All-ACC Men’s Soccer Team and End-of-Season Awards revealed

GREENSBORO, N.C. (TheACC.com) – Pitt earned four season awards to highlight the 2020 All-Atlantic Coast Conference Men’s Soccer Team, which was released Wednesday following a vote by the league’s 12 head coaches.

Pitt sophomore midfielder Valentin Noel was named the ACC Offensive Player of the Year, while teammates Jasper Löeffelsend and Bertin Jacquesson earned Defensive Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year honors, respectively. This marks the first time a Pitt player has earned one of the yearly ACC Men’s Soccer Player of the Year honors.

Pitt head coach Jay Vidovich was voted ACC Coach of the Year for the sixth time, although this is his first such honor at Pitt. He earned the distinction five times while serving as head coach at Wake Forest. Vidovich led Pitt to its first ACC Coastal Division championship this season and guided the Panthers to their first ACC Championship game appearance. Pitt also earned its first-ever No. 1 national ranking this season.

The No. 1 pick in the 2021 Major League SuperDraft, Virginia Tech sophomore midfielder Daniel Pereira earned ACC Midfielder of the Year honors.

Currently the nation’s top-ranked team, Pitt led all schools with eight All-ACC selections. Fourth-ranked Clemson had six honorees, while fifth-ranked Wake Forest placed five on the team.

Including Pereira, six of the 11 First-Team All-ACC honorees already have started their professional careers. Clemson’s Philip Mayaka and Kimarni Smith were named to the first team for the second straight season. Mayaka signed a Generation adidas contract on Jan. 14 before being selected No. 3 overall by the Colorado Rapids in this year’s MLS SuperDraft. The 2020 ACC Championship MVP, Smith was the No. 4 overall pick by D.C. United in the 2021 MLS SuperDraft. Wake Forest’s Calvin Harris was the No. 2 overall pick by FC Cincinnati in the 2021 SuperDraft. Wake Forest’s Isaiah Parente and Clemson’s Grayson Barber signed MLS homegrown contracts with the Columbus Crew and Sporting KC, respectively, in January.

Noel leads the ACC and ranks third nationally with 11 goals this season. He also owns a pair of assists and ranks third nationally in total points with 24. Noel was named to the ACC Championship All-Tournament Team after scoring three goals and assisting on another during the Panthers’ run to the title game.

Löeffelsend has anchored the stout Panthers’ back line and owns seven assists this season, which is tied for first in the ACC and fifth in the nation. His total of seven assists currently is tied for ninth most in a single season in program history.

Pereira is the first Hokie to earn ACC Midfielder of the Year honors. He started all seven of Virginia Tech’s matches in the fall and recorded a goal and an assist. He finished with six goals and six assists in two years with the Hokies. The sophomore signed a Generation adidas deal in November and was chosen No. 1 overall in the 2021 MLS SuperDraft by Austin FC. He was the eighth No. 1 pick in the MLS SuperDraft from a current ACC school.

Jacquesson ranks second in the ACC and 12th nationally with six assists this season. He is also is tied for the lead in assists among all freshmen nationally. Jacquesson also has scored a pair of goals this season, with game winners in his first two college matches against Notre Dame and Syracuse.

The spring portion of the ACC season concludes Saturday with the conference’s NCAA automatic qualifier game, featuring No. 1 Pitt playing at No. 3 Clemson at 7 p.m. on ACC Network. Pitt won the Coastal Division crown, while Clemson captured the Atlantic Division title as well as the 2020 ACC Championship in the fall. The winner of the match earns the league’s automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament. The selection show for the 36-team tournament is Monday, April 19.

2020 Men’s Soccer All-ACC Team
Offensive Player of the Year – Valentin Noel, So., M, Pitt
Defensive Player of the Year – Jasper Löeffelsend, Gr., D, Pitt
Midfielder of the Year – Daniel Pereira, So., M, Virginia Tech
Freshman of the Year – Bertin Jacquesson, Fr., F, Pitt
Coach of the Year – Jay Vidovich, Pitt

First Team
Grayson Barber, Jr., F, Clemson
Philip Mayaka, So., M, Clemson
Kimarni Smith, Sr., F, Clemson
Jack Lynn, Jr., F, Notre Dame
Nico Campuzano, Gr., GK, Pitt
Jasper Löeffelsend, Gr., D, Pitt
Valentin Noel, So., M, Pitt
Daniel Pereira, So., M, Virginia Tech
Kristo Strickler, Sr., M, Virginia Tech
Calvin Harris, So., F, Wake Forest
Isaiah Parente, Jr., M, Wake Forest

Second Team
Oskar Ågren, So., D, Clemson
Pedro Fonseca, Jr., F, Louisville
Giovanni Montesdeoca, Sr., F, North Carolina
Alec Smir, Jr., GK, North Carolina
Aiden McFadden, Sr., M, Notre Dame
Bertin Jacquesson, Fr., F, Pitt
Veljko Petkovic, So., M, Pitt
Jackson Walti, Jr., M, Pitt
Bret Halsey, Jr., M, Virginia
Nico Benalcazar, So., D, Wake Forest
Machop Chol, Sr., F, Wake Forest

Third Team
Kristofer Konradsson, Jr., M, Boston College
Luis Felipe Fernandez-Salvador, Jr., M, Clemson
Justin Malou, Sr., D, Clemson
George Marks, Jr., GK, Clemson
Peter Stroud, Fr., M, Duke
Elijah Amo, Sr., M, Louisville
Alexander Dexter, Sr., F, Pitt
Arturo Ordoñez, So., D, Pitt
Andreas Ueland, So., D, Virginia
Jacob Labovitz, Sr., F, Virginia Tech
Kyle Holcomb, Jr., F, Wake Forest

All-Freshman Team
Hamady Diop, D, Clemson
Ousmane Sylla, M, Clemson
Antino Lopez, M, Duke
Nick Pariano, M, Duke
Peter Stroud, M, Duke
Thorleifur Ulfarsson, F, Duke
Aboubacar Camara, F, Louisville
Bertin Jacquesson, F, Pitt
Filip Mirkovic, M, Pitt
Deandre Kerr, F, Syracuse
Garrison Tubbs, D, Wake Forest