NJCAA Division I Men's Soccer All-American Team
Freshman goalkeeper Rafael Pereira (Lisbon, Portugal/Escola Secundaria Vergilio Ferreira) of the Marshalltown Community College Men's Soccer team has been named to the NJCAA Division I Men's Soccer All-American First-Team, becoming just the second player in program history to earn first-team recognition.
Fellow teammate and defender Fernando Gutierrez (Ibiza, Spain/I.E.S. Algarb) was named to the NJCAA All-American Second-Team. FULL STORY
"I am very appreciative to the All American committee for having recognized two of our student- athletes this year," MCC head coach Rafael Martinez stated. "Both Rafa and Fernando have been instrumental pieces of one of the best defenses in the country, but certainly not the only MCC Tigers who have reached great levels of performance this year. This is a recognition to individuals who have been supported by a team, a great team."
"On the first day of preseason we had a meeting in front of all the team trophies and individual diplomas at the Lobby of the Student Activity Center," Martinez added. "There, we spoke about the connection between individual recognitions and team accomplishments. Individuals need the work of all their teammates, their team, to be recognized, and teams need every individual to reach their full potential in order to become special. This year's conference championship, undefeated regular season, and Rafa and Fernando's All American selections demonstrate that link."
"I am especially proud of the fact that Rafa and Fernando have been great leaders of this team. They have worked very hard to improve their game but also taken the time to help their teammates in practice and off of the field."
Pereira proved to be one of the top keepers throughout the season, posting the lowest goals against average (0.42) in the country. Pereira also ranked second nationally with 10 shutouts and third with 18 wins. His .864 save percentage was the eighth-best mark among all players and finished fifth in total minutes with 1924:10.
Pereira helped lead the Tigers to the Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) Regular Season Championship, the third in program history. The team's 16-0-2 regular season record was the program's first unbeaten regular season. MCC also reached the Region XI Championship game.
"We created a family here at MCC," Pereira exclaimed. "I'm very happy for this award, but it is also a team award because they were there the entire way and that is why we had such a great season. For our program to earn two All-Americans, it shows how fantastic our season was as a team."
"This was not something I was expecting, especially because we did not reach our ultimate goal of making it to nationals. When I first came to MCC, I had no idea what to expect. Coach Rafa (Martinez) said we would have a competitive team, but I had no idea what to expect. Thinking about the team and the year we had, it's probably one of the best teams I've ever played with, both offensively and defensively.
"We had a lot of freshman on this year's team, a lot of players from all over the world. The coaching staff created such good chemistry that you could see the progression throughout the season. Many different languages, personalities, but we still achieved so much and really got along, that's something that the coaching staff gave to us."
Pereira recognized Gutierrez for an outstanding season on the backline. "Guti is probably the best central back I have ever played with. He plays with such great agility and is very capable of being a leader in the back, which is something we needed. He was there at all the right moments and our low goals against average shows that he was a big part of our defense. Sometimes the defense doesn't get enough credit, but Guti is completely deserving of this award."
"Guti and I played every day with one phrase in mind- 'Not Today.' We wanted to keep our opponents scoreless each and every match, and that really motivated us."
Behind solid play from Pereira, the Tigers posted a school-record scoreless streak of 569:16 that stretched from August 30-Sept. 23. For his efforts, Pereira also earned All-Region XI First-Team honors as the conference's top goalkeeper.
Pereira joins Estevao Alexandre as the only men's soccer players to earn NJCAA First-Team All-American honors. Alexandre was a member of the 2006 team. Pereira is the first goalkeeper to earn All-American status for MCC.
Pereira and Gutierrez become the seventh and eighth members of the program to earn All-American recognition. MCC has now placed at least one player on an All-American team in each of the last four years as Javier Lopez was named to the NJCAA Third-Team in 2012 and Juan Carrillo earned second-team honors in 2013 and third-team in 2014.
The two become the 30th and 31st MCC student-athletes to earn NJCAA All-American honors. MCC has had at least one All-American in each of the past seven years.
