William Birchard Named Third-Team All-American by D3soccer.com

CLAREMONT, Calif. - Junior defender William Birchard earned his second All-America honor for the 2019 season by being selected to the D3soccer.com All-America third team, the organization announced this week.

Birchard also earned second-team All-America honors from the United Soccer Coaches in December, becoming the first CMS player honored by the national coaches association since 2001. He was also a third-team All-America selection from D3soccer.com last year as a sophomore as well, giving him two straight All-America honors from the website. 

This season, Birchard had five goals and four assists as a left back for the Stags, including the game-winning goal against Occidental in the SCIAC semifinals off a second-half free kick. He also had two goals in the first half of a 2-0 NCAA Tournament Opening Round win over Texas Lutheran. 

Birchard was part of a CMS team that finished 16-4-2, won both the SCIAC regular season and postseason titles in the same year for the first time in program history, and advanced to the NCAA Round of 16 for the first time since 1985. In the last two years, Birchard has been part of a defensive back four that has totaled 27 shutouts in 40 games. He helped CMS lead the nation in team defense last year at 0.22 goals per game, while also scoring six goals of his own, remarkably outscoring all 18 Stag opponents himself 6-4.

The complete list of All-America winners from D3soccer.com is below: 

D3soccer.com All-America Team