College Sports Information Directors of America

2016 CoSIDA Academic All-America® Men's/Women's Soccer Teams release dates: 

College Division Teams: PDF  |  doc
NCAA Division III Teams: Fri., Nov. 18
NCAA Division II Teams: Mon., Nov. 21
NCAA Division I Teams: Tues., Nov. 22

• Academic All-America® Program Index Page

Aleksi Pahkasalo of Lindsey Wilson and Emma Cude of Friends lead CoSIDA Academic All-America® College Division Soccer Teams
 

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Seniors Emma Cuda of Friends University and Aleksi Pahkasalo of Lindsey Wilson College headline the 2016 CoSIDA Academic All-America® College Division soccer teams as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
 
A forward for the Falcons, Cuda has been selected as the 2016 CoSIDA Academic All-America® of the Year for College Division Women’s Soccer while the Blue Raiders’ Pahkasalo has been named as the CoSIDA Academic All-America® of the Year for College Division Men’s Soccer for the second consecutive year.
 
The CoSIDA Academic All-America® College Division soccer teams are comprised of student-athletes from NAIA, Canadian and two-year institutions.
 
Cuda is a double-major in zoo science and biology with a perfect 4.0 G.P.A. and the Omaha, Nebraska, native led the Falcons to an 11-8 record and a berth in the quarterfinals of the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament. The first team All-KCAC selection scored nine goals, assisted on four and led her team with 66 shots.
 
This is the second consecutive year that Cuda has been named to the CoSIDA Academic All-America® first team. She ranks No. 40 in the NAIA in game winning goals with four.
 
Pahkasalo is a repeat selection as the CoSIDA Academic All-America® of the Year for men’s soccer. The senior from Vantaa, Finland, also repeated as the Mid-South Conference Player of the Year and has his Blue Raiders’ finish at 13-4-2 after falling in the conference tournament final in penalty kicks.
 
The three-time CoSIDA Academic All-America® selection – named to the second team in 2014 and to the first team in 2015 and 2015. Pahkasalo boasts a 4.0 G.P.A. and is majoring in recreation, tourism and sport management. The midfielder has posted 25 goals and six assists while playing in only 15 matches in 2016. Pahkasalo has four game-winning goals and leads the Blue Raiders with 90 shots, 48 which have come on goal.
 
CoSIDA Academic All-America® Women’s Soccer College Division Team
  
The 11-member CoSIDA Academic All-America® College Division Women’s Soccer first team has an average G.P.A. of 3.91, which includes four student-athletes with a 4.0 G.P.A. The team consists of eight seniors, two juniors and one sophomore.
 
Cuda is the only repeat CoSIDA Academic All-America® first team selection from a year ago while Megan Kruse of Hastings College made the second team in 2016 after earning first team honors as a junior.
 
Kruse, a senior midfielder from Gretna, Nebraska, was named the Great Plains Athletic Conference’s Offensive Player of the Year for the second consecutive year as well as being named to the All-GPAC first team for the third year in a row. Kruse is currently fifth in the NAIA with 26 goals for Hastings, which is 17-2-1 and the 11th seed in the upcoming NAIA National Tournament that gets underway with the opening round this weekend. She is seventh in the NAIA in points (58) and ninth in assists (12). Kruse has a 3.88 G.P.A. as a health systems major.
 
Three student-athletes who earned second team honors in 2015 made the jump to the top team in 2016. University of Northwestern Ohio goalkeeper Nadine Stonjek, Columbia (Mo.) College forward Laurie Frew and Reinhardt University forward Katie Goodrich.
 
Stonjek, who has a 3.95 G.P.A. as a business administration major, led the Racers to an 18-2-1 record and their third consecutive Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference title as they earned the No. 7 seed in the NAIA National Tournament. Stonjek boasted the 10th-best goals-against average in the NAIA (0.55) as she recorded 13 shutouts in 1,646 minutes in 206. The senior from Hamm, Germany, was named to the All-WHAC first team and was named the NAIA National Defensive Player of the Week once in 2016.
 
Frew, a Columbia, Missouri, native, led the Cougars with 14 goals on the season while posting the second most assists with 10. The junior forward helped Columbia claim a share of the American Midwest Conference regular season title and AMC Tournament title to earn the No. 15 seed in the NAIA National Tournament. The 2015 All-AMC Player of the Year and All-AMC performer has a 3.70 G.P.A. as an elementary education major.
 
Goodrich, a junior from Cumming, Georgia, is Reinhardt's leader in goals with 13 and points with 29. She is ninth in the country in game-winning goals with six, and ranks 44th in NAIA in total goals. Goodrich helped the Eagles captured the Appalachian Athletic Conference regular-season title as they earned the No. 14 seed in the NAIA National Tournament. In the classroom, Goodrich has a 4.0 G.P.A. in business administration.
 
Cuda, Stonjek, Frew and Goodrich are joined on the first team by seniors Rachel DeLancey of Spring Arbor University, Rachel Hay of Concordia (Mich.) University, Dayla Weslosky of Cumberland University, Laura Blanchard of Northwestern Ohio, Allie Hale of Reinhardt and Katie Wierenga of Taylor University as well as sophomore Bethany Balcer of Spring Arbor.
 
The second team includes seniors Kayla Anderson of Saint Ambrose University, Rochelle Garcia of William Woods University, Fayth Glock of Taylor, Lauren Krebs of Missouri Baptist University, Jessie Burns of Biola University, Meredith Hollar of Grace College and Kruse as well as juniors Kaitlen Kisiloski of Cumberland and Rosie McShane of Benedictine (Kan.) College and sophomores Camilla Anderson of Northwestern Ohio, Lauren Engelkes of Taylor and Brooke Cousins of Our Lady of the Lake University.
 
CoSIDA Academic All-America® Men’s Soccer College Division Team
 
The 11-member CoSIDA Academic All-America® College Division Men’s Soccer first team has an average G.P.A. of 3.80, which includes two student-athletes with a 4.0 G.P.A. The team is represented by 10 seniors and one junior.
 
In addition to Pahkasalo being a repeat selection on the first team, senior goalkeeper Robbie Barnhill of Grace, senior defender Michael Caccavo of Spring Arbor and senior forward T.J. Ifaturoti of Davenport University are repeat selections to the CoSIDA Academic All-America® first team. Gabe Garbin moved up to the CoSIDA Academic All-America® first team after being a second-team selection in 2015.
 
Barnhill, a health sciences major from Mansfield, Ohio, has a 3.98 G.P.A. and led the Lancers to an 8-7-3 overall record during the 2016 campaign as they compete in the NCCAA National Tournament. Barnhill started in 12 matches and posted a goals-against average of 0.71 while finishing with 40 saves.
 
Caccavo and the Cougars are having one of their best seasons in recent history as the defender has helped Spring Arbor to a 14-3-4 overall record which includes Crossroads League Tournament title as they qualified for the upcoming NAIA National Tournament. Caccavo was named the Crossroad League’s Defensive Player of the Year for the second consecutive season and is part of a defense that has posted nine shutouts on the season and has limited its opponents to just 19 goals in 21 matches. The Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, native has a 3.59 G.P.A. as a health and exercise science major.
 
Ifaturoti, who is a senior from Lagos, Nigeria, has guided the Panthers to an impressive 17-2-2 overall record as they enter the NAIA National Tournament as the No. 6 seed after advancing to the WHAC Tournament championship match. Ifaturoti, a first team All-Conference selection for the second straight season, has posted 10 goals and five assists in his final season in a Panther uniform while helping DU score 64 goals in 20 matches. Ifaturoti has a 3.81 G.P.A. as a business administration major.
 
Garbin led Doane to an 8-8-1 record in 2016. Garbin played in 14 matches and helped the Tigers record four shutouts this season. The senior defender from Lincoln, Nebraska, tallied one assist as Doane advanced to the quarterfinals of the GPAC Tournament. In the classroom, Garbin has a 3.87 G.P.A. as a biology and psychology major.
 
Joining Pahkasalo, Barnhill, Caccavo, Garbin and Ifaturoti on the CoSIDA Academic All-America® Men’s Soccer College Division first team are seniors Lucas Prolow of Johnson & Wales (Colo.) University, Sergio Reyes of Purdue University Northwest, Jake Kirchoff-Sleet of Lourdes University, Lukas Muszong of Bethel (Ind.) College and Mauricio Salgado of Trinity Christian University as well as junior Rodrigo Alves of William Woods.
 
The second team features seniors Mitchel Erickson of Johnson & Wales (Colo.), Pau Delgado Rodriguez of the University of Rio Grande, Ryan Schlom of Graceland University and Kamil Szczesniak of Saint Xavier University, juniors Stephen Ricketts of Bryan College, Cedar Robertson of Corban University, Isaac Bostrom of Carroll (Mont.) College and Keaton Kerr of Biola, and sophomores Paul Quildies and Tim Erdmann of Morningside College and Rafael Mentzingen of Bryan.
 
 
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Michael MacEachern, Young Harris College (mfmaceachern@yhc.edu)                 (706) 379-5106
Academic All-America® Co-Director of Publicity
                                                              
Aaron Sagraves, Cornerstone University (aaron.sagraves@cornerstone.edu)        (616) 977-5415
Academic All-America® Coordinator of Publicity