Marshall University Athletics
Pita Named one of 30 Finalists for Men’s Soccer Senior CLASS Award
9/23/2019 3:14:00 PM | Men's Soccer
First Senior CLASS Award finalist for men’s soccer since 2015
Senior CLASS Award Candidates Release
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – Marshall men's soccer redshirt senior goalkeeper Paulo Pita was named as one of 30 Senior CLASS Award finalists, the organization announced on Monday. Pita is the first finalist for the Herd since Nick Edginton in 2015.
To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition. An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.
"Paulo's a very confident and reliable leader," Herd head coach Chris Grassie said. "He has the respect of the team because of his age and ability. He's really good at motivating them, and they're all really confident to have him behind them during games. Off the field, he's supportive of the guys and is always there to support and help them."
This season, Paulo is the only player for the Herd to have played all 650 minutes. He has a 5-1-1 record with two shutouts. Pita has allowed just seven goals and sports a 0.97 goals against average. He has 19 saves and a .731 save percentage. He has helped Marshall out to a great start including a 2-1 victory over the 2018 National Championship runner-up, Akron Zips.
The Santos, Sao Paulo, Brazil native transferred to Marshall before the 2018 season from the University of Charleston. While playing as the starting keeper for the Eagles, Pita was on the Division II National Championship squad in 2017 and the National Champion runner-up in 2017.
In his two year Herd career, Pita has played in 24 matches, has a 1.23 goals against average, recorded 90 saves and has 12 wins with five shutouts.
Each of the two – men's and women's soccer – candidate classes will be narrowed to 10 finalists midway through the regular season, and those 10 names will be placed on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans, who will select one male candidate and one female candidate who best exemplifies excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character and competition.
The Senior CLASS Award winners will be announced during the 2019 NCAA Men's and Women's College Cup® championships in December.
For more information on all the candidates, visit seniorCLASSaward.com.
For all of the latest information on the Marshall men's soccer team, follow the Herd on Twitter @HerdMSoccer, Facebook at Marshall University Soccer and on www.herdzone.com.
To follow all Thundering Herd sports and get live stats, schedules, and free live audio, download the Marshall Athletics App for iOS or Android!
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – Marshall men's soccer redshirt senior goalkeeper Paulo Pita was named as one of 30 Senior CLASS Award finalists, the organization announced on Monday. Pita is the first finalist for the Herd since Nick Edginton in 2015.
To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition. An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.
"Paulo's a very confident and reliable leader," Herd head coach Chris Grassie said. "He has the respect of the team because of his age and ability. He's really good at motivating them, and they're all really confident to have him behind them during games. Off the field, he's supportive of the guys and is always there to support and help them."
This season, Paulo is the only player for the Herd to have played all 650 minutes. He has a 5-1-1 record with two shutouts. Pita has allowed just seven goals and sports a 0.97 goals against average. He has 19 saves and a .731 save percentage. He has helped Marshall out to a great start including a 2-1 victory over the 2018 National Championship runner-up, Akron Zips.
The Santos, Sao Paulo, Brazil native transferred to Marshall before the 2018 season from the University of Charleston. While playing as the starting keeper for the Eagles, Pita was on the Division II National Championship squad in 2017 and the National Champion runner-up in 2017.
In his two year Herd career, Pita has played in 24 matches, has a 1.23 goals against average, recorded 90 saves and has 12 wins with five shutouts.
Each of the two – men's and women's soccer – candidate classes will be narrowed to 10 finalists midway through the regular season, and those 10 names will be placed on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans, who will select one male candidate and one female candidate who best exemplifies excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character and competition.
The Senior CLASS Award winners will be announced during the 2019 NCAA Men's and Women's College Cup® championships in December.
For more information on all the candidates, visit seniorCLASSaward.com.
For all of the latest information on the Marshall men's soccer team, follow the Herd on Twitter @HerdMSoccer, Facebook at Marshall University Soccer and on www.herdzone.com.
To follow all Thundering Herd sports and get live stats, schedules, and free live audio, download the Marshall Athletics App for iOS or Android!
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