DALLAS – Conference USA announced the 2021 C-USA Men’s Soccer Superlative Awards along with the league’s All-Conference and All-Freshman teams. Defending 2020 NCAA national champion and No. 1 Marshall led the league with five superlative awards, while 2021 C-USA regular-season champion No. 19 FIU along with No. 12 Kentucky had two superlative award winners each.
 
The C-USA Superlative Awards were given to Marshall midfielder Pedro Dolabella, who was selected as the C-USA Player of the Year, Offensive MVP and Co-Midfielder of the Year, Marshall defender Nathan Dossantos (Defensive MVP), Marshall’s Vitor Dias (Co-Midfielder of the Year), Kentucky’s Jan Hoffelner (Goalkeeper of the Year and Golden Glove Award), FIU forward Bernardo Dos Santos Monteiro (Freshman of the Year) and FIU’s Kyle Russell (Coach of the Year). Charlotte forward Preston Popp earned the league’s Golden Boot Award.
 
All awards are voted on by the league’s nine head coaches. The Golden Boot Award is given to the player with the most goals in C-USA games, while the Golden Glove Award is given to the goalkeeper with the most shutouts in C-USA games.
 
Dolabella, a graduate student, led the league in overall goals with 10 and points with 26 for the Thundering Herd. In eight C-USA games, he was tied for second in goals with five and points with 13. Five of his goals were game-winners, including a pair in C-USA action. He was selected as the C-USA Offensive Player of the Week twice during the season.
 
Dossantos, a senior, started all 16 games for Marshall, and he anchored a Herd defense that allowed only 15 goals and posted nine shutouts. He was twice named C-USA Defensive Player of the Week.
 
Dias, a senior, played in 15 games and scored five goals to go with five assists for 15 points. He had three game-winning goals, including one in C-USA play. He was named the C-USA Offensive Player of the Week on August 31.
 
Hoffelner, a graduate student, posted 10 shutouts in 13 overall games, and allowed just four goals for a league-leading 0.28 goals against average. Six of his clean sheets were in C-USA play which earned him the league’s Golden Glove Award for most shutouts in C-USA games. He was the C-USA Defensive Player of the Week for October 26.
 
Dos Santos Monteiro, a true freshman, helped lead the FIU offense with seven goals and an assist in 16 total games played. He was tied for seventh in overall points in the conference (15) and was tied for fifth in goals. In C-USA play, he was tied for fourth with four goals and was fifth in points with nine.
 
Popp, a Charlotte senior forward, captured the C-USA Golden Boot Award with seven goals in eight conference games. Popp tied for the Golden Boot during the 2020-21 season played during the spring.
 
Russell earned the C-USA Coach of the Year award for the first time as he led the Panthers to the C-USA regular-season title. FIU was 12-2-2 in the regular season overall and 7-0-1 in conference play. FIU had seven All-Conference members on the three teams and two All-Freshman players, including Dos Santos Monteiro, who was Freshman of the Year.
 
Dolabella, Dossantos, Dias, Hoffelner, Dos Santos Monteiro and Popp were all named to the First Team All-Conference USA squad. Joining them were defenders Kareem Riley (FIU) and Luis Grassow (Kentucky), midfielders Joe Brito (Charlotte), Matteo Gasperoni (FIU) and Marcel Meinzer (Kentucky), and forwards Stephen Afrifa (FIU) and Milo Yosef (Marshall)
 
The coaches also selected Second Team and Third Team All-Conference squads and an All-Freshman Team.
 
2021 C-USA Men’s Soccer All-Conference Award Winners
 
Player of the Year
Pedro Dolabella, MF, Marshall
 
Offensive MVP
Pedro Dolabella, MF, Marshall
 
Defensive MVP
Nathan Dossantos, D, Marshall
 
Co-Midfielders of the Year
Vitor Dias, Marshall and Pedro Dolabella, Marshall
 
Goalkeeper of the Year
Jan Hoffelner, Kentucky
 
Freshman of the Year
Bernardo Dos Santos Monteiro, F, FIU
 
Coach of the Year
Kyle Russell, FIU
 
Golden Boot Award
Preston Popp, F, Charlotte
 
Golden Glove Award
Jan Hoffelner, Kentucky
 
All-Conference USA First Team
GK: Jan Hoffelner, Kentucky
D: Kareem Riley, FIU
D: Luis Grassow, Kentucky
D: Nathan Dossantos, Marshall
MF: Joe Brito, Charlotte
MF: Matteo Gasperoni, FIU
MF: Marcel Meinzer, Kentucky
MF: Vitor Dias, Marshall
MF: Pedro Dolabella, Marshall
F: Preston Popp, Charlotte
F: Stephen Afrifa, FIU
F: Bernardo Dos Santos Monteiro, FIU
F: Milo Yosef, Marshall
 
All-Conference USA Second Team
GK: Oliver Semmle, Marshall
D: Delasi Batse, Charlotte
D: Nicholas Itopoulos, Coastal Carolina
D: David Garcia, FIU
D: Robert Screen, Kentucky
D: Jan-Erik Leinhos, Marshall
MF: Emile Rzepecki, Coastal Carolina
MF: Alonso Coello Camarero, Florida Atlantic
MF: Vinicius Fernandes, Marshall
MF: Max Schneider, Marshall
MF: Eliot Goldthorp, Old Dominion
MF: Peter Clement, South Carolina
F: Kameron Lacey, Charlotte
F: Alvaro Garcia-Pasqual, Coastal Carolina
F: Filip Jauk, Florida Atlantic
F: Nathaniel St. Louis, UAB
 
All-Conference USA Third Team
GK: Leon Schmidt, Coastal Carolina
GK: Tyler Hogan, FIU
D: Marcelo Lage, Coastal Carolina
D: Oscar McConnell, Coastal Carolina
D: Tom Abrahamsson, Florida Atlantic
D: Lucca Rodrigues, Kentucky
D; Josh Thacker, Old Dominion
MF: Alessandro Negri, Charlotte
MF: Julian Hodek, FIU
MF: Bailey Rouse, Kentucky
F: Ivan Mykhailenko, Florida Atlantic
F: Daniel Evans, Kentucky
F: Logan Frost, South Carolina
 
C-USA All-Freshman Team
Alessandro Negri, MF, Charlotte
Ian Pilcher, D, Charlotte
Alvaro Garcia-Pasqual, F, Coastal Carolina
Michael Fowler, F, Coastal Carolina
Bernardo Dos Santos Monteiro, F, FIU
Julian Hodek, MF, FIU
Filip Jauk, F, Florida Atlantic
Davide Romeo, MF, Florida Atlantic
Oliver Juul, D, Kentucky
Martin Soereide, MF, Kentucky           
Eliot Goldthorp, MF, Old Dominion
Harrison Myring, F, South Carolina