Braden Schmid And Ryan Tollefsrud Earn Capital One Academic All-District Honors

St. Peter, Minn. – Gustavus Adolphus men’s soccer players Braden Schmid (Sr., West Fargo, N.D.) and Ryan Tollefsrud (Sr., Spearfish, S.D.) have been named to the 2014 Academic All-District Men’s Soccer Team for District Six.

The 2014 Capital One Academic All-District Men’s Soccer Teams, selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America, have been released to recognize the nation’s top student-athletes for their combined performances athletically and in the classroom.

A biology major with a cumulative grade point average of 3.83, goalkeeper Braden Schmid has been given a chance to prove himself in net and has taken full advantage of the opportunity.  In what is his final season of collegiate soccer, Schmid has logged 959:30 minutes and compiled an overall record of 9-3-1. Prior to this season, the senior saw action in a total of 11 matches, logged just over 256 minutes, and wasn’t credited with a result. In 2014, the West Fargo, North Dakota product boasts the MIAC’s best goals against average at .0.56 and second-ranked save percentage at .824. He has three complete match shutouts and has given up just three goals within conference play.

“Braden has had an excellent year both academically an athletically.  A biology major, he certainly did not pick the easy option,” said Head Coach Mike Middleton.  “Even as a freshman, he was being selected by professors to help with their post-graduate research papers and he has continued that level of accomplishment. He is a goalkeeper, a tremendous trainer, and a coaches delight.  He plays with an air of confidence that oozes out of him, and spreads to the defense. He is very quick, big and agile – an excellent athlete.  He’s had a tremendous tussle this year with our other goalkeeper, Brett Ylonen, for the starting spot.  To his great credit that he has been playing so well that he has taken the number one jersey for most of the season – not bad when you consider the fact that Brett is an All-American!  You should see those two at practice – it’s unbelievable at times how hard they work, and the saves they pull off. I cannot speak highly enough of him as a player, and more importantly, he’s a person you’d trust with your life.”

A health fitness major with a GPA of 3.64, Ryan Tollefsrud added scoring the threat Gustavus needed in 2014. Before suffering a season-ending injury prior the Macalester match, Tollefsrud scored seven goals and added three assists for 17 points. His point total still ranks second on the team and seventh in the MIAC, while his seven goals rank second on the team and fourth in the MIAC. The Spearfish, South Dakota native has three game-winning goals, which came on three consecutive outings against UW-Oshkosh, Carleton, and Concordia. The first of those game-winners came at the 101:30 mark of the second overtime session in a 1-0 victory over UW-Oshkosh on Sept. 14. Tollefsrud also went on a team-best six-match scoring-streak during which he tallied 12 points (5G, 2A).

“Ryan’s grades are even better than those for which he gained selection to the all-Distict Academic team,” Middleton said about his senior striker.  “As a transfer student a couple of years ago, he still carries some of those grades.  At Gustavus, with a higher academic profile than the school he transferred from, his grades are above a 3.8, which is really nice. He is a bright, articulate, personable, and a thoroughly likable individual. Like Braden, he is really fun to be around and does not have an unkind bone in his body.  He is terrific ambassador for the College. As a player, he is top class.  An excellent athlete, he really covers the ground – he is a true striker. He’s really mobile, hard-working and has tremendously intelligent movement.  He is technically very good – excellent in the air, and strikes the ball well with both feet – so he is the complete package.  Unfortunately he has been out for the last few games, and will be out for the rest of the season with a broken fifth metatarsal.  The only bright side there is that he wants to pursue physical therapy and is experiencing things from the other end of the continuum!  Needless to say, its a tough loss for us to not have him playing.”

Braden and Ryan are two of the 12 players on the District Six North Region First Team.  Of those 12 honorees, one is a goalkeeper, four are midfielders, four are defenders, and three are forwards. The Gustavus pair represents two of five players from the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference on this year’s District Six Team. Other MIAC players earning the honor include Carleton’s Jordy Cammarota, Augsburg’s Scott Clinton, and Bethel’s Matt Pisarki.

The Gustavus men’s soccer team is currently 12-4-1 overall and 6-2-1 in the MIAC. With one game remaining in the 2014 regular season, the Gusties have secured a spot in the MIAC Playoffs and are currently ranked second in the league standings alongside Carleton with 19 points. The Gusties will close out the week with a 1:00 p.m. match against Hamline University on Saturday, Nov. 1 in St. Paul.

The Academic All‐District teams include the student‐athletes listed on the following pages and are divided into eight geographic districts across the United States and Canada. This is the second year of the expanded Academic All‐America program as CoSIDA moved from recognizing a University Division (Division I) and a College Division (all non Division I) and has doubled the number of scholar‐athletes honored. The expanded teams include NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II and NCAA Division III participants, while the College Division Academic All‐America Team combines NAIA, Canadian and two‐year schools.

First‐team Academic All‐District honorees advance to the Capital One Academic All‐America Team ballot, where first‐, second‐ and third‐team All‐America honorees will be selected later this month.

CoSIDA Release