NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – VCU Men's Soccer placed four players on Atlantic 10 all-conference teams, highlighted by sophomore Celio Pompeu's selection as the A-10 Midfielder of the Year, the league announced Thursday afternoon.
 
Pompeu was joined on the All-Atlantic 10 First Team by senior defender Zeron Sewell, with freshman midfielder Damian Gallegos named to the All-Rookie Team, and senior defender Simon Fitch named to the All-Academic Team.
 
A speedy and crafty winger, Pompeu leads the Rams with 15 points and seven assists, while tying for the team lead with four goals. His seven helpers are tied for the third most in the A-10, while his 15 points are ninth-best in the conference. In a 4-1 win over Duquesne on Oct. 6, Pompeu registered an assist on every VCU goal; four assists is the most for a VCU player in a single game since at least 2008.
 
Pompeu was named the A-10 Offensive Player of the Week and earned a spot on the TopDrawerSoccer Team of the Week after a brace in a 4-1 win over ETSU on Sept. 14. The Brazilian was also ranked at 15 on TopDrawerSoccer's midseason Top 100. This is the second all-conference nod in Pompeu's career after he earned Second Team recognition in the spring.
 
This is also VCU's second Midfielder of the Year honor from the A-10 since joining the conference in 2012, with Siad Haji claiming the award in 2018.
 
Sewell had a career year captaining the VCU back line, starting 16 matches at center back. The Jamaican garnered a number of awards after leading the Rams to a 2-0 win at No. 7/No. 6 Wake Forest and a 1-1 draw at No. 4 North Carolina in the season's opening weekend, including A-10 Defensive Player of the Week, TopDrawerSoccer's national Player of the Week, and a spot on College Soccer News' Team of the Week.
 
A pair of shutout wins in late September earned Sewell an A-10 Co-Defensive Player of the Week nod, and more recognition on TopDrawerSoccer's Team of the Week. In addition to guiding VCU to six clean sheets and a 1.15 team goals-against average, Sewell also compiled the first multi-goal season of his career, converting the game-winning penalty kick in a 2-0 victory at Old Dominion on Sept. 21, and opening the scoring in the win over Duquesne with a powerful header.
 
Gallegos made an immediate impact for VCU, tying for the team lead with four goals. He also ranked second on the Rams with four assists and 12 points. A technically gifted midfielder, Gallegos started his collegiate career with a bang, scoring in the 1-1 draw at No. 4 North Carolina on Aug. 29. The Mechanicsville, Va., product also scored the game-winning goal in double overtime in a 2-1 victory at La Salle on Oct. 2. The All-Rookie Team selection comes after Gallegos was named A-10 Rookie of the Week on both Aug. 30 and Oct. 4.
 
A staple of the VCU back line at left back, Fitch led the Rams with 1,690 minutes played this season. In addition to being a stout defender, the Richmond, Va., native had an outstanding year offensively, collecting three goals and two assists for eight total points, all career highs. Every goal Fitch scored this season was a game-winner, the most on the team and tied for fifth in the A-10.
 
This is the fourth consecutive season Fitch has been honored on the A-10 All-Academic Team. After graduating summa cum laude in May with a degree in Business and a concentration in Finance, he is currently enrolled in VCU's Center for Sport Leadership graduate program pursuing a dual degree in Sport Leadership and Business. Fitch has been named to both the AD Honor Roll and the Dean's List for seven consecutive semesters.
 
VCU holds a 9-7-2 record, including three wins over ranked teams. The Rams have received votes in the United Soccer Coaches poll for 11 straight weeks, and reached as high as No. 12 in the poll earlier in the season.

For the full list of A-10 award recipients click here.