2019 D3soccer.com Men's All-America teams

(l. to r.) Forward of the Year German Giammattei, Midfielder of the Year Hunter Olson, Defender of the Year Connor Whitacre, and Goalkeeper of the Year AJ Marcucci. Photos (l. to r.): Clarus Studios/Amherst Athletics; Calvin Sports Information; F&M Athletic Communications; Grace Byers/Williams Athletic Dept.

With the 2019 season in the rearview mirror, D3soccer.com announces its men's All-America teams as chosen by D3soccer.com staff, Division III soccer coaches and sports information directors. This is the tenth year that D3soccer.com has recognized the top men's and women's players from across the nation. More than 500 men’s players were nominated, less than 5% of the student-athletes that played this season.

The three men's All-America teams are comprised of 33 total players representing 24 schools and 16 different conferences. One school—WPI—is represented on our All-America teams, men's or women's, for the first time. Seven different teams have multiple selections with national champion Tufts leading the way with four players named, just the fifth time a team has had four men's All-Americans in the same season. The NESCAC, home to the national champion and runner-up, led all conferences with a record eight selections followed by the Centennial and MIAC with three each.

This year’s teams do not contain any three-time honorees, but seven players are repeat selections, including two players making back-to-back appearances on the first team. This year marks the lowest number of seniors chosen, 16, in the 10-year history of the awards. That is due in part to five sophomores being named (second-most ever), a freshman being cited for just the fourth time, and double-digit juniors for the third straight year.

German Giammattei of Amherst is the D3soccer.com Forward of the Year. The national co-leader in goals scored with 26, Giammattei is just the fifth sophomore named one of our players of the year. With five assists, his point total of 57 was second in the country as were his ten game-winning tallies. The NESCAC Player of the Year not only set program-best marks for goals and points in a season, but matched the single-season goal-scoring record for a NESCAC player. After a respectable seven goals as a freshman, a .555 shots-on-goal percentage and .218 shot percentage—both vast improvements—fueled his prolific second season. Except for the NCAA final, Giammattei scored against every nationally ranked opponent Amherst faced, including a brace in a regular season win over Tufts to help secure the NESCAC’s top playoff seed. The talented, fast-footed forward deserves as much credit as anyone for Amherst’s run to the national championship game, recording his fourth hattrick in the semifinal game when his full repertoire was on display: sublime skill, hustle and grit, and opportunism.

The D3soccer.com Midfielder of the Year is Calvin senior Hunter Olson. In the wake of losing three All-Americans to graduation, co-captain Olson provided the leadership and production needed for Calvin to remain title contenders and make a return to the Final Four for the second straight season. The attacking midfielder was efficient in front of goal, converting on 23 percent of his shots to lead the Knights in scoring with 16 tallies. As a playmaker, Olson was credited with 10 assists, none bigger than when he set-up the double-overtime game-winner against North Park in the Sweet 16 stage of the NCAA Tournament. A day later he helped ensure a return to Greensboro by assisting on a pair of first-half goals against Luther before scoring one of his own. The three-time All-MIAA first team selection was named this year’s MIAA Most Valuable Player.

Franklin and Marshall's Connor Whiteacre is the D3soccer.com Defender of the Year. The senior centerback anchored one of the top defensive units in the nation. The Diplomats conceded a paltry 3.5 shots on goals per game, contributing to a 0.65 goals against average that ranked top in the strong Centennial Conference and 12th nationally. Kept in every game by the Whiteacre-led backline, Franklin and Marshall tied a program best with 17 wins in a season and earned a seventh-straight NCAA Tournament berth. The defense could not be faulted for a premature exit from the tournament, as Whitacre and co. did not concede a single goal in 200 minutes of NCAA action while allowing a mere two shots on target. In recognition of his outstanding play and leadership, the two-time team captain garnered first team All-Centennial honors for the second year in a row.

For the second year running, the D3soccer.com Goalkeeper of the Year honor goes to AJ Marcucci from Connecticut College. The junior posted a .859 save percentage and a 0.58 goals against average, both top ten marks in the nation, and had a hand in 11 shutouts. The three-year starter has helped Conn. College earn an NCAA tournament berth in all three of his seasons after just one prior NCAA appearance for the program. And a year after their first-ever NCAA tournament win, Marcucci and the Camels reached the Elite 8 this year. It is not entirely coincidental that the two best seasons in program history have come in the last two years with Marcucci between the pipes. The 6' 3" netminder is an excellent shot-stopper, a commanding presence in his box, and a growing leader of the defense. Marcucci earned All-NESCAC honors for the third time, repeating on the first team after being named Player of the Year last season.

Honorable mentions to Jeb Burch and Adam Clinton, who guided Centre and RPI to program-best seasons, but, at the risk of being thought boring and predictable, the 2019 D3soccer.com Coach of the Year award goes to Tufts’ Josh Shapiro. The tenth-year head coach garners this honor for the second straight season and third time overall after guiding the Jumbos to back-to-back national championships—something only Messiah accomplished in the past three decades. Unlike last year, when his team flirted with perfection in an undefeated season, this year’s edition hit a mid-season speed bump (two ties and two losses in a five-game stretch) and had to win the NESCAC tournament as the 2-seed. In the NCAA tournament, the Jumbos trailed WPI at half-time and avoided overtime with a last-minute winner to reach the Sweet 16, where they again trailed at the break and needed overtime to defeat Washington and Lee. But at no point did Shapiro’s team look worried or flustered, and, as they had done so many times in previous title runs, Tufts went on to make three very good teams look ordinary in their methodical march to a fourth title in six years. The calm, patient approach of his players could almost be mistaken for nonchalance at times, but sooner or later their extreme confidence and belief manifests as an unstoppable determination and will to win. With a deep, talented and united squad in which anyone can be the difference-maker on any given day, Coach Shapiro built a dynasty in just ten seasons.