Five Panthers earn All-SCIAC honors
RANGE, Calif. – Five members of the Chapman University men's soccer team earned All-SCIAC honors, the conference announced on Tuesday. Senior Marco Saglimbeni and junior Elliott Braund headlined Chapman's selections with spots on the First Team.
Three Panthers earned Second Team honors to give Chapman five All-SCIAC selections for the second consecutive year. Seniors Sam Rudich and Connor Tobia as well as junior Sean Augustine earned the Second Team postseason honors.
The All-SCIAC first team selection is the third of Saglimbeni's career. A team captain for the Panthers this year, Saglimbeni scored eight goals. Five of those came in SCIAC matches along with three assists. His 13 points led the Panthers through SCIAC play. The midfielder from San Jose led the Panthers in scoring for the third consecutive year. His long list of accomplishments include three All-SCIAC selections, an All-Region selection, two Academic All-District awards and an Academic All-American honor.
Braund earned his second career All-SCIAC honor but it is his first selection to the First Team. Six of the midfielders' seven goals this year came in SCIAC matches. He scored four game-winners on the year with three of those coming against SCIAC opponents. His three game-winning goals ranked second in the conference this season. The England native fired in the game-winner in the SCIAC semifinal to give Chapman a 1-0 lead in the first half at La Verne.
Tobia was selected to his third consecutive Second Team. The defender from San Clemente has been a mainstay on the Panthers back line for each of his four years on campus. After an injury sidelined him for much of the first half of the season, he came back to help the Panther make a run into the SCIAC Tournament. The Panthers were 8-3 with Tobia in the lineup. He scored a career-high three goals this year to double his career total.
Rudich earned his first All-SCIAC selection as a senior in 2016. The midfielder from Rossmoor scored five goals this year, including four on penalty kicks and distributed two assists. Both of his assists came in the Panthers big 2-1 win over Redlands at home. He doubled his career point total this year with 12 points, driving up his career total to 23.
Augustine also earned his first career All-SCIAC honor with a Second Team selection. The goalkeeper from Anaheim Hills started 19 of 20 matches for the Panthers with a 1.11 goals against average. He logged nearly 1700 minutes in goal this season and made 79 saves – 63 of which came in conference matches. His four shutouts this year ranked second in the SCIAC. All four came against SCIAC teams with the last shutout coming at La Verne in the SCIAC semifinals.
The Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference was established in 1915. The league is currently comprised of nine private colleges and universities in Southern California: California Institute of Technology, California Lutheran University, Chapman University, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges, University of La Verne, Occidental College, Pomona-Pitzer Colleges, University of Redlands, and Whittier College. The conference recognizes outstanding athletic achievements of its student-athletes on a weekly and annual basis.
By Steven Olveda
Sports Information Director
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