Carlin named USCAA 1st Team All-American; Kajiwara on Honorable Mention List
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – The United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) released the All-American and End of the Year Award Winners on Thursday evening. A pair of players from the University of Dallas men's soccer team were named All-Americans. Headlining these recipients was Sean Carlin (Puyallup, Wash.) on the 1st Team. His classmate Nat Kajiwara (Southlake, Texas) was tabbed as an Honorable Mention.
Carlin appeared and started 18 matches for the Crusaders in his freshman season. The goalkeeper logged 1523:57 minutes, displayed an 11-3-2 record, totaled 53 saves, and pitched five shutouts. Carlin finished third in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) in fewest goals against (18) and goals-against average (1.06). Twice this fall Carlin was named USCAA Goalie of the Week.
Kajiwara tied the team-best 10 goals this season and finished second on the squad with 23 points. Kajiwara tied third in the SCAC for goals and fifth in points. His 67 shot attempts ranked third in the SCAC and fifth in the USCAA. The freshman scored in eight different contests and had three game-winning goals. One of those occurred in his collegiate debut, as Kajiwara kicked both goals in a 2-1 overtime victory over George Fox University. Kajiwara also claimed SCAC Offensive Player of the Week this season.
This is the first time since 2010 multiple men's soccer players achieved an All-American the same season. Joey Killion was the most recent winner for the program in 2012. Carlin and Kajiwara's contributions helped the Crusaders boast its highest win total since 2008 with a 13-4-2 record. UD qualified for its first SCAC Championship Match, and posted its best conference record with a 10-2-2 showing.