Six CMS Men's Soccer Players Earn First-Team All-SCIAC; Stags Earn Coaching Staff of Year
CLAREMONT, Calif. - Six members of the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps men's soccer team were named first-team All-SCIAC in a vote of the league's coaches, while Head Coach Matt Edwards and his assistants were named the SCIAC Coaching Staff of the Year, the conference office announced this morning.
The six Stags chosen first-team All-Conference, out of the 14 total players selected, include freshman goalkeeper Jacob Mays, sophomore defender William Birchard, junior defender Adam Singer, sophomore midfielder Nate Huntington, senior midfielder Aidan Johnson and freshman forward William Barton.
Edwards and his assistants (Marco Saglimbeni, Danny Glascock, Eric Young, Julian Ortega and Ethan Kable earned the Coaching Staff of the Year honor after spearheading an impressive turnaround from a four-win season and an eighth-place finish in 2017 to a 15-win regular season and an outright SCIAC regular season title with a 12-2 conference mark. Edwards is in his fourth season as the head coach of the Stags, and earned the Midwest Conference Coach of the Year Award in his final season at Knox College in 2014, before taking over the helm of the CMS program.
Aidan Johnson capped off his senior season with his first All-SCIAC Award after having a pivotal role in the defensive success of the Stags this season. From his role as a defensive midfielder, Johnson was able to lead a defense that allowed only four goals all season, while never allowing more than four shots on target in a single game.
Adam Singer was also a large part of that defensive success from his role as a center back. After missing last season with an injury, he returned this year to fortify the CMS defense, earning the SCIAC Defensive Player of the Week honor after a week in which the Stags picked up shutout wins over Pomona-Pitzer and Cal Lutheran, while allowing only five shots combined in those two games (one of which was on target).
William Birchard was a standout on the CMS defense as well, while also contributing to the teams offensive attack, particularly on set pieces, leading the team with six goals and five assists. Birchard was twice named the SCIAC Defensive Player of the Week, and capped off the regular season with the Offensive Player of the Week Award after scoring both goals in a pair of 1-0 wins over Redlands and Occidental, which secured the SCIAC regular season title for the Stags.
Jacob Mays had a spectacular rookie season in goal, setting a new CMS school record with 14 solo shutouts in his 17 starts. He began his career with eight straight shutouts before allowing his first collegiate goal in the second half against Chapman. His 0.23 goals against average currently ranks second in the nation in Division III, while his 14 shutouts leads the nation by two.
Nate Huntington had a successful sophomore season as an outside midfielder, working fluidly with Birchard along the left side to create numerous scoring chances for the Stags this season. He finished the regular season with two goals and three assists, picking up the game-winning goal in the second half of a 1-0 win over Redlands early in the year to give the Stags the early lead in the SCIAC race, and then adding another game-winner against Pomona-Pitzer.
William Barton had an immediate impact in his freshman season as a forward, coming off the bench to frequently spark the CMS offense. His five goals and three assists on the year ranked second behind Birchard for the team lead, including goals in his first three collegiate games. He picked up three game-winning goals on the year, including a SCIAC win over Cal Lutheran and regional win over UC Santa Cruz, and assisted on the game-winning goal in a 1-0 win at Redlands.
CMS finished the regular season at 15-2 overall and 12-2 in the SCIAC, earning the top seed in the SCIAC Tournament. CMS will open play on Thursday at home against Chapman at 7 p.m., and if it wins that one, it will face either Redlands or Occidental at home in the championship game on Saturday at 7 p.m.