All-American career

BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – Making historical past isn’t any straightforward feat, however this yr’s UVM males’s soccer group did simply that.

Maybe no coincidence, so did its factors chief.

In the identical week, Alex Nagy was named a semifinalist for the MAC Hermann nationwide participant of the yr award, and was the primary Catamount to be a primary group All-American for the reason that magical 1989 season.

“I used to be pumped, truthfully. I didn’t know what to say, particularly the MAC Hermann semifinalist information was clearly an enormous honor for me,” Nagy mentioned. “After I got here into faculty, I by no means anticipated it.”

“He’s earned it. You’ve seen his improvement as a participant,” head coach Rob Dow mentioned. “As a freshman, a bit moist behind the ears, tremendous gifted, however studying how you can apply himself, that competitiveness and successful mentality. Coming away with quite a bit to be enthusiastic about from a university profession, and trajectory into the subsequent stage.”

Individually, or as an entire with the group, Nagy’s profession in Burlington noticed no scarcity of surpassing the bar from years prior.

“We positively exceeded the expectation we had this season,” Nagy mentioned. “We’d been speaking about this for 3 years, the potential now we have, however I by no means anticipated it to take us this far. I knew we had it in us, however stuff occurs. I used to be actually enthusiastic about this season.”

In a approach, Nagy’s historic profession runs parallel with UVM’s historic run. As he grew, so did the group. After a mixed six factors in 2018 and 2019, Rob Dow put him within the middle ahead place within the spring of 2021 in hopes for a rise in scoring. In simply eight video games that yr, he doubled his profession level complete, together with the lone objective within the America East semifinals, unlocking a brand new ceiling.

“All through Alex’s profession, he was all the time a really gifted participant, however may he apply himself and take accountability to win the sport? I feel the extra he realized and developed that self-confidence and noticed his teammates consider in him, he realized ‘I might be the man for this group,’” Dow mentioned. “Since then, he’s been that clutch participant. Get the ball to Alex’s foot and one thing goes to occur.”

After ending finals this previous week, his profession in Burlington is now a closed – however prolonged – e-book. He’ll quickly head to the nation’s capital to coach with D.C. United. However he’s assured the legacy he and his fellow outgoing teammates left behind is robust sufficient to hold on.

“I simply hope they proceed the working course of. I do know they’re gifted and I do know they will do large issues additionally,” Nagy mentioned. “I hope they keep in mind this yr and see all that was happening within the locker room, on the sphere, off the sphere, in coaching, and take that each one in and put it on the sphere subsequent yr and have a greater season. I do know the blokes are able to that.”

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