Manhattanville Soocer Player Named Second Team All-American

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After a record-setting season on the field for the Manhattanville men’s soccer team this fall, junior forward Eros Olazabal (Milton, Ontario/Bishop Reding) made some more program history on Thursday when he was named the first All-American in program history by earning a spot on the D3soccer.com All-America second team.

Going against a pool of more than 600 nominations, Olazabal was one of three forwards named to the All-American second team and one of 11 non-seniors selected overall by the selection committee, which consists of D3soccer.com staff, Division III men’s soccer coaches and Division III Sports Information Directors. He becomes the 23rd student-athlete to be named an All-American in Manhattanville history and the program’s 26th overall All-America selection.

Olazabal had a breakout junior year for Manhattanville, positioning himself as one of the most dangerous strikers in Division III by scoring 26 goals and adding five assists for 57 points. He smashed the school’s previous records for goals, points and game-winning goals in a single season, while also ranking first in Middle Atlantic Conference history in goals per game and second in total goals. His totals also stood up at the national level: he finished the year tied for first in Division III in goals per game (1.30 gpg), second in goals, third in points per game (2.85 ppg) and fourth in points.

He got the year off to a record-setting start in the season opener against York (N.Y.) on September 1, tying the program record with five goals and adding an assist for a school-record 11 points. His goal and point totals also tied MAC single-game records as well.

The junior is the only Freedom Conference player selected to the All-America squad after earning NSCAA All-Mid-Atlantic Region third team honors and first-team All-Freedom Conference laurels following the season.

After his record-setting junior season, Olazabal will enter his senior season with 32 goals and seven assists for 71 points in his career, totals that currently place him fifth in career goals, sixth in match-winning goals (eight) and eighth in points all-time atManhattanville.

Manhattanville finished the 2011 season with a 15-4-1 (6-1-0 Freedom) record, setting a new program record for single-season wins and earning the top seed in the Freedom Conference Championship.

The Valiants received a NSCAA regional ranking in every week for the first time ever and as a result earned the second NCAA Tournament berth in program history.