United Soccer Coaches Release (PDF) | Scholar All-America Teams

Dec. 14, 2017

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (SMU/United Soccer Coaches) – Jordan Cano and Michael Nelson garnered United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division I Scholar All-America honors, the organization announced on Thursday.

Cano was named First Team All-American, while Nelson picked up second team accolades. The senior duo added to their postseason accolades as both Mustangs were named to the All-East Region First Team.

The Mustangs have two scholar-athlete All-Americans for the first time in program history. John Lujano was the last Mustang to receive the honor in 2014.

Cano boasts a 3.67 grade-point-average and is majoring in finance. The Frisco, Texas, native was named the Most Outstanding Defensive Player of the American Men's Soccer Championship (Nov. 10 & 12). Cano helped the Mustangs' backline give up only one goal during the tournament while also providing offense with two goals in as many games. Cano finished third on the team in goals after tallying three in the Mustangs' last five matches. He is the sixth Mustang to win The American Defensive Player of the Year award and the first since graduate assistant Jaime Ibarra in 2012. He started all 21 matches and dished out four assists while anchoring the SMU backline that allowed only 13 goals. The Frisco, Texas, native was also named the conference Defensive Player of the Week three times.

Nelson carries a 3.38 GPA and is also majoring in finance. On the pitch, he claimed his third conference Goalkeeper of the Year award this season. The Katy, Texas, native started all 21 matches in goal for SMU and led the conference in four categories. He finished first in shutouts (10), shutouts per game (0.48), goals against average (0.60) and save percentage (.840). His 10 shutouts and 0.60 goals against average rank 10th and 12th in the nation, respectively. Nelson finished second in the league in saves with 68.

To be nominated, a student-athlete must be a junior or above with at least a 3.30 cumulative grade point average (on a 4.0 scale) or better throughout their career.

Nominated student-athletes must have participated in at least 50 percent of all games and significantly contributed to the team. They must have also been nominated by the head coach of a current College Services member institution.

The Mustangs finished the season ranked No. 8 in the United Soccer Coaches Poll and made their 31st appearance in the NCAA Men's Soccer Championship. SMU advanced to the third round of the NCAA tournament for the 23rd time and the second time in the last three years (2015, 2017).

2017 United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division I Men's Scholar All-America Teams

First Team

Pos.	Name	Yr.	School	Major	GPA	Hometown
K	Eric Dick	Sr.	Butler	Science Technology and Society	3.32	Carmel, Ind.
D	Drew Shepherd	Sr.	Western Michigan	Aviation Flight Science	3.37	Ann Arbor, Mich.
D	Nathan Aune	Jr.	Seattle	Marketing	3.30	Arlington, Wash.
D	Jordan Cano	Sr.	SMU	Finance	3.67	Frisco, Texas
M	Jimmy Fiscus	Sr.	Michigan State	Supply Chain Management	3.85	Novi, Mich.
M	Tim Kubel*	Sr.	Louisville	Finance	3.69	Stuttgart, Germany
M	Kevin Politz	Sr.	Wake Forest	Mathematical Business	3.94	Morganville, N.J.
M	Ken Krolicki	Sr.	Michigan State	Applied Engineering Sciences	3.34	Plymouth, Mich.
M	Daniel Krutzen	Jr.	Albany	Business	3.66	Lanaken, Belgium
F	Brandon Bye	Sr.	Western Michigan	Food Marketing and Supply Chain Management	3.76	Portage, Mich.
F	Elliott Otmani	Sr.	Rider	Human Resource Management	3.51	Ollioules, France

 

Second Team

Pos.	Name	Yr.	School	Major	GPA	Hometown
K	Jimmy Hague	Jr.	Michigan State	Applied Engineering Sciences	3.38	Walled Lake, Mich.
K	Michael Nelson	Sr.	SMU	Finance	3.38	Katy, Texas
D	Zach Bock	Sr.	Western Michigan	Sales and Business Marketing	3.98	Novi, Mich.
D	Fraser Colmer	Sr.	Radford	Business Management	3.99	Southhampton, England
D	Alex Comsia	Jr.	North Carolina	Business Administration	3.71	Vancouver, B.C.
D	Angus Hastings	Sr.	Fairfield	Finance	3.42	Bradford, England
D	Graham Smith	Sr.	Denver	Finance	3.94	Highlands Ranch, Colo.
M	Marcos Arroyo	Sr.	Army	Physics	3.68	Oviedo, Fla.
M	Leon Schwarzer	Sr.	San Francisco	International Business	3.96	Muenster, Germany
M	Laurence Wyke	Jr.	Furman	Business Administration	3.42	Bolton, England
F	Afonso Pinheiro	Sr.	Albany	Globalization Studies	3.34	Sao Paulo, Brazil

* Asterisks indicate number of previous Scholar All-America selections