Grodhaus nabs coaches' Scholar All-America honors

Senior midfielder Andrew Grodhaus of the Oglethorpe University men's soccer team took home Scholar All-America second-team honors from the United Soccer Coaches Wednesday, providing a capstone to his remarkable four-year career as a Stormy Petrel. It marked the first Scholar All-America award of his career and the third season in a row in which a member of the team earned the honor. Grodhaus is from Duluth, Ga. and a graduate of Northview High School.

An accounting major, Grodhaus held a 3.66 cumulative GPA through the spring semester of 2019. All the while, he served as a stalwart at holding midfielder for all four of his seasons with the Petrels. In addition to nabbing first-team Scholar All-South Region honors on Monday, he took coaches' All-South Atlantic Region first-team honors in November. That marked his second career All-Region accolade and his first time making the first team. He also took home All-SAA honors in all four seasons, including All-SAA first team honors the last two. This season, he scored three goals and tallied three assists out of his defensive midfield spot, scoring the game-winning goal against Centre in the team's 3-1 win on Sept. 28.

Grodhaus led the Petrels to their fifth straight SAA regular season title and their third straight conference final in 2019. He also took part in the NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Championship for the second time in his career, and the program's third time, when the Petrels earned an at-large bid to the tournament field in November. Oglethorpe compiled a 51-15-6 overall record during Grodhaus' 4 years with the program.

The United Soccer Coaches honored 35 student-athletes as Division III men's Scholar All-America honorees Wednesday, dispersed over three teams. To be eligible for Scholar All-America consideration, a player must be at least a junior in athletic standing, accrue at least a 3.3 cumulative GPA over the course of his career, start more than 50 percent of his team's games during his career, and be an elite on-field player as supported by playing honors and/or contributions to the success of his team.

The organization will formally acknowledge the accomplishments of all their Scholar All-Americans, across divisions, at their January convention in Baltimore.