2017 Division III Men's Soccer Academic All-America Teams
NEWARK, N.J. (December 5, 2017) – Sophomore goalkeeper
Andres Medina of the Rutgers University-Newark men's soccer team has been named a first-team CoSIDA Academic All-American, it was announced Tuesday morning.
Medina is the first-ever first-team member of the Academic All-America team in Rutgers-Newark men's soccer history, maintaining a perfect 4.0 cumulative grade-point average as a Finance and Accounting major while performing at the highest level on the field.
"I am very proud of Andres, and I am very happy to see him receive this recognition," said Head Men's Soccer Coach
Kevin East. "In all my years of coaching, I have viewed this award as probably the most competitive in college. You have to be exceptional in both athletic and academic achievement. Andres has definitely displayed his talents in each and excelled the highest level. He has accomplished this through hard work and dedication, and the award reflects Andres being a complete student-athlete."
The Howell, N.J. native is one of just 11 first-team All-Americans in the nation and one of just 33 total Division III Men's Soccer Academic All-Americans. Only three sophomores received the distinction, and the goalkeeper was the only member of the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) to earn the accolade.
In addition to his sparkling 4.0 GPA, Medina had a special season for Rutgers-Newark on the field, earning NJAC Goalkeeper of the Year honors in early-November. He was first-team All-NJAC and first-team All-Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC), also earning ECAC Defensive Player of the Year distinction. He was a second-team United Soccer Coaches All-South Atlantic pick, finishing the year with a record of 20-3-1 in goal. He was a part of 15 shutouts, tallying 12 individual clean sheets. Medina ended 2017 ranked second nationally in minutes (2094), third in shutouts (three), sixth in save percentage (.887) and seventh in goals-against average (.473). He led the NJAC in every goalkeeper stat category, allowing just 11 goals in his 24 starting nods. The Howell native finished the year with 86 saves, pocketing a pair of postseason shutouts and stopping three penalty kicks in a shootout win over Bowdoin College in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Rutgers-Newark men's soccer wrapped another exceptional season recently, compiling a 20-3-1 overall record and winning its first NJAC title. The Scarlet Raiders advanced to the second round of the national tournament for the third time in four years, had five USC All-Region selections on top of seven All-NJAC performers.
Astonishingly, the 33 men on the Division III Academic All-America teams average a 3.91 GPA with eight boasting a 4.0. The combined GPA of first-team honorees is 3.94.
