Brandywine Men’s Soccer Lands Four USCAA All-Americans
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – Four Penn State Brandywine men's soccer student-athletes received all-American awards at the United States Collegiate Athletic Association banquet last week, headlined by a first team honor for freshman Axel Ayllon-Ortiz (Kennett Square, Pa./Kennett). Sophomore Ian Roland (Aston, Pa./Sun Valley) was named to the second team, while classmate Tyler Skaer (Brookhaven, Pa./The Christian Academy) and freshman Alex Lopez (Toughkenamon, Pa./Kennett) both received honorable mention laurels.
Also the Penn State University Athletic Conference Defender of the Year, Ayllon-Ortiz tied for fifth nationally with a team-leading 10 assists. He tallied points in 14-of-22 matches this fall with his season-high total of five points coming in a victory at Penn State Hazleton early in October.
Ayllon-Ortiz tied for the team lead and 22nd in the USCAA with nine goals, eight of which came in matches versus USCAA opponents. His 28 total points stand as the 12th-highest total in USCAA Division II.
Roland was one of just two Lions to start all 22 matches this fall. He paced a Brandywine defense that produced 12 shutouts and a 1.09 goals-against average, the fourth-best mark among USCAA defenses. No team tallied more shutouts than Brandywine, which yielded just 18 goals to 17 USCAA foes.
Roland chipped in offensively with one goal and three assists. He now has 12 points on three goals and six helpers in 43 matches during two seasons at Brandywine.
Skaer was also a force on the Brandywine back line, starting 21 matches. The Lions' defense allowed just 92 shots on goal in those matches, yielding fewer than five per game to opponents. Skaer added two goals, including a score in Brandywine's 3-2 PSUAC Championship victory over Penn State Beaver, and tallied one assist.
Skaer, a two-time all-conference defender, has competed in 42 matches with three goals and three assists in two years at Brandywine.
Lopez tied for fourth on the team with 16 points, while playing in 21 matches this fall. He netted five goals and six assists, tied for the 16th-highest total in the USCAA. The Lions' biggest goal of the season came off the foot of Lopez, who buried the game-winning tally during the 81st minute of the PSUAC title match, sending Brandywine to its fourth-straight championship.
Brandywine closed the year with a record of 17-6-1, reaching the USCAA Tournament for the sixth time in the last seven years.
