Six MCLA Men’s Soccer Players Earn CSC Academic All-District Honors

NORTH ADAMS, Mass.— Senior goalie Ryan Taylor (Plattsburgh, NY), senior defender Ronan Connors (Hamilton, MA), senior midfielders Jacob Richardson (Adams, MA) and Marcos Lopez (Albany, NY), junior defender Thomas Hickey (Mechanicville, NY), and sophomore midfielder Traizen Griffith (Enfield, CT) have earned All-District recognition by the College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-American program.

This was the first time Taylor, Connors, Richardson, Lopez, Hickey, or Griffith earned a CSC Academic All-American program designation, a rare and prestigious honor. They join six Women's Soccer team members announced earlier this week and nine athletes from the 2023-24 school year. Prior to last season, no MCLA athlete had been honored by CSC since 2019, when softball outfielder Kaitlyn Berghela was named to the Academic All-American Division III third team.

The brash goalie, Taylor, has been a four-year member of the soccer program and truly represented the Trailblazers' last line of defense. Taylor appeared in 16 of the team's 17 games, starting 15 of them, and recorded two shutouts. Taylor finished the season second in the MASCAC with 83 saves. He will graduate with a psychology degree this May.

Another senior leader, Connors, was a steadying influence in the Trailblazers' defensive end, starting all 17 of MCLA's games. Connors set a new career high, finishing the year with a pair of assists, including the first goals in the Trailblazers' 5-1 win over Framingham State and 2-2 tie at Keene State. Connors is a business major.

A local student-athlete who took on a more significant role during his senior season, Richardson rewarded the team's faith in him with a pair of assists and scoring the opening goal in the 5-1 win over Framingham. Richardson started all 17 games for the Trailblazers. He is a four-year member of the soccer team and is majoring in business.

Lopez rounds out MCLA's senior quartet and was another player who started in all 17 of the Trailblazers' games. The team recorded the best record in any of the seniors' seasons at MCLA, with seven wins, the team's best showing since winning eight games in 2016. Lopez scored his lone goal in the Trailblazers' 4-2 win over Salem State. Lopez is majoring in business.

The only junior to be named to the CSC All-District team from MCLA, Hickey started 16 of the Trailblazers' 17 games in the backfield, solidifying the team in the defensive end while also moving forward into the offensive end as needed, including a stretch of five games in which he totaled six shots, including four on goal. Hickey is majoring in radiologic technology.

Rounding out the Trailblazers' honorees, Griffith was named to the MASCAC All-Conference second team after leading the conference in scoring 19 points (seven goals and five assists) and appearing in the top five in the conference in goals, assists, points, and shots. The second-year midfielder is majoring in business.

Per the College Sports Communicators (previously known as COSIDA) website, the Academic All-American is a title reserved for college student-athletes who perform at an elite level in their chosen sport and in the classroom. The all-time list of 40,000+ Academic All-Americans includes major sports stars and some of the world's most accomplished individuals in medicine, business, science, and the arts. Established in 1952 and selected by College Sports Communicators, Academic All-America is the longest-running and premier award for athletic and academic success across championship college sports at all NCAA levels, the NAIA, two-year colleges, and Canadian institutions. Teams are announced year-round and amplified by CSC member colleges, universities, and conferences on a wide local, regional, national, and even international scope.

To be eligible for consideration, student-athletes must demonstrate the best traits of a student-athlete, both on and off the playing field. Among the requirements are:

• Outstanding student-athletes are nominated for Academic All-District® recognition by communications directors and must have a minimum 3.50 GPA and meet high athletic standards. (25,000+ nominations annually)
• A select group of student-athletes advances to the national ballot, where CSC members vote on Academic All-America teams. (approximately 2,000 selections annually)
• A Team Member of the Year is selected in each sport and division. (66 recipients)
• An overall Academic All-America of the Year is selected as the top student-athlete across all sports in each NCAA and NAIA division. (4 recipients)

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