DEC 12, 2024 | SPORTS | By Veronica Bianco
Colorado College Men’s Soccer goalkeeper Alex Wolter ‘27 and center back Curtis Hale ‘25 were named All-Americans last week, worthy recognitions for two members of a back line that finished the year with the second-best goals-against average in the country.
Wolter took home second-team honors and Hale landed himself a spot on the fourth team.
The pair, who were both All-Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) and All-Region first-team honorees, are the first Tigers to receive All-American status since 2016.
“Collectively, Curtis and Alex are a big reason for our team’s defensive success this season,” Head Coach Scott Palguta told CC Athletics.
The honor is the icing on the cake of an emphatic college career for Hale. The Virginia native won SCAC Defensive Player of the Year for the third consecutive season this year, the only player in conference history to take it home that many times.
On Dec. 10, Hale was named a College Sports Communicators Academic All-American. This is the second year in a row Hale has received the award, after the Tigers made it to the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament last year.
This season, he scored two goals and notched four assists, a career-high eight points on the year. He totaled a team-high 1,925 minutes throughout the season and finished fourth in total shots taken despite being a center-back.
“I think it’s a really humbling accomplishment,” Hale said. “It’s something that I’ve been pushing to get for a few years now and it means a lot to get recognized as a player in any shape or form.”
It’s a different story for Wolter, who stepped up after CC’s former starting goalkeeper transferred. The sophomore from Connecticut didn’t see action in a single game as a freshman but was called on to handle some of CC’s toughest opponents, including in the NCAA tournament.
He started 12 games, including all of CC’s postseason contests. He posted 30 saves on the year, good for a 0.750 save percentage.
“Alex has shown remarkable improvement in a short time,” Palguta told CC Athletics. “His work ethic and coachability are outstanding and he has been nicely rewarded for his efforts.”
Wolter and Spencer Besselaar ‘27, who started the other ten games, were only scored on 12 times over 22 games, combining for a goals-against average of just 0.54. The Tigers, who were 16-3-3 this year and undefeated in the SCAC, scored 59 goals, outscoring their opponents by 47.
The Tigers’ season ended at home in the second NCAA tournament round when Claremont-Mudd-Scripps beat them 2-1 in overtime. It was one of the three games this season in which opponents scored more than one goal. No team scored more than two in a game against CC.
The Tigers will look to bounce back next year. Still, the group will look pretty different: eight seniors, including Hale, are graduating, leaving big shoes to fill for the team’s younger, but still experienced, returning classes.