SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Furman redshirt senior Ben Hale claimed this year’s Southern Conference Men’s Soccer Player and Goalkeeper of the Year awards, marking the first time a student-athlete has earned both awards since the addition of goalkeeper of the year in 2014. Forwards Jake Raine of Furman and Theo Collomb of UNCG shared the SoCon Freshman of the Year honor due to ties in the voting. 
 
Furman’s Doug Allison, the winningest men’s soccer coach in conference history with 316 wins, was named the league’s coach of the year for the second straight year and ninth time overall after the Paladins earned their 21^st SoCon regular-season title. Allison led the Paladins to a 7-1-1 overall record, 5-0-1 conference record and two top-25 national weekly rankings.
 
The league’s seven coaches also named two all-conference teams and an all-freshman squad. This season’s all-freshman team includes 12 student-athletes because of ties in the voting. Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own players or themselves.
 
Furman tallied a conference-leading nine total players who earned postseason recognition, including a conference-best six players on the all-conference first team. Belmont featured seven players, while UNCG had five. Mercer and ETSU had four and three student-athletes represented, respectively, as Wofford rounded out the squads with one selection. 
 
Hale led all SoCon goalkeepers with a .850 save percentage and 0.73 goals against average. He ranks second in saves per game (4.25) and shutouts (four) while ranking fourth with 34 saves. The Frisco, Texas, native only allowed six goals and helped lead the Paladins to six shutouts in their nine matches this season. Hale was named the SoCon Defensive Player of the Week on March 30, making him one of eight SoCon men’s soccer players in conference history to earn the weekly honor at least four times. The redshirt senior was also named the league’s defensive player of the month for February and added a first-team selection to his Goalkeeper and Player of the Year honors. 
 
Raine, who is also an all-freshman and All-SoCon first-team selection, leads Furman with 11 points on five goals and an assist with three game-winning goals. His three game-winning goals lead the conference while his five goals are tied for second. Raine earned offensive player of the week honors on March 16 after netting a season-high two goals, including the match-winning score, to hand Furman a 2-1, double-overtime victory against ETSU on March 12. The freshman from Stoke, England, is the first Paladin to earn freshman of the year honors since Bobby Edet in 2013.
 
UNCG’s Collomb, who was also voted as freshman of the year, powered UNCG to a 3-1-2 conference record as the Spartans finished the regular season as the No. 2 seed in head coach Chris Rich’s second season. The Clermont, France, native found the back of the net a conference-best six times this year with three assists. His six goals and 15 points on the season lead the SoCon. Collomb garnered offensive player of the week honors once, was named the offensive player of the month for March, and is an all-freshman and All-SoCon first-team selection in his first collegiate season. 
 
Furman forward Shaun-Chris Joash, midfielders Miles Fenton and Callum Holland, and defender Cole McLagan join Hale and Raine to represent the Paladins on the first team. Joash tied with Raine as the team’s leader in goals (five), points (11) and game-winning goals (three). The sophomore was named the offensive player of the week once and offensive player of the month for February.
 
McLagan, a redshirt senior, has helped ignite the Paladin offense and defense this year. He tallied three goals and added two assists on two match-winning scores this season, in addition to powering a defense that only allowed six goals in nine matches. McLagan was named the offensive player of the week on March 23 for his two goals and assist on Joash’s game-winning score in overtime that led Furman to a 3-2 come-from-behind win at UNCG. 
 
Defender Tommy Kay earned his second straight All-SoCon second-team honor as the only Paladin represented on the second team. Kay, a redshirt sophomore from Ocala, Florida, started in all nine games this season. The Paladins placed three players on the all-freshman team in Raine, Josh Hosie and Sam Miller. 
 
Belmont’s seven players honored set a program best since the Bruins joined the SoCon in 2018. Five players were selected to the all-conference second team in Niccolo Dagnoni (forward), Liam O’Brien (forward), AJ Chastonay (midfielder), Jack Shaw (defender) and Drew Romig (goalkeeper). Dagnoni and Shaw are tied for the conference lead in the in assists (three), while Romig is tied for second with four shutouts. Chastonay and Romig earned player of the week honors on February 23 and March 16, respectively. 
 
Chastonay scored nine points on four goals, including two game-winners, and one assist this season. The Louisville, Kentucky, native is joined on the all-freshman squad by teammates Michael Saunders and Eric Stiles. The three freshmen combined tallied 12 points, four goals and four assists on the season.
 
UNCG’s Collomb, midfielder Fernando Garcia and defender Emmanuel Hagan represent the Spartans on the All-SoCon first team. Garcia ranks second in the conference in goals (five) and third in points per game (1.25). Hagan, a defender, started in seven of the Spartans’ 11 games and contributed to UNCG’s five shutouts. Hagan is also an all-freshman selection and is joined by goalkeeper Niclas Wild, who finished the regular season with an 0.82 goals against average and four shutouts. 
 
On the second team, the UNCG is represented by midfielder Mani Austmann. Austmann ranks second in the SoCon with 12 points on five goals and two assists. The sophomore from Gardarbaer, Iceland, was named the offensive player of the week on March 9 after scoring the game-winning goal against Longwood to help lead the Spartans to their fourth straight victory for a 4-1 start, which marked their best start since 2004.
 
Dylan Gaither was the lone first-team selection for Mercer after tying for second in the conference in points (12) and goals (five) and third for game-winning goals (two). Forward Dawson Gideon and defender Kareve Richards represent the Bears on the second team. Gideon notched four goals and one assist this season, while Richards tallied an assist in the Bears’ first win of season on Sept. 22 against Georgia Southern. Nick Wanzer was the Bears’ lone inclusion on the all-freshman team after scoring his first collegiate goal in Mercer’s 3-1 win over Wofford on March 27. 
 
Wofford defender Buster Sjoberg rounded out the All-SoCon first team after being named to the all-freshman and all-conference second teams last season. 
 
ETSU’s Jared Leheta and Kieran Richards were both were named to the All-SoCon second team. Joining Leheta on the all-freshman team is forward Tarik Pannholzer, who was rewarded for his strong offensive play on April 6 as he was named the conference’s offensive player of the week. The freshman from Flensburg, Germany, scored three goals and assisted on another as the Bucs set a program record for goals scored in ETSU’s 7-0 win against VMI on March 30. He became only the second Buccaneer in program history to record a hat trick, joining Fletcher Ekern’s accomplishment achieved in October 2016 against UNCG. 
 
No. 1 Furman will face No. 4 seed Belmont in the SoCon Men’s Soccer Championship semifinals on Friday, April 9, in Greenville, South Carolina, at 6 p.m. ET. The second semifinal match between No. 2 UNCG and No. 3 ETSU will take place on Saturday, April 10, at 6 p.m. ET in Greensboro, North Carolina. 
 
The championship match will take place Friday, April 16, or Saturday, April 17, at the highest remaining seed. The tournament winner earns the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Men’s Soccer Championship.
 
2020-21 Men’s Soccer All-Conference Team
Player of the Year – Ben Hale, R-Sr., Furman
Goalkeeper of the Year – Ben Hale, R-Sr., Furman
Coach of the Year – Doug Allison, Furman
Freshmen of the Year – Jake Raine, F, Furman
                                       Theo Collomb, F, UNCG
 
First Team
F Shaun-Chris Joash, Furman
F Jake Raine, Furman
F Theo Collomb, UNCG
MF Miles Fenton, Furman
MF Callum Holland, Furman
MF Dylan Gaither, Mercer
MF Fernando Garcia, UNCG
D Cole McLagan, Furman
D Emmanuel Hagan, UNCG
D Buster Sjoberg, Wofford
GK Ben Hale, Furman
 
Second Team
F Niccolo Dagnoni, Belmont
F Liam O’Brien, Belmont
F Jared Leheta, ETSU
F Dawson Gideon, Mercer
MF AJ Chastonay, Belmont
MF Kieran Richards, ETSU
MF Mani Austmann, UNCG
D Jack Shaw, Belmont 
D Tommy Kay, Furman
D Kareve Richards, Mercer
GK Drew Romig, Belmont 
 
All-Freshman Team
AJ Chastonay, MF, Belmont
Michael Saunders, MF, Belmont
Eric Stiles, MF, Belmont
Jared Leheta, F, ETSU
Tarik Pannholzer, F, ETSU
Josh Hosie, D, Furman
Sam Miller, MF, Furman
Jake Raine, F, Furman
Nick Wanzer, MF, Mercer
Theo Collomb, F, UNCG
Emmanuel Hagan, D, UNCG
Niclas Wild, GK, UNCG