NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – Saint Louis junior Simon Becher and sophomore Kipp Keller clinched the Atlantic 10 Men's Soccer Offensive Player and Defensive Player of the Year laurels, respectively, while fourth-year coach Kevin Kalish secured the conference's Coach of the Year distinction. VCU sophomore Celio Pompeu was voted the A-10 Men's Soccer Midfielder of the Year while Rhode Island freshman Isak Oystese earned recogniton as the league's Rookie of the Year.
The Atlantic 10 released the five superlative awards along with the All-Conference, All-Rookie and All-Academic teams Thursday prior to the 2021 A-10 Men's Soccer Championship semifinals, which kick off Friday at Robert R. Hermann Stadium in St. Louis. The major honors, All-Conference Teams and All-Rookie Team were voted on by the A-10 men's soccer coaches while the All-Academic team was selected by the men's soccer communications directors.
Becher, a Brooklyn, Conn. product, completed his third collegiate campaign with imposing offensive statistics, pacing the Atlantic 10 in total points (30) as the junior compiled 11 goals and eight assists for the year. Notably, the junior registered a point in all but one contest and even managed to score a goal in nine straight games, the longest streak by a SLU player in two decades. Becher also tied for the top spot in the league with five game-winning scores and has been named A-10 Conference Player of the Week twice as well (Oct. 4 and Oct 11).
Keller manages an impressive SLU back line which logged eight perfect runs in 2021 as well as five matches with just one opposing score, all together granting the Billikens the top goals-against average in the A-10 (.648) and eighth-best mark nationally. The St. Louis native currently ranks first amongst his non-goalkeeper teammates for total minutes, garnering a pair of Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Week honors along the way (Sept. 27 and Nov. 1). Additionally, Keller contributed on the offensive end as well, finishing the season with one assist and three goals, two of which served as game-winners.
Hailing from Fortaleza, Brazil, Pompeu acted as both a primary distributor and reliable offensive option for the Rams throughout the season, closing out the 2021 campaign ranked third in the A-10 for assists and ninth in total points – both good for team-bests – while also pacing VCU with a squad-high four goals. The sophomore South American registered an assist on every goal of a 4-1 victory over Duquesne on Oct. 6, a first for any Ram since 2008, and was voted the league's Player of the Week once as well (Sept. 13).
A freshman forward out of Oslo, Norway, Oystese composed a strong offensive performance for the Rams throughout his first season out on the pitch, recording a team second-best six goals along with three assists en route to 15 total points. Notably, he posted all three of Rhody's scores in non-conference victories over UConn (1-0) and Merrimack (2-1) plus the golden goal in a double-overtime win over No. 22 VCU. For the year, the Nordic import collected five game-winning goals – tied for first in the league and ranked fourth nationally – and managed to pick up four A-10 Rookie of the Week honors as well (Sept. 7, Sept. 13, Sept. 20 and Oct. 11).
Kalish, a four-year veteran at Saint Louis, successfully guided the Billikens to the league’s first perfect conference record since 2013, putting together an 8-0-0 mark in league play en route to the program’s sixth-ever Atlantic 10 Men’s Soccer regular-season title. Notably, SLU managed to remain undefeated within non-conference competition as well, wrapping up the season at 13-0-3 overall with wins against Louisville, Memphis and Missouri State (exhibition) as well as a draw versus SMU. Entering the A-10 Men's Soccer Championship semifinals round, the Billikens currently rank inside the Top Ten nationally in multiple key statistical categories – scoring offense (5th), goal differential (4th), shots-on-goal per game (4th), total goals (8th), total assists (9th) and shot accuracy (10th) – while also clinching eighth in the most recent United Soccer Coaches poll (Nov. 9).
Joining Becher, Keller and Pompeu on the All-Conference First Team are forwards Maxi Hopfer (Duquesne), Patrick Agyemang (Rhode Island) and John Klein (Saint Louis), midfielders Kingsford Adjei (Dayton) and A.J. Palazzolo (Saint Louis), defenders Garrett Lyons (Saint Joseph's) and Zeron Sewell (VCU) and goalkeeper Patrick Schulte (Saint Louis).
The All-Conference Second Team features forwards Matt Sloan (Fordham), Oscar Haynes Brown (George Washington) and Filippo Begliardi Ghidini (Massachusetts), midfielders Henry Howell (Davidson), Nate Dragisich (Duquesne), Yosuke Hanya (Massachusetts) and Edvin Akselsen (Rhode Island), defenders Ryan Landry (Duquesne), Luke McNamara (Fordham) and Mujeeb Murana (Saint Louis) and goalkeeper Stefan Schmidt (Rhode Island).
The All-Rookie team stars Oystese along with Vincent Bennage (Davidson), Jack Emanuel (Duquesne), Cian Purcell (Rhode Island), Matthew Wrobel (St. Bonaventure), Blake Driehuis (Saint Joseph's), Lars Haavie (Saint Joseph's), Omry Perel (Saint Joseph's), Seth Anderson (Saint Louis), Isaiah Parker (Saint Louis) and Damian Gallegos (VCU).
The All-Academic team includes Becher, Schmidt, Landry and Lyons along with Jacob Bohm (Fordham), Jakob Rylander (George Mason), Sandro Weber (George Washington), Graham Brenner (Massachusetts), Zach Drayer (Rhode Island), Francesco Caorsi (St. Bonaventure) and Simon Fitch (VCU).
The 2021 Atlantic 10 Men's Soccer Championship continues with matches Friday between top-seeded Saint Louis and No. 4 Fordham in the first semifinal at 1 p.m. ET/noon CT and No. 2 Rhode Island and sixth-seeded Duquesne in the second semifinal at 4 p.m. ET/3 p.m. CT. The championship final will be played Sunday at 1 p.m. ET/noon CT. The final three matches of the A-10 Championship will be streamed live on ESPN+.