For the fourth consecutive season, Radford University placed at least four players on the Virginia Sports Information Directors (VaSID) All-State team as Fraser Colmer, Kieran Roberts, Sivert Daehlie, Victor Valls and Max Edwards represented the Highlanders on the all-state team. The Highlanders trailed only William & Mary with six selections.
Colmer, Roberts and Daehlie headline the first team as Colmer and Daehlie earn their second All-VaSID honor. Valls and Edwards followed on the second team.
FRASER COLMER (BIG SOUTH CO-DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR | SCHOLAR-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR | ALL-BIG SOUTH FIRST TEAM | NSCAA ALL-SOUTH REGION SECOND TEAM | VaSID ALL-STATE FIRST TEAM)
Colmer becomes the third straight Highlander to be named the league’s defensive player of the year, joining Danny O’Keefe (2015) and Jo Vetle Rimstad (2016). The face of Radford’s defense, Colmer does everything that does not show up in a box score. In addition to aiding six shutouts on the season for 32 in his career, Colmer tallied one goal and assisted on six during the 2017 season. He assisted on two game winners during the season. Of the Top 10 scorers in the league, Colmer only allowed four goals to checked players. Picking up two defensive player of the week honors, Colmer finished his career with three.
KIERAN ROBERTS (BIG SOUTH ATTACKING PLAYER OF THE YEAR | ALL-BIG SOUTH FIRST TEAM | NSCAA ALL-SOUTH REGION THIRD TEAM | VaSID ALL-STATE FIRST TEAM)
Roberts becaem the fifth Highlander in program history to be named Big South Attacking Player of the Year, first since Troy Washington in 1998. Earning a league-best three attacking player of the week awards, Roberts finished the regular season ranked second nationally with 15 goals and third with 0.88 goals per game. The redshirt-junior led the country with 5.25 shots per game and 2.69 shots on goal per match. He also ranked sixth with 31 points and 10th with 1.82 points per game. Roberts had four multi-goal matches, including two hat tricks with a four-goal match against Gardner-Webb (Oct. 14). Eight of his 15 goals came in Big South play.
SIVERT DAEHLIE (ALL-BIG SOUTH FIRST TEAM | VaSID ALL-STATE FIRST TEAM)
Putting together a strong comeback year, Daehlie finished the regular season ranked ninth nationally with 12 goals, seventh with 31 points and 38th with seven assists. Of his 12 goals, six came in Big South play. Daehlie recorded three game winning goals, giving him 14 in his career. Of the 18 games played, Daehlie scored in 12 matches, owning an eight-match streak with at least one goal (Sept. 9-Oct. 7). Finishing third in the league in goals, Daehlie assisted on seven other goals, finishing tied for second in the conference.
VICTOR VALLS (ALL-BIG SOUTH FIRST TEAM | VaSID ALL-STATE SECOND TEAM)
Valls controlLED the Radford offense from the midfield, while also helping out on defense. Starting all 18 matches, Valls tallied two goals and assisted on seven, which finished tied for second in the Big South. The redshirt-sophomore collected his first career multi-goal match in 2-0 win at Winthrop (Oct. 21). Valls also assisted on the game winning goal over No. 10 Virginia. He finished the season with two multi-assist matches against James Madison (Sept. 20) and Liberty (Nov. 1). Valls collected two weekly honors: TDS Player of the Week (Oct. 23) and NCAA Player of the Week (Oct. 25) after a two-goal, one assist week.
MAX EDWARDS (ALL-BIG SOUTH SECOND TEAM | BIG SOUTH ALL-FRESHMEN TEAM | VaSID ALL-STATE SECOND TEAM)
Starting in 10 of the 16 matches appeared in, Edwards was inserted into the Radford lineup following an injury to the backline. Edwards provided one of the more versatile roles in the Highlander game plan, helping out in all aspects of the game. The frosh aided the backline in five of the six shutouts on the season. Edwards assisted on two goals, including one game winner. He was named Big South Freshman of the Week on Sept. 11.
Major Award Winners:
Player of the Year: Antonio Bustamante, William & Mary
Rookie of the Year: Brandon Perdue, Old Dominion
Coach of the Year: Chris Norris, William & Mary
VaSID All-State First Team
Forward – Marcelo Acuna, Virginia Tech
Forward – Rafael Andrade Santos, VCU
Forward – Sivert Daehlie, Radford
Forward – Kieran Roberts, Radford
Midfielder – Francesco Amorosino, VCU
Midfielder – Antonio Bustamante, William & Mary
Midfielder – Kevin Mendoza, Liberty
Defender – Fraser Colmer, Radford
Defender – Alex Dominguez, Liberty
Defender – Sergi Nus, Virginia^
Goalie – Mertcan Akar, Old Dominion
VaSID All-State Second Team
Forward – Ryder Bell, William & Mary
Forward – Henning Dirks, George Mason
Forward – Tresor Mbuyu, Liberty^
Midfielder – Manuel Ferriol, James Madison
Midfielder – Jean-Christophe Koffi, Virginia
Midfielder – Victor Valls, Radford
Defender – Marcel Berry, William & Mary
Defender – Max Edwards, Radford
Defender – Elias Tamburini, Virginia Tech
Defender – Remi Frost, William & Mary
Goalie – Jeff Caldwell, Virginia
–RU Athletics