New England’s best earn All-American honors

Dartmouth defender Wyatt Omsberg (Scarborough, Maine) headlined a trio of New England-based players named to NCAA Division 1 men’s All-America teams.

Omsberg earned his second consecutive All-America berth as he finished his career with the Big Green by snatching a place on the second team. New Hampshire forward Robin Schmidt joined Omsberg on the second team, while UMass forward Davis Smith (Amherst, Mass.) featured on the third team.

Merrimack College led all New England schools by placing two players on NCAA Div. 2 All-America teams. Lucas Rezende (Weymouth, Mass.) claimed first-team honors in goal, while defender Josue Ruiz Maya landed on the third team. Southern Connecticut forward Louis Greenway-Tambini secured a spot on the second team.

Southern New Hampshire defender Rianna Fasanello (East Bridgewater, Mass.) headlined the Div. 2 women’s contingent by earning second-team honors, while Assumption junior forward Kallie Villemaire staked her spot on the third team.

Brandeis midfielder Josh Ocel (North Attleboro, Mass.) headlined the group of NCAA Div. 3 All-Americans by making his third All-America team. Ocel led the Judges to the national semifinals to draw a close to his glittering college career.

Tufts placed junior defender Conor Coleman on the first team and senior midfielder Tyler Kulscar on the third team to round out another stellar season for the Jumbos. St. Joseph’s (Maine) defender Dalton Gaumer and Western New England forward Troy Remillard (Peabody, Mass.) also snared berths on the third team.

Division 3 national champion Williams placed two standouts on the Div. 3 women’s All-American teams as senior defender Danielle Sim grabbed firstteam honors and senior forward Natasha Albaneze snagged third-team honors.

Bowdoin defender Nikki Wilson (Shrewsbury, Mass.) and Western Connecticut forward Autumn Sorice (Bethel, Conn.) finished on the second team, while Lasell midfielder Carly Zdanek and MIT forward Olivia Struckman joined Albaneze on the third team. …

New Hampshire coach Marc Hubbard (Durham, N.H.) led a trio of New England-based coaches who claimed regional awards for their coaching staffs from United Soccer Coaches.

Hubbard earned East Regional Div. 1 honors for the Wildcats’ successes this season, while St. Joseph’s (Maine) men’s coach Adrian DuBois and MIT women’s coach Martin Desmarais took the honors in the New England Region. …

UConn named longtime assistant coach Margaret Rodriguez, a former Huskies standout, the new head coach of the women’s team, replacing Len Tsantiris, who retired in November after 37 years at the helm. Rodriguez, who played for UConn from 1995 to 1998, is sixth on the program’s all-time scoring list (128 points).

Nauset’s McCully headlines high school All-Americans

Fourteen high school and prep stars from around New England earned a spot on the United Soccer Coaches boys’ All-America team. The group is led by Nauset Regional standout James McCully (Eastham, Mass.) and a pair of key players from E.O. Smith in Storrs, Conn.

The full list:

Defenders — Payton Blynn (sr., South Kent School/Milford, Conn.) and Ahria Simons (sr., Berkshire School)

Midfielders — McCully, Nathanial Cardoza (sr., Oliver Ames/Easton, Mass.), Laszlo Dorogi (sr., Wachusett Regional/West Boylston, Mass.), Luke Groothoff (sr., Yarmouth/Yarmouth, Maine), Benjamin Ranicar (sr., Granby Memorial/Granby, Conn.), Taylor Silverstein (sr., Concord/Concord, N.H.), and William Toomey (sr., E.O. Smith/Storrs, Conn.)

Forwards — Garth Berenyi (sr., Bangor/Levant, Maine), Zach Cook (sr., North Kingstown/North Kingstown, R.I.), Cooper Knecht (sr., E.O. Smith/Storrs, Conn.), Patrick O’Hara (sr., South Burlington/South Burlington, Vt.) and James Siano (sr., Ridgefield/Ridgefield, Conn.)

Girls All-Americans

Several sophomores and juniors fought their way into the 16-player contingent from New England named to the United Soccer Coaches girls’ All-America team.

The full list:

Goalkeepers — Allie Augur (jr., North Branford/North Branford, Conn.) and Kristen Roessler (sr., Immaculate/Danbury, Conn.)

Defenders — Brianna CoCo (jr., Bedford/Bedford, N.H.), Lauren Hinton (sr., Loomis Chaffee)

Midfielders — Sara D’Appolonia (sr., Yarmouth/Yarmouth, Maine), Kayla Duran (sr., Buckingham, Browne & Nichols), Jessica Mazo (jr., Saint Joseph/Trumbull, Conn.), Lexi Rothmann (jr., Norwell/Norwell, Mass.), and Lauren Tangney (sr., Fairfield Warde/Fairfield, Conn.)

Forwards — Cricket Basa (sr., Montpelier/Monpelier, Vt.), Lauren Bonavita (sr., Whitman-Hanson/Hanson, Mass.), Louissa Essuman (soph., Hotchkiss), Olivia Freitas (jr., La Salle Academy/Providence, R.I.), Elayna Grillakis (sr., Central Catholic/Lawrence, Mass.), Kristina Kelly (sr., Camden Hills Regional/Rockport, Maine), Brittany Raphino (jr., Thayer Academy). …

Nico Benalcazar (NYCFC/Wilton, Conn.) and Tyler Shaver (Beachside/Greenwich, Conn.) claimed places on the United Soccer Coaches youth boys All-America team for their Development Academy exploits.

Two FC Stars standouts — Michael Agresti (Swampscott, Mass.) and Payton Linnehan (Douglas, Mass.) — joined two South Shore Select linchpins — Lilly Reale (Hingham, Mass.) and Allyson Sentnor (Hanson, Mass.) — on the youth girls All-America team.

Scurry makes NWSL move

U.S. goalkeeping legend Briana Scurry (UMass) joined NWSL side Washington Spirit as an assistant coach Dec. 6.

Scurry, 46, also is slated to serve as a technical advisor for the Spirit academy in Maryland and Virginia after agreeing to take her first NWSL role.

“I’ve always been a loyal fan of the Washington Spirit and now I have the wonderful opportunity to truly be a part of the team,” Scurry said in a statement. “I’m excited to bring my experiences and knowledge to our players, and to contribute in an effective and positive manner to the culture of the team and organization as a whole.” …

Samantha Mewis (Hanson, Mass.) landed a spot on the five-person shortlist for U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year.

Mewis carved out her place in the finalist pool after starting all 16 U.S. games and turning out for 1,242 minutes (second best) in the heart of the American midfield.

Stalwart defender Julie Ertz won the award after making a successful transition into a holding role in 2017. …

Boston Breakers forward Adriana Leon earned a berth as a finalist for Canadian Player of the Year. Leon finished her NWSL campaign with six goals and six assists and registered three goals in six appearances for Canada. Olympique Lyonnais defender Kadeisha Buchanan won the honor for a second consecutive year. …

Swedish youth international Lotta Ökvist highlighted a lengthy of December signings for the Breakers as they prepared for the 2018 season.

Okvist joined from Swedish side Pitea IF, while Brooke Elby, Angela Salem and Christen Westphal all signed on for another season with the club. …

Former New England Revolution coach Jay Heaps (Longmeadow, Mass.) obtained his U.S. Soccer Pro License in December.

Heaps joined 16 colleagues — including former Revolution forward and current U.S. national team assistant Pat Noonan and U.S. Soccer women’s national team coach Jill Ellis — during the 12-month class to secure the license.

This is the second class for the recently created Pro License. License holders currently include head coaches in MLS, NWSL and USL.

Union Point opens on South Shore

Union Point Sports Complex — a brand-new, 25-acre outdoor and indoor sports complex on Boston’s South Shore pointed to be a prime soccer facility — was set to open Jan. 2.

Union Point — located in Weymouth, Mass., just 12 miles south of Boston — features four fully lighted synthetic turn fields equipped with permanent playing surfaces for soccer, as well as lacrosse, rugby and field hockey. The four fields are lined for 11v11, 9v9 and 7v7 soccer competition. During the winter, two of the four fields will be covered by air-supported structures that along for year-round play.

In addition to the playing fields, the complex also houses a miniature replica of Fenway Park, outdoor basketball courts, street hockey rink and walking paths.

Global Premier Soccer is just one of the elite sports organizations that will call Union Point Sports Complex home.