally.  Prior to their Elite 8 loss in the NCAA tournament, Brandeis had only conceded six goals in 22 games and had only trailed for a combined total of 79 minutes.  With Lanahan and the defense doing their job, Brandeis was able to tie the program record for wins at 19.  Lanahan was recognized on the UAA All-Association First Team.

The D3soccer.com Goalkeeper of the Year award goes to Kenyon College's Sam Clougher.  Though only facing an average of three goal-bound shots per game, the sophomore dealt with most everything that did get through his defense. His .896 save percentage ranked fourth in the nation and enabled Kenyon to post the nation's second best goals-against-average, 0.30, and register the third most shutouts with 16.  Clougher played all but 13 minutes of the season and played an integral part in Kenyon winning 18 games, their most in nearly twenty years. In the NCAA Tournament, Kenyon's advancement to their second straight Sweet 16 came as a result of Clougher blocking all three shots faced in a penalty kick shootout with Thomas More.  He was named to the NCAC All-Conference first team.

The D3soccer.com Coach of the Year is Josh Shapiro of Tufts University.  The fifth-year head coach led the Jumbos to their first-ever NCAA championship which required winning an unprecedented six road tournament games.  After qualifying for his first and the program's second NCAA tournament in 2012, Shapiro had the challenge of rebounding from a 8-5-2 campaign in 2013. Despite a four-game winless streak in late September, Tufts finished the regular season 10-1-4 and undefeated at 7-0-3 in the always tough NESCAC. The squad depth and team defense that Shapiro had developed was producing the program's best-ever season; however, the top-of-the-standings finish was tarnished by a quarterfinal home loss to the #8 seed.  But Shapiro, who was named NESCAC Coach of the Year, did not allow that loss to define the season.  He guided his charges through one of the best runs in NCAA tournament history highlighted by the wins over undefeated defending champion Messiah in the quarterfinals and a highly skillful and dynamic Wheaton (Ill.) side in the national final.  Tufts finished the season 16-2-4, setting a program record for wins.