HARRISONBURG, Va. - Five members of the George Mason men's soccer team were honored by the Colonial Athletic Association on Wednesday evening as the conference handed out its annual All-CAA and All-Rookie awards. Eric Zuehsow and Leo Stolz both earned second team honors, while Taylor Morgan and Ryan Gracia were tabbed to the third team. Additionally, Stolz and classmate Verneri Valimaa were named to the CAA All-Rookie squad.
Delaware's Evans Frimpong was named the Player of the Year, while teammate Roberto Gimenez was tabbed as the Rookie of the Year. Additionally, Shaun Foster from Hofstra was named the Defensive Player of the Year and JMU's Tom Martin was recognized as the Coach of the Year.
Adding five names to the list, Mason's all-time CAA postseason honoree total now stands at 92 since the team joined the conference in 1984.
A senior defender from Ashburn, Va., Zuehsow earned second team honors for the second-consecutive season after being selected to the preseason All-CAA men's soccer team. Playing in 14 matches with 12 starts during the 2011 season, Zuehsow recorded an assist in the season finale at UNCW while also helping the defense post a 1.42 goals-against average and four shutouts.
Over his four seasons at Mason, he appeared in 50 matches with 43 starts, registering three goals and one assist. He also earned CAA Co-Player of the Week honors as a junior and collected the team's John O'Hara Newcomer of the Year award as a freshman.
Stolz, a freshman midfielder from Munich, Germany started all 18 contests for the Patriots en route to collecting both second team all-conference and all-rookie accolades. He finished the 2011 season third on the team in scoring with 11 points (4g, 3a), including the game-winning goal in a 4-1 triumph over Northeastern on October 22. Stolz was also recognized as the CAA Men's Soccer Rookie of the Week in late October.
A native of Southampton, England, Morgan started 17 matches as a forward during the 2011 season. Leading the team in both points (23) and goals (9), he also ranked fifth in the conference in total points, while standing in sixth place in both goals (9) and assists (5) and second in game-winning goals (4). He also collected CAA Player of the Week honors twice, in addition to being named the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division I Men's Soccer Offensive Player of the Week and being placed on the Soccer America Men's Team of the Week. It was the first conference postseason honor for Morgan.
A senior midfielder from Rockville, Md., Gracia earned postseason honors from the CAA for the second time in his career after being named to the All-Rookie Team in 2008. This season, Gracia played in 15 matches with 12 starts, finishing second on the team with 14 points off of six goals and two assists. During his four seasons with the Patriots, Gracia played in 62 matches with 53 starts, collecting 39 points (15g, 9a).
The final honoree, freshman midfielder Valimaa started all 18 matches for Mason as he collected All-Rookie team honors. He finished his rookie campaign tied for the team lead with five assists, while also netting two goals (9 pts). Collecting CAA Player of the Week accolades in September, Valimaa finished the season ranked fifth in the conference in assists.
The men's soccer team finished its 2011 season with an overall record of 7-8-3 and a 4-6-1 conference mark.
