From University of Chicago Athletics
University of Chicago men's soccer players Richard Gillespie, Griffin Wada and Naz Kabbani have been recognized by D3soccer.com as All-Americans following their outstanding 2022 campaign, which culminated in winning the 2022 Division III National Championship. Head Coach Julianne Sitch has also been recognized as Men's Coach of the Year.
Gillespie and Wada were named Co-Defenders of the Year by D3soccer.com along with receiving First Team All-America accolades. Kabbani, a native of Manchester, England, was named to the Third Team as a midfielder. Sitch added to her extensive list of honors with Coach of the Year, of which her and her staff were previously recognized as Staff of the Year by the United Soccer Coaches.
Gillespie adds another First Team All-American honor after being named First Team All-America and First All-Region by the United Soccer Coaches. The senior center back started all 23 games, posting two goals and three assists on the year. He was also a First Team All-University Athletic Association pick and an NCAA All-Tournament Team selection.
Wada, also a First Team All-Region honoree, received deserved All-America status as he and Gillespie anchored the UChicago defense, which surrendered just 0.47 goals per game. Wada started 22 games at center back and contributed two assists offensively. The senior's awards haul this season includes First Team All-UAA, NCAA All-Tournament Team and NCAA Defensive Most Outstanding Player of the tournament.
Kabbani, an honorable mention All-UAA and NCAA All-Tournament Team selection, earned All-America status to put a bow on an outstanding career as a Maroon. He totaled six goals and five assists while starting in all 23 matches. Most notably, he assisted the game-winning goals against both Stevens and Williams in the National Semifinals and National Final, respectively.
Sitch, in her first season with the men's program, led UChicago to an undefeated 22-0-1 record and the first National Championship in program history. The Maroon defense recorded 13 shutouts while allowing 11 goals over the course of 23 games. UChicago trailed for only 64 minutes all season out of 2,090 minutes played. The team's 0.474 goals against average ranked No. 7 in the nation. The offense scored 51 goals (2.22 per game) as nine different players tallied multiple goals on the year. Along with winning Staff of the Year from the USC, Sitch and her assistants were also named UAA Coaching Staff of the Year in mid-November and USC Region VIII Coaching Staff of the Year in early December.