Plougmand named D2CCA All-Southeast Region Player of the Year
Senior midfielder Sam Bayly was named to the D2CCA All-Southeast Region Second Team.
SALISBURY, N.C. - Mars Hill forward Peter Plougmand was named the 2024 Division II Conference Commissioners' Association (D2CCA) Southeast Region Men's Soccer Player of the Year, the organization announced Tuesday afternoon.
Plougmand is the first player in Mars Hill history to be named the D2CCA Regional Player of the Year.
The senior from Odense, Denmark led Division II with 25 goals scored and a nation-leading 56 points. Scoring over half of the Lions' goals this season, Plougmand helped return Mars Hill to the NCAA Tournament, their first appearance since 2012. He sent the Lions to the second round of the tournament, capping off a perfect 5-for-5 penalty kick order for the Lions in their opening round win over Conference Carolinas Champions, Francis Marion. In the second round, Plougmand scored Mars Hill's lone goal against the No. 1 seed Limestone Saints.
Plougmand was a 2022 D2CCA All-Southeast Region First Team selection and a Second Team selection in 2023.
With his First Team selection, Plougmand is eligible to be nominated for CCA All-American consideration.
Plougmand erupted for a quartet of goals against Newberry, tying the Mars Hill school record for the second time in his career and had seven total goals in the first four games of the year. He would go on to record hat tricks against Carson-Newman, Emory & Henry, and in the SAC Quarterfinal against Lincoln Memorial. He had seven games with multiple goals on the year and led Mars Hill to the No. 4 seed in the SAC Tournament and a spot in the semifinals.
He is the only player in conference history to be named an Offensive Player of the Week four times in a single season. Plougmand was named the statistical champion in goals per match (1.53) and points per match (3.47), both tops in the nation.
He set career highs in every offensive category and was held scoreless just twice on the year. The team captain had 135 points in 69 games played, with 59 goals in 17 assists.
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Senior midfielder Sam Bayly was named an All-Southeast Region Second Team selection. Bayly, a native of Lincolnshire, England, scored five goals and added four assist for the Lions in his lone season with Mars Hill. Bayly netted both goals in the Lions' 2-0 win over Tusculum.
