AUSTIN, Texas | Young Harris College's Eduardo D'Avino, Adam Kirkwood and Yesin van der Pluijm have been named to the  Division II Academic All-District® III Men's Soccer First Team as selected by CoSIDA (College Sports Information Directors of America).                                                                       

The members of the College Sports Information Directors of America by districts selected the teams and the first-team members will now be considered for Academic All-America® honors. District III consists of NCAA Division II institutions in the Peach Belt, South Atlantic and Conference Carolinas conferences. To be nominated, a student-athlete must be at least a sophomore with a 3.30 cumulative grade point average and must be a starter or a significant reserve on his team.

Eduardo D'Avino

• Junior goalkeeper from Rome, Italy
• The business administration major has a 3.77 cumulative grade-point average.
• Named to the All-Peach Belt first team. 
• Named to the D2CCA All-Southeast Region first team.
• Started 16 of 17 matches played.
• In 1,354 minutes played, allowed 11 goals and recorded 31 saves for a 0.738 goals-against average.
• Tallied a 15-0-1 record in goal for the Mountain Lions with four shutouts and added two more combined shutouts.
• Leads the Peach Belt and is 10th in NCAA Division II in goals-against average (0.738).
• Named the PBC Goalkeeper of the Week three times (Sept. 20, Oct. 18 and Nov. 1).

Adam Kirkwood

• Senior defender from Stranraer, Scotland.
• The management and marketing major has a 3.82 cumulative GPA.
• Named to the All-Peach Belt first team.
• Named to the D2CCA All-Southeast Region first team.
• Started all 19 matches for the Mountain Lions as he led the team with 1,710 minutes played.
• Scored a goal to go along with three assists for five points.
• Was named the PBC Defender of the Week once (Sept. 20).

Yesin van der Pluijm

• Junior defender from Rotterdam, Netherlands
• The management and finance major has a 3.93 cumulative GPA.
• Named the Peach Belt Conference's Co-Player of the Year.
• Named to the All-PBC first team after being named to the second team in 2019.
• Named the D2CCA Southeast Region Player of the Year.
• Named to to D2CCA All-Southeast Region first team.
• Anchored a Young Harris defense that has allowed only 13 goals to be scored in 19 matches so far this season. YHC leads the PBC and is ranked sixth in NCAA Division II with a 0.673 goals-allowed average.
• Started in 18 of the 19 games and is second on the team in minutes played (1,398).
• Tallied two assists this season.
• Named the PBC Defender of the Week twice (Sept. 27, Oct. 4).
• He is the sixth Mountain Lion to be named a PBC Player of the Year.

The Mountain Lions, who are 18-0-1 overall, will return to action this week as they host the third round and quarterfinals of the 2021 NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Tournament at the YHC Soccer and Lacrosse Field.  Young Harris, which is seeded No. 1 in Super Region 2, will face No. 5 seed Auburn University at Montgomery at 6 p.m. Thursday (Dec. 2).

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