KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Loyola United Maryland men's soccer senior Gabriel Carlsson has become the first-ever Greyhound to be named to the Scholar All-America First Team, as announced by the United Soccer Coaches Association Tuesday. Carlsson was one of 10 players and three midfielders across the NCAA to be selected to the Scholar All-America First Team.
 
With a first-team Scholar All-America honor, Carlsson becomes the second member of the men's program to earn Scholar All-America distinction - Stephen Dooley collected third-team honors in 2012 and second-team accolades in 2013 - and the first Greyhound, male or female, to earn first-team laurels. He also joins Bucknell's Brenden Burgdorf (2011) as the only two players in Patriot League history to earn first-team Scholar All-America distinction. 
  
"I'm so proud of Gabe and happy for our program to have such a prestigious honor bestowed upon us," head coach Steve Nichols said. "Gabe is the type of player every coach dreams of having and he exemplifies exactly what our program stands for; incredible students, exceptional athletes and even better people.
 
"If I could put a picture up of what I want the ideal Loyola soccer student-athlete to be, it would be Gabe Carlsson. He consistently gives the same thing day-in and day-out, and he does everything the right way, whether it's at practice or in a game. We're going to miss him dearly next year."
 
Carlsson becomes the fourth Greyhound in program history to earn All-America honors academically. In addition to Carlsson and Dooley earning the distinction from the coaches association, Jeff Nattans (third team in 1988 and second team in 1989) and Phil Bannister (third team in 2008 and second team in 2010) were two-time CoSIDA Academic All-Americans.

The 2018 Patriot League Scholar-Athlete of the Year for men's soccer, Carlsson picked up his second-consecutive NCAA Division I Men's Scholar All-Region First Team accolades yesterday. A midfielder from Stockholm, Sweden, Carlsson is an interdisciplinary major in communications and economics with a minor in business, and he maintains a 3.6 grade-point average.
 
Throughout his career, he's earned two-consecutive regional All-America honors, three-straight All-Patriot League accolades, a pair of Academic All-Patriot League awards, and a spot on the Patriot League All-Tournament Team. He was also a Senior CLASS Award candidate who captained Loyola to back-to-back Patriot League Regular Season Championships.
 
A transfer from South Florida, where he helped the Bulls to an NCAA Tournament appearance in his freshman season, Carlsson started every game of his collegiate career. In three seasons with Loyola, he logged 4,395 minutes of playing time. He was also the lone Greyhound to play every minute this season and the only one to start all 18 games during the 2017 season.
 
Carlsson netted his first goal as a Greyhound as a sophomore at Navy in 2016. He then tied the NCAA's 15th-fastest response to an opponent's goal by score 18 seconds after St. John's to get Loyola a 1-1 double-overtime draw against the Red Storm. He collected his first Patriot League Midfielder of the Week accolade after scoring the equalizer in the 88th minute at Army West Point to keep the Greyhounds unbeaten in League play. Carlsson finished that season third on the team with three goals, three assists and nine points.
 
As a junior, Carlsson led Loyola's field players with 1,515 minutes played. He also led the team and ranked third in the Patriot League with nine assists, while his four assists in conference play ranked tied for fifth in the League.
 
Carlsson concluded his senior season ranked fifth on the team in points, with 10, while his six assists ranked second in the League.
 
Throughout his collegiate career, Carlsson scored seven goals, including five as a Greyhound. He finished his time at Loyola with 18 assists – the 11th most in Loyola's NCAA Division I history – and 28 career points.
 
The Scholar All-America program was initiated by the coaches association (previously NSCAA) in 1997. To be eligible, a student-athlete must be a junior or above with at least a 3.30 cumulative grade point average (on a 4.0 scale) or better throughout their career. Student-athletes must have participated in at least 50 percent of all games and significantly contribute to the team.