DELAND, Fla. – The United Soccer Coaches announced Tuesday that senior midfielder
Gio Rodriguez and freshman midfielder
Andres Mata made the All-Atlantic region team in the annual release of the honors. Stetson was one of three ASUN programs with players recognized.
"Gio has been instrumental in building our Stetson program and I couldn't be happier for him," head coach
Emmett Rutkowski said, "He has been integral part of our success in many capacities, and I am proud of him and the contributions he has made to the program."
Rodriguez, a second-team selection, played 14 matches with nine starts this season. The senior tallied five goal with each posing massive importance in the specific matches. Three of the five were while the Hatters were trailing in the match and in all three cases the goals were game-tying goals; two of those three were converted from the penalty spot. The other pair of goals, a brace at North Florida, were the game-winning goal and insurance goal. This adds to the accolades of ASUN All-Conference Second Team and the ASUN All-Tournament Team.
"Andres has really developed in such a short period of time here at Stetson and I look forward to seeing his potential over the next few years," Rutkowski continued "He plays with such great intensity and embodies what it means to be a Hatter in how we play on and off the field."
Mata, a third-team honoree, was in astounding form to close out the season. While being a rotation player to start the season, the freshman earned a starting selection at Stetson's first win over South Florida since 1998, scoring the first Hatter goal of the contest. The midfielder, which would sometimes be rotated into a forward role, started five of the final six matches scoring five of his six goals in starts. His goals were instrumental to close out the year as two of them were game-winning goals in the final two ASUN contests of the regular season. In addition, Mata was a second-team All-ASUN honoree and making the freshman All-ASUN team.
About Stetson University Athletics: Stetson University's Athletics Program is driven by a shared purpose. It is what inspires, motivates and binds us together. More than a task, a reason for being. THE HATTER PURPOSE is to create and provide an experience of a lifetime through teamwork and relationships to achieve excellence. This purpose is achieved through five Core Values: Communication, Integrity, Excellence, Value People and Commitment. To learn more about the HATS program and our Core Values, visit GoHatters.com/HATS (PDF).
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