COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.—The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference announced the 2019 Men's Soccer All-RMAC major awards and honorees.
Westminster's
Danny Darelli (senior) and
Bridger Hansen (junior) were named All-RMAC First Team,
Kaden Amano (junior) was Named All-RMAC Second Team and
Preston McIllece (senior) ,
Zach Nielsen (junior) and
Will Desantis (redshirt-sophomore) earned All-RMAC Honorable Mention.
Jason Zabbott from Colorado Mines was voted Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year along with Head Coach Greg Mulholland as Coach of the Year. Braendan Brown from Colorado Mesa was voted Goalkeeper of the Year and Vinzent Zingel was Freshman of the Year.
The major awards, along with All-RMAC First and Second Teams were voted on by the conference's 14 head women's soccer coaches. Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own student-athletes.
Four forwards, four midfielders, four defenders and one goalkeeper each made All-RMAC First Team and All-RMAC Second Team. Players that did not make either First or Second Team but received one First Team vote or two Second Team votes were named Honorable Mention.
Darelli has been a constant threat up top for the Griffins recording 32 shots with 19 on goals and leading the team with nine goals and five game winning goals. He leads the conference averaging 0.60 goals per game and is tied for first for game winning goals. This marks Darelli's second First Team honor in two season and third All-RMAC honor, 2017 Honorable Mention, in three seasons.
Amano plays at the heart of the team in the central midfield and is a central piece to the team's ability to move the ball and control the tempo of the game. Amano has started and featured in 16 games. He has four assists and is 8-19 shots on goal. Amano was named Second Team last season making this is second consecutive honor.
Hansen, Nielsen and McIllece are part of a solid Griffin defense that ranks third in the RMAC in goals against average and goals allowed. The Griffins have only allowed 13 goals this season and only four multiple-goal games.
Hansen earned his second First Team honor in as many seasons. He has taken 12 shots with eight on goal for a team high .417 shooting percentage. Hansen has scored five goals, including a game winner at UCCS, and one assist.
Nielsen hasn't missed a game for the Griffins this season and has started in all 18. Nielsen is sixth all-time in Westminster history for minutes played with 4374. This is Nielsen's second All-RMAC Honorable Mention (2017).
This is McIllece's first All-RMAC honor. McIllece took 15 shots and scored twice, game winners against Cal State East bay and Fort Lewis at Westminster. He has started 56 games and played 4877 minutes ranking fourth all-time at Westminster in both stats.
