MISENHEIMER — A Falcon has landed on USA Lacrosse Magazine’s list of 2021 Division III Men’s All-Americans.
Pfeiffer fifth-year senior attacker Jared Nelson was one of 13 players on the Third-Team All-American formed by the magazine’s staff with input from college coaches throughout the country.
“At the end of the day, Jared really grinded it out for us,” said Tucker Nelson, Pfeiffer’s coach and Jared’s older brother. “Great teammates like Blade Garlow, Quinn Becraft, John Allen and the rest of them helped him get to that stage. My father deserves a lot of credit too — he developed Jared into a very nice player with his years of knowledge at the college level.”
The Vestal, New York, native was a large factor in Pfeiffer’s historic season that saw the Falcons (12-2, 8-0 USA South Conference) win their first conference championship and make their first NCAA Tournament appearance. Following an undefeated regular season conference record, Pfeiffer won the USA South Championship on May 8 with a 17-13 victory over Piedmont.
In the first round of NCAA playoffs on May 15, the Falcons fell to fourth-ranked Lynchburg (18-3, 8-1 Old Dominion Athletic Conference) as the Hornets cruised to a 26-11 win despite Pfeiffer entering the matchup on an 11-game winning streak.
The 16 first-half goals scored by Lynchburg were the most allowed in a half by the Falcons all season, as well as the most goals scored in a half by the Hornets all season.
Aside from his contributions to his team’s overall performance in 2021, it was a prolific year for Nelson in the record books.
He set the NCAA All-Division career record for assists on May 1 — breaking the record set by Rick Gilbert of Hobart College in 1974 — as the Falcons notched a 13-11 home win over Greensboro. During Pfeiffer’s final appearance of the postseason with Lynchburg, he set the NCAA All-Division career record for points that was previously held by Salisbury’s Jason Coffman from 1993-96.
At the end of the 2021 campaign, Nelson finished his collegiate career with 300 assists and 453 points; the senior compiled 91 assists, 123 points and 32 goals in the 14 games he played this year.