KINGSTON, R.I. - Rhode Island men's soccer freshman Isak Oystese has been named the 2021 Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year, while five additional Rams have earned other postseason awards, announced Thursday afternoon by the conference office. It marks the second time in the last three seasons that Rhody has six different players receive A-10 accolades.

Redshirt junior Patrick Agyemang was named to the conference's First Team, while grad student Edvin Akselsen and redshirt senior Stefan Schmidt were selected to the Second Team. In addition to being the league's Rookie of the Year, Oystese also was named to the All-Rookie squad, along with fellow freshman Cian Purcell.

Additionally, both Schmidt and redshirt junior Zach Drayer collected All-Academic honors. Rhode Island has now had multiple players selected to the 11-man All-Academic team in six of head coach Gareth Elliott's nine years at the helm of the program.

Agyemang (East Hartford, Conn.), a two-time A-10 Player of the Week, leads the Rams in scoring with 25 total points on 10 goals and five assists. In URI's 3-1 quarterfinal win over Davidson last weekend, he factored into each of the Rams' goals as he scored twice and assisted on the game-winner. For his performance, he was named to College Soccer News' National Team of the Week, marking the second time this season he earned that distinction.
 
Agyemang enters this weekend's Atlantic 10 semifinals ranked 15th nationally in shots on goal per game (1.81), 22nd in points per game (1.56) and 24th in goals per game (0.62).

Akselsen (Oslo, Norway) - who elected to stay home in Europe during the 2020-21 academic year due to the COVID-19 pandemic - also missed all of the 2021 preseason, as well as the first four games of the season. Despite going 659 days without playing in a game prior to his season debut on Sept. 10th, he has managed to register three goals and four assists in 10 games played. The Rhody midfielder also collected All-Conference accolades in both 2018 and 2019.

Drayer (Lancaster, N.Y.) collects the first Atlantic 10 award of his career in being named to the All-Academic team. A team co-captain, he owns a 3.94 grade point average while double-majoring in Biological Sciences and Cell & Molecular Biology. On the field, he has started every game at right back, helping the Rams post six shutouts this season. He also leads Rhody's field players in total minutes played (1,481).

Oystese (Oslo, Norway) is tied for the league lead, and ranked fourth nationally, with five game-winning goals. One of the most accurate shooters in the country, 60.0% of his attempts have been on target – which is the 11th-best percentage in Division I. Overall, he ranks second on the team in scoring with 15 points on six goals and three assists.

Oystese is the sixth player in program history to be named Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year, and the third under head coach Gareth Elliott.

Purcell (West Greenwich, R.I.) has appeared and started in 15 of Rhode Island's 16 games this season. An offensively-minded defender, he has recorded four assists while helping the Rams limit their opponents to an average of just five shots on goal per game.

Schmidt (Jena, Germany), like Akselsen, opted out of the 2020-21 season. Since returning to Kingston, he has posted a 10-4-2 record with six shutouts. A three-time A-10 Defensive Player of the Week, he leads the A-10 and ranks 14th nationally in save percentage (.802), and has the league's second-best goals against average (0.956). Academically, he owns a 3.88 GPA as a Psychology & Philosophy double major with a minor in Biological Sciences.

The Rams continue their quest for the program's third Atlantic 10 Championship title in the last four seasons on Friday, when they take on sixth-seeded Duquesne in a semifinal matchup. Game time is set for 4 p.m. (Eastern) at Saint Louis' Hermann Stadium.