Eight Elon University men’s soccer players were named to All-Colonial Athletic Association (CAA)teams, as released by the league offices Nov. 12.
Senior defender Nathan Diehl was named CAA Defender of the Year and in addition to being named First Team All-CAA alongside fellow Phoenix senior midfielders James Brace and Miguel Salazar.
Diehl started and played in 17 matches this season, scoring four goals. Brace recorded 15 points on the year with five goals and five assists, all team highs.
Salazar was named to the First Team for the second straight season. The Guanajuato, Mexico native started in all 18 of Elon’s matches and recorded an assist in Elon’s 4-0 victory over Davidson College Sept. 12.
Senior defender Sam McBride and senior midfielder Eduardo Alvarez were named Third Team All-CAA. McBride played every minute of Elon’s season so far and was a part of an Elon defense that conceded a CAA-low 18 goals on the season. The Phoenix defense allowed multiple goals in only 5 of its 18 matches.
Alvarez was responsible for most of Elon’s free-kick and penalty duties. Alvarez converted from the penalty spot in Elon’s 1-0 victory over Wake Forest University Sept. 15.
Freshman forward Jaiden Fortune’s four goals and four assists in his debut season for the Phoenix earned him a spot on the CAA All-Rookie Team with redshirt freshman goalkeeper Matthew Jegier. Jegier also played every minute of Elon’s season, keeping eight clean sheets, making 52 saves in the regular season and finishing with a 0.743 save percentage.
Redshirt junior goalkeeper Chris Shannon was named to the CAA All-Academic Team.
The Phoenix will face the University of Delaware in the semi-finals of the CAA conference tournament at 4:30 p.m. today. The Blue Hens had three players named First Team All-CAA, including preseason player of the year junior forward Guillermo Delgado.