Four Bears Garner Postseason Awards

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Mercer men's soccer team saw four players honored by the Southern Conference on Thursday as the conference announced its postseason awards.

Dylan Gaither was named to the All-SoCon First Team, while Dawson Gideon and Kareve Richards landed on the Second Team. Additionally, Nick Wanzer earned a spot on the SoCon All-Freshman Team.

This is the second straight season Gaither was recognized by the SoCon after earning All-Freshman honors last year. Gaither built off of a strong freshman campaign as he was one of the most dangerous offensive threats in the SoCon. The Lilburn, Ga., native led the squad with 12 points and five goals, tying for second in the conference in both categories. He tallied two game-winning goals in his second collegiate season, against Georgia Southern and Jacksonville, for the third-most in the SoCon and 28th-most nationally.

Gideon collected his first postseason honor from the conference after posting nine points on four goals and an assist. The Marietta, Ga., native was featured in all 14 matches as a junior, earning the starting nod 11 times. Gideon was Mercer's second-leading scorer behind Gaither in both points and goals scored. He posted the second brace of his career with a pair of goals in Mercer's 3-1 win at VMI on March 20.

Richards garnered his third postseason honor from the SoCon after being named to the First Team in 2018 and the All-Freshman Team in 2017. One of the most reliable defenders in the conference, the Brampton, Ontario native started 13 of 14 matches for the Bears on the back line, totaling the third-most minutes on the team with 1,176. He tallied his fourth career point by assisting on Trevor Martineau's goal in the 64th minute of the team's 3-0 win over Georgia Southern on Sept. 22. Throughout his career, Richards has played in 74 of the team's 75 matches with 73 starts. Additionally, he has accumulated 6,847 minutes of playing time while being off the pitch for just 222 minutes.

Wanzer continued Mercer's streak of having a player on the conference's All-Freshman Team for each of the last eight years, becoming the 15th first-year Bear to earn the honor since 2014. The rookie from Frisco, Texas was one of only two players on the squad to start all 14 games while leading the team with 1,214 minutes. The six-foot midfielder scored his first collegiate goal in the 51st minute against Wofford, picking up the game-winner in Mercer's 3-1 victory.

The league coaches voted on a pair of all-conference teams, an all-freshman team and the four individual awards. They were not allowed to vote for themselves or their own players. The first and second teams include 11 players, voted on by position, while the all-freshman team also consists of 11 players but gives no regard to position.

2020-21 Men's Soccer All-Conference Team
Player of the Year – Ben Hale, R-Sr., Furman
Goalkeeper of the Year – Ben Hale, R-Sr., Furman
Coach of the Year – Doug Allison, Furman
Freshman of the Year – Jake Raine, F, Furman
Theo Collumb, F, UNCG
First Team
F Shaun-Chris Joash, Furman
F Jake Raine, Furman
F Theo Collomb, UNCG
MF Miles Fenton, Furman
MF Callum Holland, Furman
MF Dylan Gaither, Mercer
MF Fernando Garcia, UNCG
D Cole McLagan, Furman
D Emmanuel Hagan, UNCG
D Buster Sjoberg, Wofford
GK Ben Hale, Furman

Second Team
F Niccolo Dagnoni, Belmont
F Liam O'Brien, Belmont
F Jared Leheta, ETSU
F Dawson Gideon, Mercer
MF AJ Chastonay, Belmont
MF Kieran Richards, ETSU
MF Mani Austmann, UNCG
D Jack Shaw, Belmont
D Tommy Kay, Furman
D Kareve Richards, Mercer
GK Drew Romig, Belmont

All-Freshman Team
AJ Chastonay, MF, Belmont
Michael Saunders, MF, Belmont
Eric Stiles, MF, Belmont
Jared Leheta, F, ETSU
Tarik Pannholzer, F, ETSU
Josh Hosie, D, Furman
Sam Miller, MF, Furman
Jake Raine, F, Furman
Nick Wanzer, MF, Mercer
Theo Collomb, F, UNCG
Emmanuel Hagan, D, UNCG
Niclas Wild, GK, UNCG

Follow the Bears
For complete coverage of Mercer Men's Soccer, please follow the Bears on social media at @Mercer_MSoccer (Twitter), MercerMSoccer (Instagram) and /MercerMSoccer (Facebook) or visit the official home of Mercer Athletics at MercerBears.com.

Players Mentioned

Dylan Gaither

Dawson Gideon

Trevor Martineau

Kareve Richards

Nick Wanzer

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