Two Long Island men’s soccer players from SUNY Oneonta were named to the NCAA Division III men’s All-America teams, United Soccer Coaches announced.
They were senior forward Witman Hernandez of Huntington, N.Y., who was chosen to the first team, and junior midfielder Roberto Ventura, who was a third-team selection.
Catholic University junior goalkeeper Jack Long of Manasquan, N.J. also earned third team honors.
Forty-seven men recognition this year led by three three-time All-Americans: Stevens Institute of Technology senior midfielder Julia Panko, Messiah College senior forward Brooke Firestone and Augsburg University senior forward Ashley St. Aubin. Eight women’s players and 10 men’s players are earning All-America honors for the second time in their careers.
This year’s All-Americans will be acknowledged for their accomplishments at the United Soccer Coaches All-America Ceremony & Reception on Saturday, Jan. 18, 2020 at the Baltimore Convention Center in conjunction with the United Soccer Coaches convention.
The honor for Hernandez, a Walt Whitman grad, was the first of his career while Ventura was recognized for a second time. Ventura, a Brentwood High graduate, earned first team honors in 2017 as a freshman. Hernandez became the fifth individual to secure a first team selection in program history while Ventura became only the third player to earn multiple nods as an All-American at the school.
“Witman was a certainty after his record-setting season,” head coach Iain Byrne said. “The suspense now is if he will take home the National Player of the Year award.”
Hernandez capped a record-breaking career, leading Oneonta to its sixth SUNYAC title this decade and eighth Division tournament appearance in the last nine years.
Hernandez recorded 56 points on 23 goals and 10 assists. His 56 points led all divisions of NCAA men’s soccer. He is tied for the NCAA all divisions lead in goals with Lorne Bickley of Division II Wilmington (Del.) College. He also leads all of NCAA men’s soccer with 11 game-winning goals, a season record for the Red Dragons. His 23 and points this were the second most all-time in a single season.
For his career, Hernandez started in 80 of 81 games and set program records for points (141) and goals (61). The goals record had stood since 1978 set by Oneonta Hall of Famer Keith Tozer. His 19 game-winning goals is tied for best all-time.
Ventura had a strong finish to help Oneonta capture the SUNYAC regular season and tournament titles. He finished second on the team in scoring with 14 points on four goals and six assists. Over the final seven games, he scored three goals and added three assists.
Through his first three seasons, Ventura has started in 51 of 56 games played and has collected 58 points on 22 goals and 14 assists. In addition to being selected as a first team All-American in 2017, he was the first player in the history of the SUNYAC to earn the rookie and offensive player of the year award in the same year.
Oneonta finished the 2019 season 18-3 overall and 8-1 in the SUNYAC. The Red Dragons advanced into the second round of the Division III tournament defeating Babson before falling to Messiah.
2019 United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division III Men’s All-America Team
First Team | ||||
Pos. | Name | Class | School | Hometown |
K | AJ Marcucci* | Jr. | Connecticut College | West Chester, Pa. |
D | Ben Rickson | Sr. | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | West Warren, Mass. |
D | Cooper Robbins | Sr. | Messiah College | Randelman, N.C. |
D | Connor Whitacre | Sr. | Franklin & Marshall College | Lancaster, Pa. |
M | RJ Moore | Jr. | Johns Hopkins University | Vienna, Va. |
M | Hunter Olson | Sr. | Calvin University | Canton, Mich. |
M | Gabriel Soriano | Sr. | University of Mary Washington | Fredericksburg, Va. |
F | Ben Alexander | So. | Catholic University | Bel Air, Md. |
F | Joe Braun* | Sr. | Tufts University | Yardley, Pa. |
F | Joe Fala* | Sr. | Ramapo College | Cape May Court House, N.J. |
F | Alexander Garuba* | Sr. | Centre College | Atlanta, Ga. |
F | German Giammattei | So. | Amherst College | Pinecrest, Fla. |
F | Witman Hernandez | Sr. | SUNY Oneonta | Huntington, N.Y. |
F | Baboucarr Njie | Jr. | North Carolina Wesleyan College | Washington, D.C. |
F | Cole Schwartz | So. | Gustavus Adolphus College | Jakarta, Indonesia |
Second Team | ||||
Pos. | Name | Class | School | Hometown |
K | Aaron Katsimpalis | Jr. | University of Chicago | Harrison Township, Mich. |
D | William Birchard | Jr. | Claremont-Harvey Mudd-Scripps Colleges | Tucson, Ariz. |
D | Derek Cook | Sr. | Christopher Newport University | Yorktown, Va. |
D | Halvor Houg | Jr. | University of St. Thomas | Baerums, Norway |
M | Evan MacDonald | Sr. | Salve Regina University | Candia, N.H. |
M | Peder Olsen* | Jr. | North Park University | Larvik, Norway |
M | Jesse Riggs | Sr. | Covenant College | Chesapeake, Va. |
M | Gavin Tasker | Sr. | Tufts University | Concord, Mass. |
M | William Turrittin | Jr. | John Carroll University | Medina, Ohio |
F | Ian Adams | Sr. | Calvin University | Grand Rapids, Mich. |
F | Adetayo Adefioye | Sr. | Knox College | Lagos, Nigeria |
F | Khalid Balogun* | Sr. | St. Mary’s College of Maryland | Bowie, Md. |
F | Luis Green* | So. | Texas Lutheran University | Monterrey, Mexico |
F | Nicholas Jannelli* | Sr. | Haverford College | Springfield, Pa. |
F | Benjamin Keller | Sr. | Luther College | White Bear Lake, Minn. |
F | Ryan Marcano* | Sr. | Oglethorpe University | Atlanta, Ga. |
Third Team | ||||
Pos. | Name | Class | School | Hometown |
K | Jack Long | Jr. | Catholic University | Manasquan, N.J. |
D | Mason Anderson* | Sr | University of Texas-Dallas | Frisco, Texas |
D | Trevor Bisson | Jr. | Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute | Baton Rouge, La. |
D | Matthew Nigro | Sr. | John Carroll University | Strongsville, Ohio |
D | Taylor Petkovich | Sr. | Central College | Littleton, Colo. |
M | Makenson Cadet | Jr. | Hardin-Simmons University | Providenciales, Turks and Caicos |
M | Nilton DeAndrade | Jr. | University of Massachusetts-Boston | Fogo, Cape Verde |
M | Hector Gomez | So. | Ohio Wesleyan University | Columbus, Ohio |
M | Alejandro MacLean | Jr. | Johns Hopkins University | Riverside, Conn. |
M | Roberto Ventura | Jr. | SUNY Oneonta | Brentwood, N.Y. |
F | Patrick Agyemang | So. | Eastern Connecticut State University | East Hartford, Conn. |
F | Max Busch | Fr. | Bethany Lutheran College | Odenthal, Germany |
F | Evan Couchot | Sr. | Endicott College | Mason, Ohio |
F | Demian Gass | Sr. | Williams College | Houston, Texas |
F | Danny Ruple | Sr. | Baldwin-Wallace University | Berea, Ohio |
F | Sam Twigg | So. | Calvin University | Auckland, New Zealand |
* – Indicates repeat selection