The regular college season is now over and these days the various college ranks are announcing awards for the players who have impressed the most during the season.
After a great season for Wofford College, our very own Nikolai Røjel has just been named Player Of the Year in the Southern Conference!
From 'Freshman of The Year' to 'Player Of the Year'
After winning the title of Freshman Of the Year in the Southern Conference last year, Nikolai has entered his second year in the US with significantly higher expectations for his name.
In his debut season last year, he scored 9 goals in 16 games.
This year he has scored 11 goals in 17 games and several of the goals have been crucial and important.
A good example is his 1-1 equalizer in the dying minutes of their game against UNC Greensboro – see the score below 💪⬇️
Nikolai’s 1-1 equalizer in the dying minutes against UNC Greensboro
Wofford College, also known as the Terriers, plays in NCAA Division 1 and is a member of the Southern Conference.
The Terriers’ record for the season is 7-4-6 and although both defeats and draws have been part of the process, they have generally performed at a high level.
Several matches have been against absolute top teams in the USA – including Duke University, which is ranked number 3 in the country – Terriers played 2-2 against Duke and Nikolai scored here as well 😉
Nikolai’s goal to make it 1-0 against Duke University after a great play
From HIK to USA: Nikolai's journey to the USA
Nikolai was born in 2003 and turns 20 in December.
He grew up in Copenhagen and graduated from Niels Brock Handelsgymnasium in 2022.
We started working with Nikolai six months before his high school graduation, so he could be ready to leave right after a summer of driving and happy days
Throughout his youth, Nikolai has played for Lyngby BK and HIK.
In the season leading up to his first year in the USA, he was a profile on HIK‘sU19 team and trained regularly with HIK‘sfirst team in the 2nd division.
He scored 6 goals and 6 assists in 17 games in the U19 Division in the 2021/2022 season .
Nikolai celebrating scoring at Gibbs Stadium – home of the Wofford Terriers.
Nikolai is a versatile striker with several different qualities.
Despite his broad shoulders and 188 cm, he is well-coordinated and has plenty of speed in his boots. He has a physical presence on the pitch that American recruiters have always had high on their list of important qualities.
In addition, he has a good technical base, a sure finishing foot and a positioning ability… a nose for goal… which means that he is often present exactly where it hurts the opposing team.
The interest from the various colleges and universities was therefore certainly visible. After talking to several suitors, Wofford College was chosen.
Wofford College is located in South Carolina and is actually one of the smallest colleges in the US with around 2,000 students – but that doesn’t change the quality of their football program.
In fact, our clients Magnus Kjøller and Zakaria Holmen were already part of the team before Nikolai joined. This year, Villads Landsperg has joined the team.
The picture below is from a recent NSSA Derby where all the guys were in action.
Image from the NSSA Derby between Wofford College and East Tennessee State University.
From left are Nikolai Røjel, Villads Landsperg, Sebastian Mourier (ETSU), Magnus Kjøller and Zakaria Holmen.
Despite a great regular season, the boys and the rest of Wofford unfortunately didn’t make the playoffs and were recently beaten 1-0 by Furman University in the Southern Conference semifinals.
That’s not to take anything away from Nikolai’s impressive Player Of the Year award in the Southern Conference.
Congratulations champ – we look forward to even more goals and awards.
