Eastern's, Mansfield's Richards Touted As All-Region Soccer Player

WILLIMANTIC, Conn. – Senior defender Larson Richards of Mansfield and the Eastern Connecticut State University men's soccer program has been voted to the United Soccer Coaches Division III All-New England Region I team for 2022.

Richards was named to the second team and was one of seven players from the Little East Conference chosen to either the first, second or third teams. Eleven players were named to each team.

A transfer from the Division I level, Richards started all 41 matches in which he appeared in his two-year Eastern career (excluding two official games during the Covid-related 2020 season), missing only one. He was the only player this year to start all 20 matches for the Warriors (12-6-2 overall), who shared second place in the final LEC regular-season standings with a 6-2-0 record and reached the playoff semifinals as the No. 3 seed.

His penalty-kick goal early in the 1-0 LEC first-round win over Keene State College vaulted the team into the semifinals.

Also this season, Richards was named to the New England Intercollegiate Soccer League Senior All-Star Game and repeated as a first-team All-LEC selection on defense.

With Richards, Eastern was ranked fourth in the LEC this year by allowing only 23 goals in 20 matches, an average of 1.15 per match, and was rated second among LEC teams with a scoring margin of plus-1.05. As a team, Eastern recorded seven shutouts, four coming in the last nine matches. In nine matches leading up to the LEC final, the Warriors never allowed more than one goal.

Richards' selection brings to 30 the total number of all-region selections for the program since 1985, the 23rd player and tenth defender under 16th-year head coach Greg DeVito.