Four Horizon League soccer players earn CoSIDA / ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America honors

Nov. 21, 2005

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INDIANAPOLIS -- Postseason honors continue to pour in for Horizon League men's soccer players. Perhaps the most prestigious additions to date came Monday (Nov. 21) when four League representatives earned Academic All-America honors from the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) and ESPN The Magazine.

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee senior forward Neil Dombrowski, Butler University senior defender Patrick Reilly and University of Wisconsin-Green Bay senior midfielder Adam Ben-Zikri were named to the Second-Team Academic All-America squad, while UW-Milwaukee sophomore defender Steve Bode gained Third-Team distinction.

Dombrowski ranks second in the League with 23 points, sharing third place on the loop charts with his nine goals this season. Three of those markers were match-winners for the Panthers, who captured the Horizon League Championship and enter the second round of the NCAA Tournament with a 14-4-4 overall record which includes five consecutive victories. Dombrowski carries a 3.52 grade-point average as a marketing major.

Ben-Zikri is a repeat Second-Team Academic All-America selection. He played in 16 of UW-Green Bay's 19 regular-season matches, helping the Phoenix register a 1.13 goals-against average with four shutouts, including a 3-0 victory over third-seeded University of Illinois at Chicago in the first round of the Horizon League Championship tournament. Ben-Zikri was one of three Horizon League players to receive Academic All-America honors last year, and owns a 3.92 GPA as a business administration major.

Reilly started 18 of Butler's 19 matches this fall, helping the Bulldogs post eight shutouts as part of a 9-10-0 overall record. He has compiled a 3.80 grade-point average, majoring in history, philosophy and French while playing in 69 matches during his four seasons at Butler.

Bode has been one of the anchors of the Panther defense, helping lead the team to a League-best 0.69 goals-against average with a school-record 12 shutouts. The sophomore also scored five goals during the regular season to stand second on the team in that category, while maintaning a 3.71 GPA as a psychology major. Bode was one of only five sophomores to earn Academic All-America distinction this fall.

As a conference, the Horizon League ranked second with its four selections among the 35 players honored (due to ties in voting, 13 players comprise the Third-Team Academic All-America list). Only the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (five) had more players selected, while the Missouri Valley Conference matched the Horizon League's total. Conference USA and the Big East Conference each had three Academic All-America honorees.

University of Maryland senior forward Jason Garey was named the Academic All-America of the Year. Garey helped the Terrapins land the top seed in the 2005 NCAA Championship tournament. A repeat selection to the top honor squad, he is a leading candidate for the Hermann Trophy as the top college soccer player in the country. In the classroom, he has compiled a 3.47 GPA as a finance major and is on track to graduate in three-and-a-half years.

The University Division (which encompass all schools at the Division I level) teams feature four players from the University of New Mexico, including the First-Team trio of senior defenders Matt Wootton and Ben Ashwill plus senior senior forward Jeff Rowland, along with senior midfielder Brandon Moss, a Third-Team choice.

To be eligible for Academic All-District consideration, a student-athlete must have a cumulative grade-point average of 3.20 or higher (based on a 4.00 scale) with sophomore or higher standing both athletically and academically. Since the program's inception in 1952, CoSIDA has presented Academic All-America honors to more than 14,000 student-athletes at the Division I, II, III and NAIA levels.

Last fall, UW-Milwaukee's Antou Jallow gained First-Team Academic All-America honors while Ben-Zikri and Dthe University of Detroit Mercy's Ablaye Camara were both Second-Team All-America selections. Jallow earned Second-Team recognition as a junior in 2003, while Butler's Michael Mariscalco was a First-Team choice in 2002. Cleveland State University's Joachim Walker gained Second-Team honors with Ablaye on the Third-Team list in 2002.

CoSIDA / ESPN The Magazine University Division Men's Soccer Academic All-America

First-Team
Pos.NameSchoolYr.HometownGPAMajor(s)
GKChris MunroeIndianaSo.Indianapolis, Ind.3.93Business
DNoah SalsiDuquesneSr.North Huntingdon, Pa.3.95Physician Assistant
DMatt HaneyDelawareJr.Newark, Del.4.00Biological Sciences
DMatt WoottonNew MexicoSr.Colleyville, Texas3.87Marketing
DBen AshwillNew MexicoSr.Albuquerque, N.M.3.62Management Info. Systems
MMatt WileyTulsaSr.Carrollton, Texas4.00Philosophy
MStephan HallAlbanyJr.Denver, Colo.3.97Urban Studies
MJohn DiRaimondoSaint LouisJr.St. Louis, Mo.3.72Accounting
FMatthew GroenwaldSt. John'sGrad.Mt. Prospect, Ill.3.83Biology
FJason GaryMarylandSr.Gonzales, La.3.47Finance
FJeff RowlandNew MexicoSr.Albuquerque, N.M.3.79Accounting

Second-Team
GKConrad TaylorPenn StateSo.Colorado Springs, Colo.3.94Kinesiology
DTal LahavAdelphiSr.Moshav Haniel, Israel3.95Accounting / Economics
DPatrick ReillyButlerSr.Columbus, Ohio3.80History, Philosophy, French
DJason PeleEvansvilleJr.Kennewick, Wash.3.98Engineering
DPatric ColasRadfordSr.Rennes, France4.00International Concentration
MAdam Ben-ZikriUW-Green BaySr.Monona, Wis.3.92Business Administration
MMoshe ShalchonConnecticutJr.Rishon Lezioh, Israel3.90Business - Finance
MJohn StephensNotre DameSr.Woodridge, Ill.3.86Economics
FDavid SchillAir Force Sr.Woodbridge, Va.3.91Mechanical Engineering
FNeil DombrowskiUW-MilwaukeeSr.West Allis, Wis.3.61Business

Third-Team
GKChris EylanderWashingtonSr.Sumner, Wash.3.44Electrical Engineering
DCorey BronnerVermontJr.Morrisville, Vt.3.73Business Administration
DDustin DyerVirginia TechSr.Ashland, Va.3.74Biology
DSteve BodeUW-MilwaukeeSo.Milwaukee, Wis.3.71Psychology
DMatt ShumpNew HampshireJr.Durham, N.H.3.83Mathematics
DJustin DouglassMissouri StateJr.Spring, Texas3.59Cell & Molecular Biology
DMatt WielandCreightonSr.Omaha, Neb.3.57Finance
MJared BritcherMemphisSo.Knoxville, Tenn.3.89Exercise & Sport Science
MBrandon MossNew MexicoSr.Albuquerque, N.M.3.70University Studies
MTim MochanDrexelSr.Sinking Spring, Pa.3.97Business Administration
FGeorge JostenGonzagaSo.Idaho Falls, Idaho3.89Civil Engineering
FAndy MetcalfMemphisSr.Jackson, Tenn.3.44International Business
FMichael ToddHofstraSr.Cleveland, England3.42Exercise Science

ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICA OF THE YEAR: Jason Garey, Maryland