Dec. 21, 2012
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – University of Notre Dame men’s soccer players Dillon Powers (Sr./M) and Harrison Shipp (Jr./F) have been named National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Scholar-All-Americans. Powers was a first-team selection, while Shipp was on the second team.
Prior to being named NSCAA Scholar All-Americans, Powers and Shipp were selected to the NSCAA Scholar All-North/Central Region Team. They were joined as scholar all-region honorees by their Irish teammates Grant Van De Casteele (Sr./D) and Luke Mishu (Jr./D). Powers, Shipp and Van De Casteele were on the scholar all-region first team, while Mishu was named to the second team.
Powers (Plano, Texas/Plano Senior) was selected to the NSCAA All-America First Team earlier this month. He also was one of 54 college seniors invited to January’s Major League Soccer Combine. The central midfielder started all 22 matches this season and posted career-high totals in goals (5), assists (9) and points (19). The assist total was tied for 20th nationally. Powers, a two-time team captain, tallied three game-winning goals and played 2,011 of a possible 2,044 minutes on the field this season.
Powers was one of 15 semifinalists for this year’s MAC Hermann Trophy. He earned first team all-BIG EAST honors this season in addition to being a finalist for the Senior CLASS Award. This is the second NSCAA Scholar All-America citation for Powers, who was on the second team last season. He has a 3.417 cumulative GPA as a political science major in the College of Arts and Letters.
Shipp (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest) recently was named to the NSCAA All-Great Lakes Region Second Team. The junior forward played in every match this season and was second among all Notre Dame players in goals (6), assists (6) and points (18). The goal and point totals were career-best marks, while the assists matched his career-high total. He was a key part of the high-powered Notre Dame offense that finished the season ranked fourth nationally in goals scored with 52, which were the most for the program since 1994.
Shipp was named to the 2012 All-BIG EAST Third Team and also was selected to the Capital One Academic All-America® Second Team. He boasts a 3.846 cumulative GPA as a finance major in Notre Dame’s nationally-ranked Mendoza College of Business.
Van De Casteele (Plano, Texas/Frisco Centennial) was the only Fighting Irish player to play every possible minute this season. The central defender anchored the Irish backline en route to nine shutouts. He also headed in the game winner in the 71st minute of a 1-0 victory at Indiana. Van De Casteele was named to the NSCAA All-Great Lakes Region Third Team earlier this month.
This is Van De Casteele’s second scholar all-region accolade. He was on the NSCAA Scholar All-Region Second Team in 2010. Van De Casteele is majoring in finance and carries a 3.700 cumulative GPA.
Mishu (Knoxville, Tenn./Knoxville Catholic) also was part of the stout Fighting Irish defensive unit. The right back started all 21 matches in which he played this season. He tallied three assists in 1,897 minutes on the pitch. Mishu has a 3.614 cumulative GPA as a psychology and pre-professional studies (pre-med) major in the College of Arts and Letters.
Notre Dame posted a 17-4-1 record this season. The 17 wins were the most for the Irish since 1988. The Fighting Irish won the program’s third BIG EAST Championship title and were the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Championship for the first time ever. Notre Dame fell to eventual national champion Indiana, 2-1 in double-overtime, in the third round of the tournament.
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