2019 UNITED SOCCER COACHES DIVISION III MEN'S SOCCER ALL-REGION TEAMS
MINNEAPOLIS -- Augsburg University men's soccer players
Lionel Vang (SR, Little Canada, Minn./Roseville HS) and
Daniel Hedstrom (SR, Hermantown, Minn./Hermantown HS) were named to the United Soccer Coaches Division III All-North Region Team, Vang as a first-team midfielder and Hedstrom as a third-team defender, it was announced on Monday.
Vang became the second Auggie men's soccer player in program history to earn United Soccer Coaches (formerly National Soccer Coaches Association of America) All-North Region honors three times in their careers, joining
Chad Gilmer, who earned the honors in 2010, 2011 and 2012. Five Auggies have earned multiple All-Region honors in program history, with Vang, Hedstrom and Gilmer joined by Peter Loyd (2010-11) and Alex Hildebrandt (2008-09). Augsburg men's soccer players have earned 20 United Soccer Coaches/NSCAA All-Region honors in program history.
Vang repeated his
first-team All-North Region honor from 2018, after being named as aÂ
third-team honoree in 2017. In November, Vang became the second Auggie men's soccer player to ever earn
Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Player of the Year honors, while becoming the first Auggie, and 15th MIAC player ever to earn All-MIAC honors all four years of their career.
One of the most versatile and dynamic scorers in Augsburg men's soccer history, Vang had the best year of his career in 2019, finishing with team-highs of 10 goals, seven assists and 27 points, converting four penalty kick goals and claiming three game-winners.
Among MIAC players in overall statistics, he finished tied for fifth in goals, tied for sixth in assists and fifth in total points.
He claimed his first collegiate hat trick, and Augsburg's first since 2011, in Augsburg's 4-2 win over Saint John's on Sept. 16. He recorded a goal or assist in 12 of Augsburg's 18 games this season, playing in 1,305 of Augsburg's 1,683 minutes (77.5 percent). His 27 points were tied for eighth-most in a single season in school history, with his 10 goals tied for ninth-most and seven assists tied for fourth-most.
Vang played in 69 games in his four seasons at Augsburg, finishing with 27 goals and 16 assists for 70 points, with eight game-winning goals and seven penalty kicks in seven attempts, playing 4,944 minutes (71.7 minutes per-game). He finished his career fourth in school history in career points, tied for fifth in goals and tied for fifth in assists.
Hedstrom earned third-team All-Region honors this season, after being named as a
first-team honoree in 2018. He was also named to theÂ
United Soccer Coaches Division III All-America third-team last season, the third Auggie to ever earn men's soccer All-American honors. He also earned All-MIAC honors in both 2019 and 2018.
Hedstrom continued his strong play as both a defender and a leader for the Auggies, serving as team captain for the second straight year. Playing in 17 games, he was on the field for an incredible 1,516 of the team's 1,591 minutes -- 95.3 percent of the team's action. He scored four goals with two assists for 10 points, with all his goals coming on set pieces, as he used his 6-foot-5 height to full advantage. Hedstrom finished second on the team in goals and tied for second on the team in points.
Hedstrom scored three game-winning goals this season -- in a
3-2 win at Pacific Lutheran on Sept. 1, a
2-1 win over Wisconsin-Superior on Sept. 7 and a
2-1 win at Concordia-Moorhead on Oct. 29, and was a key defender for an Augsburg backfield that helped produce six team shutouts in 2019.
In three seasons at Augsburg after playing his first season (14 games in 2016) at Division II Northern Michigan, Hedstrom finished his 47-game Augsburg career with 12 goals and four assists for 28 points. He played in 3,339 minutes (95.9 percent) of action the last two seasons.Â
A marketing major with a 3.66 grade-point average, Hedstrom earned
United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-America and Scholar All-North/Central Region honors in 2018, and
College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-District honors this season.
Under 16th-year head coachÂ
Greg Holker, Augsburg finished 9-6-3 overall, 4-5-1 in MIAC play in 2019. Augsburg has recorded eight or more wins in 12 of the last 14 seasons.
(NOTE: Story includes information taken from Augsburg's 2019 All-MIAC men's soccer release.)
