SUNY Cortland senior men's soccer forward Nick Tata (Rochester/Aquinas Institute) has been chosen as a first team Division III All-American by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) for the 2016 season.

Tata is one of five Red Dragons to earn NSCAA All-East Region honors. He's joined on the all-region first team by junior goalie Connor Young (Bayport/Bayport-Blue Point), senior midfielder Daniel Friend (Deer Park) and junior defender Drew DeJohn (Spencerport), while freshman midfielder Miguel Tunas (North Salem) was named to the all-region second team.

In addition, Cortland head coach Steve Axtell and his assistants - E.J. Reutemann, Tim Beauvais, LaMarr Peters, Sam Guider, Sean Streb and Tyler Marsh - have been named the NSCAA East Region Coaching Staff of the Year.

The Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) also honored three Red Dragon players as well as Axtell. Young was chosen as the ECAC Division III North Defensive Player of the Year, and was joined on the All-ECAC first team by Friend and DeJohn. Axtell was voted as the ECAC North Coach of the Year.

Tata is Cortland's first All-American since Jesse Mankowski in 2002 and the first Red Dragons to be named to the All-America first team since Jim Hesch in 1993. Tata finished the season with 11 goals and four assists for 26 points in 22 games. He currently is tied for fourth nationally in Division III with seven game-winning goals. He opened the season with a goal in each of Cortland's first five games, tallied two goals each in wins over Hobart and Canton, and assisted on two goals in Cortland's NCAA first-round win over Morrisville State.

Young finished the season with a 14-1 record, a 0.33 goals-against average and a .932 save percentage in 16 games, 15 as a starter. He made 69 saves and allowed only five goals, and he recorded 10 shutouts. Young currently leads the nation in goals-against average, with only one player who is still active able to pass him (Aidan Hogan of St. Thomas, who has a 0.335 GAA entering this weekend's Final Four). Young also is first nationally in save percentage, and will most likely hold on to that ranking.

Friend started in all 22 games this fall and finished the season with six goals and four assists for 16 points. He scored two game-winning goals, had a goal and an assist in a win over Canton, and scored in Cortland's NCAA opening-round win versus Morrisville State.

DeJohn started 21 games and recorded one goal and one assist. He helped anchor a defensive unit that allowed only 11 goals in 22 games and set a school single-season record with 14 shutouts. Cortland currently ranks seventh nationally with a 0.50 team goals-against average.

Tunas appeared in 20 games, 18 as a starter. He finished second on the team with five assists, including two each in wins over Brockport and Canton and one versus Hobart.

Axtell and his staff guided Cortland to a 19-3 record to establish a new school single-season victory record. The Red Dragons won their first State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) title since 2008 and their first regular-season league crown since 1993.

Cortland won two NCAA Division III tournament games to advance to the "Sweet 16" for the second time in three seasons before losing 1-0 in overtime to Franklin & Marshall College. Axtell has an overall record of 67-28-5 in his five years as Cortland's head coach.

NSCAA All-East Team
NSCAA Awards Central Page
ECAC North All-Star Release