ICCAC Loads Eight to All-American List for Men's Soccer
Eight players from the 10 ICCAC Men's Soccer programs were named to the 2022 NJCAA All-American teams that were released on Wednesday.
Division II had five players after two of the five teams reached the NJCAA National Tournament -- all five coming from those two teams. Northeast, the Region 11 Champions, put three players across the three All-American teams.
The ICCAC Division II Player of the Year Jeevan Purewal was a First Team selection for the Northeast Hawks. Purewal was the top goal scorer in the conference with 16 netted. He was top 10 in the country in assists with 12 and had 44 points -- ninth-most in Division II.
Purewal was joined by Luka Baltzer (Second Team) and Teun van der Donk (Third Team). Baltzer was a creator in the midfield with five goals and nine assists on the season. van de Donk bolstered the defense and moved the ball forward distributing nine assists.
The three Hawks join Hugo Santos (2020) as Northeast players to earn All-American status in men's soccer.
Southeastern, the other NJCAA National qualifier in 2022, placed forward Foslyn Grant and defensemen Goran Zencovich on the Second and Third Team.
Grant led the Blackhawks attack with 23 points, nine goals and five assists. Zencovich had a goal and three assists, and was the best defender on a team that allowed just 14 goals all season -- seventh-least of 89 DII programs.
Division I had three players named to the First and Second Teams in 2022. Iowa Western had two Second Team players after reaching the NJCAA National Tournament by way of at-large bid. Luka Nedic became a two-time All-American for the Reivers. The defensemen was the 2021 Division I ICCAC Player of the Year and provided outstanding play and leadership for Iowa Western again in 2022.
He was joined by fellow defensemen Jesus De Vicente. De Vicente had five goals and four assists in his freshman season. Iowa Western as a team gave up 16 goals all year and had the third-best goals averaged against at a mere .78.
Rounding out the selections was the ICCAC Player of the Year and First Team selection, Daniele Verdirosi of Indian Hills. The freshman forward had one of the best offensive seasons of anyone in the country. Verdirosi had 19 goals and eight assists. He finished the season third in the Division I in goals scored and fourth in points (46).
Verdirosi led the Warriors to a Region 11 Championship, their first since 2017.