Four Oglethorpe University Men's Soccer Players Earn Coaches' All-Region Honors

The Oglethorpe men's soccer team put an impressive four players on the 2019 United Soccer Coaches Men's Division III All-South Atlantic Region Teams on Dec. 2, marking the most players that the Stormy Petrels have put on an All-Region squad since 2011.

Senior midfielder Andrew Grodhaus and senior forward Ryan Marcano earned spots on the first team, while senior defender Christian Waegelin and senior midfielder Gabe Alvarez garnered spots on the second team.

Grodhaus, and accounting major and graduate of Northview High School, has been a stalwart at holding midfielder all four seasons with the Petrels. This marked his second consecutive All-Region honor and his first career first-team accolade after earning second-team honors in 2018. He also took home All-SAA honors in all four seasons, including All-SAA first team honors for the last two seasons. This season, he scored three goals and tallied three assists out of his defensive midfield spot, scoring the game-winning goal against Centre College in the team's 3-1 win on September 28.

Marcano, a business administration major and graduate of Greater Atlanta Christian School, took his second career first-team All-South Atlantic honor after first earning the award in 2017. In addition, he garnered the second All-SAA first team selection of his career this season. The Petrel offensive standout finished tied for first in the SAA in penalty-kick conversion rate, burying a perfect 3-for-3. He also finished third in goals per game (0.63), fourth in total goals (10), sixth in points per game (1.38), and seventh in total points (22).

Waegelin, a physics/engineering major and graduate of Milton High School, capped an outstanding four-year career with the SAA Defensive Player of the Year award, and he garnered his first career All-Region honor. He also bagged his third career All-SAA honor and his second consecutive All-SAA first team nod. Waeglin served as an essential part of a defensive unit that finished third in the SAA over the course of the season with a 1.32 team goals-against average. That unit is also third in the conference with a .316 shutout percentage over the course of the campaign. The Petrel senior tallied a pair of goals and three assists on the year, as well.

Alvarez, a business administration major and graduate of Bearden High School, garnered his first career All-Region honor this year after earning All-SAA second team honors in all four of his seasons as a Petrel. He finished second in the conference in assists per game (0.5) and total assists (8), fifth in shots per game (3.44), sixth in points per game (1.38), and seventh in total points (22).

The Petrels won their fifth straight SAA regular season title in 2019 and advanced to the third NCAA tournament in program history. They finished the season 14-5 overall, advancing to the final of the SAA tournament for the third year in a row. Their season ended with a first-round loss to Gettysburg on November 16 in Lexington, Virginia.

The All-Region teams are voted on by coaches from across Division III's South Atlantic region. All four honorees are automatically nominated for All-America consideration.

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