Marshall University Athletics
Herd Soccer Programs Earn United Soccer Coaches Team Academic Honors
9/24/2020 3:55:00 PM | Men's Soccer, Women's Soccer
Both teams earn award for third-straight year
2019-20 United Soccer Coaches Team Academic Award Recipients
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – For the third-straight academic year, both the Marshall men's and women's soccer teams earned the United Soccer Coaches Team Academic Award, the organization announced Thursday.
Marshall is one of 172 collegiate programs, all divisions, which had both the men's and women's teams awarded. The Herd was also just one of two Conference USA programs to have both teams honored as Charlotte was the other.
The United Soccer Coaches hand out the Team Academic Award each year to the teams that finish with a team grade point average of 3.0 or higher.
"Fantastic achievement from the lads," men's soccer head coach Chris Grassie said. "This shows they are building a culture of excellence. They have two jobs when they get here, perform in the classroom and perform on the pitch. Any trophies and awards in those categories they should strive for. We've won a lot of trophies on the pitch recently, so it's nice that we can balance it out with team awards for their collective achievement in the classroom."
"We strive for academic excellence within the program," women's soccer head coach Michael Swan said. "To receive this award so early in the semester, sets us up for the remainder of the year and provides a great platform to go on to further successes. Every year we set an academic goal to be one of the top programs, not just at Marshall, but within the conference and in the nation. This is a huge part of the blueprint of our recruiting, to bring in student-athletes who are driven both academically and athletically. By succeeding both in the classroom and on the field, we will build a culture that is driven by success in all aspects of being a student-athlete here at Marshall University."
This is the tenth time that the men's team has been honored since 2002. The Herd finished the 2019-20 academic year with a team GPA of 3.30 and adds on to what was already an historic season. Along with the on-the-pitch accolades, Marshall piled up individual classroom awards as well. 2019 seniors Illal Osmanu and Paulo Pita along with junior Pedro Dolabella were named to the United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-Region Team and Osmanu was honored as a Scholar All-American. Jonas Westmeyer, another 2019 senior, earned a CoSIDA Academic All-American award. Dolabella and senior Carlos Diaz-Salcedo were named to the C-USA All-Academic Team. Twenty two players were named to the Conference USA Commissioner's Honor Roll for a GPA of 3.0 or higher with five also earning the Academic Medal for a GPA of 3.75 or better.
Since 1998, the Marshall women's soccer program has earned the United Soccer Coaches Academic Award 21 times. Only just missing out twice. The squad finished the 2019-20 academic year with a team GPA of 3.41. The program totaled 26 players listed on the Conference USA Commissioner's Honor Roll with 10 also earning the Academic Medal.
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!
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – For the third-straight academic year, both the Marshall men's and women's soccer teams earned the United Soccer Coaches Team Academic Award, the organization announced Thursday.
Marshall is one of 172 collegiate programs, all divisions, which had both the men's and women's teams awarded. The Herd was also just one of two Conference USA programs to have both teams honored as Charlotte was the other.
The United Soccer Coaches hand out the Team Academic Award each year to the teams that finish with a team grade point average of 3.0 or higher.
"Fantastic achievement from the lads," men's soccer head coach Chris Grassie said. "This shows they are building a culture of excellence. They have two jobs when they get here, perform in the classroom and perform on the pitch. Any trophies and awards in those categories they should strive for. We've won a lot of trophies on the pitch recently, so it's nice that we can balance it out with team awards for their collective achievement in the classroom."
"We strive for academic excellence within the program," women's soccer head coach Michael Swan said. "To receive this award so early in the semester, sets us up for the remainder of the year and provides a great platform to go on to further successes. Every year we set an academic goal to be one of the top programs, not just at Marshall, but within the conference and in the nation. This is a huge part of the blueprint of our recruiting, to bring in student-athletes who are driven both academically and athletically. By succeeding both in the classroom and on the field, we will build a culture that is driven by success in all aspects of being a student-athlete here at Marshall University."
This is the tenth time that the men's team has been honored since 2002. The Herd finished the 2019-20 academic year with a team GPA of 3.30 and adds on to what was already an historic season. Along with the on-the-pitch accolades, Marshall piled up individual classroom awards as well. 2019 seniors Illal Osmanu and Paulo Pita along with junior Pedro Dolabella were named to the United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-Region Team and Osmanu was honored as a Scholar All-American. Jonas Westmeyer, another 2019 senior, earned a CoSIDA Academic All-American award. Dolabella and senior Carlos Diaz-Salcedo were named to the C-USA All-Academic Team. Twenty two players were named to the Conference USA Commissioner's Honor Roll for a GPA of 3.0 or higher with five also earning the Academic Medal for a GPA of 3.75 or better.
Since 1998, the Marshall women's soccer program has earned the United Soccer Coaches Academic Award 21 times. Only just missing out twice. The squad finished the 2019-20 academic year with a team GPA of 3.41. The program totaled 26 players listed on the Conference USA Commissioner's Honor Roll with 10 also earning the Academic Medal.
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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Players Mentioned
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