Meinhard Named The American Preseason Offensive Player of the Year; Three Tabbed to Preseason Team
8/19/2021 2:00:00 PM | Men's Soccer
Tulsa sophomore Alex Meinhard was tabbed as the American Athletic Conference Preseason Offensive Player of the Year, while Meinhard, Chase Bromstedt and Mariano Fazio were all unanimous selections to The American preseason team. The Golden Hurricane was also picked to finish third in the league in the preseason coaches' poll.
"I am pleased for the three guys as it is obviously a well-earned honor for those players," Head Coach Tom McIntosh said. "We are looking forward to a very competitive league and the opportunity to compete for a title in one of the top leagues in the country."
Meinhard, a sophomore forward from Tartu, Estonia, was selected as The American Offensive Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year, and picked up first-team all-conference and all-rookie team accolades last season. He was also named to the United Soccer Coaches all-East Region first team. Meinhard ranked first on the team and in The American with seven goals and 15 points, and owned a team, conference and nation-best five game-winning goals during the 2020 season.
A senior midfielder from Parkville, Mo., Bromstedt returns for his fifth season after the NCAA granted student-athletes an extra year of eligibility due to the coronavirus pandemic. Bromstedt is a two-time all-conference honoree and picked up conference all-tournament team honors last year. He was also tabbed to the United Soccer Coaches all-East Region second team and was named a United Soccer Coaches College Player Award of Distinction honoree after the 2020-21 campaign.
Fazio, a senior defender from Sevilla, Spain, helped Tulsa record five shutouts, while registering the game-winning goal against USF and attempting 11 shots last season. For his efforts he was named to The American all-conference second team last season.
In a tight American Athletic Conference preseason poll, UCF was tabbed to finish first with 22 votes, while SMU was picked second with 21 votes and Tulsa was third with 19 votes. USF, Temple and Memphis round out the poll, which was voted on by the league's coaches.
American Athletic Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll
1. UCF
2. SMU
3. Tulsa
4. USF
5. Temple
6. Memphis
Preseason Offensive Player of the Year
Alex Meinhard, Tulsa
Preseason Defensive Player of the Year
Yanis Leerman, Sr., D, UCF
Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year
Eoin Gawronski, R-So., Temple*
Preseason All-Conference Team
Yanis Leerman, Sr., D, UCF*
Anderson Rosa, So., D, UCF*
Gino Vivi, Jr., F, UCF
Sal Mazzaferro, So., D, South Florida*
Knut Ahlander, Sr., M, SMU*
Gabriel Costa, Sr., M, SMU
Papa Ndoye, Jr., F, SMU
Skage Simonsen, Sr., M, SMU*
Jalen Campbell, Jr., M, Temple*
Eoin Gawronski, R-So., GK, Temple*
Sean Karani, So., F, Temple*
Chase Bromstedt, Tulsa
Mariano Fazio, Tulsa
Alex Meinhard, Tulsa
*denotes unanimous selection
Players Mentioned
Midfielder
/ Men's Soccer
Defender
/ Men's Soccer
Forward
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