HAMPDEN-SYDNEY, Va. --- Hampden-Sydney College senior defender Eli Strong has been named to the 2019 Academic All-America Men's Soccer Second Team, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). He is only the second player in program history to be named an Academic All-American (Brett Chonko, 2009 First Team).
Strong was recently named the 2019 Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC)/Virginia Farm Bureau Men's Soccer Scholar-Athlete of the Year, in addition to being named Second Team All-ODAC.
"Eli has represented the program extremely well over his four years," said head coach Tommy DiNuzzo. "He's had a consistent presence in our back line, has been a two year captain, and has absolutely set the tone for our team in the classroom by prioritizing his academics."
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Excelling in the classroom, Strong has posted a 3.96 GPA while majoring in biology and pre-med. A three-time ODAC All-Academic Team honoree, Strong has been accepted into George Washington Medical School for the fall of 2020. He has earned the Hinton Baxter Overcash Award as the top junior in pre-med last spring in addition to the President's Award for Overall Academic Excellence at Convocation earlier this fall. He is co-authoring "Cancer Genomics and Proteomics" with Dr. Kristian Hargadon, Ph.D. Strong will present his capstone at the American Association for Cancer Research in San Diego this spring.
"We're proud of him and have no doubt that he will excel in medical school after he leaves H-SC," added DiNuzzo.
On the field, Strong helped lead Hampden-Sydney to a 7-0-1 ODAC record and the top seed in the conference tournament. While he got forward to score three goals and dish out an assist, Strong's main contributions came in helping the Tigers' surrender just 20 goals in 19 games played. That number shrinks to eight goals in H-SC's eight conference games.
--- The Hampden-Sydney College athletic communications department contributed to this release. ---
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