Pitt’s Jasper Löeffelsend Named United Soccer Coaches Second Team All-American

Photo courtesy Pitt Athletics

Graduate student defender Jasper Löeffelsend was honored by United Soccer Coaches today, earning Second Team All-America for his efforts on the field during the 2021 season.

Löeffelsend earns the third All-America honor of his career as he was named Second Team by United Soccer Coaches and CollegeSoccerNews last season. He becomes the first two-time United Soccer Coaches All-American in program history and is one of four players on the 35-player list to earn the honor for the second time in their respective careers.

The Cologne, Germany, native finished the 2020-21 season as one of the best passers in the country and kept that status throughout the 2021 campaign, currently ranking* 18^th in the country and second in the Atlantic Coast Conference in total assists (9) and 14^th in the nation and second in the league in assists per game (0.53). He concluded the year with two goals, nine assists and 11 shots in 17 games played.

Löeffelsend joined the Pitt program as a graduate student during the fall of 2020 and quickly made an impact for the Panther back line. He totaled 18 assists for his career, ranking tied for third in program history in just 36 games played. His career .50 assists per game mark shattered the previous school record of .21 set by Patrick Dixon (2014-15). Löeffelsend also finished with 22 points, ranking him in the top-five in points per game with 0.61.

The right back was named ACC Defensive Player of the Year for the second consecutive year last month and was the first back-to-back ACC DPOTY since Ike Ike Opara from Wake Forest (2008-09), a player in which Head Coach Jay Vidovich also coached during his tenure with the Demon Deacons. Löeffelsend was named First Team All-ACC and most recently named a semifinalist for the prestigious MAC Hermann Trophy award, given to college soccer’s best male and female player. He became the first Pitt player to be named a semifinalist for the award multiple times in his career. The men’s finalists will be announced Dec. 15.

Löeffelsend was also named United Soccer Coaches First Team All-South Region earlier this week, joining teammate Valentin Noel as the first multi First Team All-Region recipients in school history.

For the full list of United Soccer Coaches All-Americans, click here.

*Rankings as of December 9, 2021