Newport News, Va. – (November 14, 2019) – The Atlantic 10 Conference announced its major awards and All-Conference teams for men's soccer on Thursday. Among the honorees, Fordham senior defender
Joergen Oland (Drammen, Norway) received the Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Year award and First Team All-Atlantic 10 honors in a vote by the league's head coaches. In addition, senior forward
Johannes Pieles (Langenbach, Germany) earned a spot on the Atlantic 10 Academic All-Conference team in a vote by the conference's sports information directors.
For Oland, he repeats as the conference's Defensive Player of the Year, joining Anthony Manning (Saint Louis – 2013 & 2014) and Patrick Hannigan (Temple – 2003 & 2004) as the only players to win the award twice, as well as in consecutive years. Oland's award marks the third consecutive year that a Fordham player has been named Defensive Player of the Year, which began with Matthew Lewis in 2017, and the fourth time overall (Ryan Meara – 2011).
Now a two-time First Team All-Atlantic 10 performer, Oland led the Fordham defense to a 1.14 team goals against average, which rated fifth in the league, and six shutouts, which was third in the league. He also contributed on the offensive end, adding four goals and one assist for nine points, which was good for second on the team in goals and points.
Just a week after being named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District Team, Pieles earns a slot on the Atlantic 10 All-Academic Team. Holding a 3.94 GPA in Finance, he has appeared in 18 of 19 games this season for the Rams, making 17 starts. He has recorded two goals for four points on the year and notched one game-winning goal. That game-winning tally came recently in a victory over George Mason on October 26th. He also ranks second on the team in shots (46).
Oland, Pieles, and the rest of the Fordham men's soccer team are in action on Friday, November 15th, when the team hosts Rhode Island in the first Atlantic 10 Championship semifinal at 1:00 PM on Fordham's Jack Coffey Field.
