College Sports Information Directors of America

TOWSON, Md. - Junior defender Kofi Sarkodie of the University of Akron and senior goalkeeper Zach Carr of Stevens Institute of Technology headline the 2010 ESPN Academic All-America® Men's Soccer teams, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

A repeat selection on the first team, Sarkodie was named as the Academic All-America® of the Year for the University Division while Carr, who was also named to the first team for the second consecutive year, was honored as the Academic All-America® of the Year for the College Division. Sarkodie is a biology major with a 3.96 grade point average (G.P.A), while Carr is a biomedical engineering major with a 3.92 G.P.A.

Sarkodie has led number two-ranked Akron to an 18-1-1 record and a number three seed in the NCAA Men's Soccer College Cup. A native of Huber Heights, Ohio, Sarkodie is a two-time All-Mid-American Conference selection who has started at outside back for a defense that matched an NCAA record with 11 consecutive shutouts.

In 2009, Sarkodie helped Akron finish as national runners-up and was a vital performer on a defense that was one of the best in NCAA history. The Zips recorded 19 shutouts in 2009, the second highest single season total in NCAA history. Akron's 0.27 goals against average was the third-best mark ever.

Honored as a 2010 preseason All-American by College Soccer News, he was named to the 2010 Hermann Trophy Watch List. He is the Zips' third-leading scorer with seven goals and five assists. Sarkodie recorded a hat trick against Michigan in October and he has four game-winning goals.

Carr was named as a first team National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) All-American goalkeeper as a junior. As a senior, he captained Stevens to a 15-2-3 record and its fourth straight Empire 8 championship. After a first round win in the NCAA Division III Tournament, the 13th-ranked Ducks' season came to an end with a double-overtime loss to Muhlenberg in the second round.

The top-ranked goalkeeper in NCAA Division III, Carr started all 20 games for Stevens and allowed only six goals in 1,883 minutes. His 0.29 goals against average was the top mark in Division III. As a senior, he posted 1,333 consecutive shutout minutes, the second longest streak in NCAA history.

A three-time all-conference selection, Carr set a school record with 55 career shutouts and had a 68-9-12 record as the Ducks' starting goalkeeper. Named first team All-East region twice in his career, the Carmel, Indiana native had a 6-1-4 all-time record in NCAA Tournament games.

ESPN Academic All-America® University Division honors

The 11 members of the ESPN Academic All-America® Men's Soccer University Division team have an average of G.P.A. of 3.92.

Senior defender Conner Burt of Butler joins Sarkodie as the only two repeat selections on the ESPN Academic All-America® University Division first team. Butler was the only school with more than one first team selection as senior midfielder Ben Sippola joined Burt on the first team.

Senior goalkeeper Jimmy Maurer of South Carolina and senior forward Mike Luttrull of Evansville, a pair of second team honorees last year, were selected to the first team in 2010. Senior forward Joe Touloumis of Marist, a third team choice in 2009, was also a first team honoree this season.

Seniors Kyle Knotek of Northern Illinois and Michael Perry of Denver are the other two defenders on the first team, joining Sarkodie and Burt. Seniors Eric Detzel of Mount St. Mary's and Sean O'Reilly of Saint Francis (Pa.) join Sippola on the midfield. Junior Perez Agaba of Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) combines with Luttrull and Touloumis as forwards on the ESPN Academic All-America® University Division first team.

An economics major with a 3.96 G.P.A., Burt has helped fifth-ranked Butler post a 16-0-3 record and its second straight Horizon League championship. A two-time All-Horizon League second team selection, Burt has started 76 games in a row. One of the team's top defensive players, the Elkhart, Indiana native has scored one goal and two assists.

Sippola, an English literature major with a 3.72 G.P.A., also represents Butler on the University Division first team. Honored as the 2010 Horizon League Player of the Year, Sippola leads the Bulldogs with eight goals and a conference-leading nine assists. A native of Northfield, Minnesota, Sippola has started every game the last two seasons and helped Butler earn a number 13 seed for the 2010 College Cup.

A senior goalkeeper from Lawrenceville, Georgia, Maurer has a double major in finance and marketing with a 3.94 G.P.A. He has led 18th-ranked South Carolina to a 12-6-1 record and number seven seed in the NCAA College Cup. He ranks second in school history with 27 career shutouts and posted a Conference USA-leading eight shutouts. As a senior, Mauer has a 1.11 goals against average. A second team all-conference selection, Maurer led South Carolina to the Conference USA title with a 1-0 shutout win over Tulsa in the championship game.

An accounting major with a 3.78 G.P.A., Luttrull was the leading scorer for Evansville with six goals and three assists. A two-time All-Missouri Valley Conference pick, he finished his career with 26 goals and ten assists. The Avon, Indiana native ranks among Evansville's all-time leading scorers.

Despite playing half of his senior season with a broken hand, Toulourris scored one goal and had five assists while leading Marist to a 9-9 record. A member of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference All-Rookie team as a freshman, Tourlourris has a double major of business administration and finance with a minor in accounting. A native of Cranford, N.J., he has a 3.91 G.P.A.

A biomedical engineering major with a perfect 4.00 G.P.A., Agaba led IUPUI to a 9-8-2 record and a second place finish in the Summit League standings. A second team all-league selection, he scored four goals with two assists in 2010. In his career, the Kampala, Uganda native has scored 11 goals with six assists.

Knotek, a business administration major with a 4.00 G.P.A., helped Northern Illinois post a 9-6-2 record. One of the team captains, the Geneva, Illinois native was one of the top defenders for a team that posted eight shutouts and allowed 0.69 goals per game. He also finished the season with two assists.

A finance major with a minor in economics and a 3.98 G.P.A., Perry has been a three-year starter on defense for Denver. As a senior co-captain, he helped the Pioneers earn an NCAA College Cup berth for the second time in three years. A steady defensive player, the Overland Park, Kansas native has scored one goal with four assists in his career.

A pair of Northeast Conference standouts, Detzel and O'Reilly, complete the 2010 ESPN Academic All-America® Men's Soccer University Division first team.A starter in all 18 matches for Mount St. Mary's, Detzel was a first team All-Northeast Conference selection as a senior. A computer science and mathematics major with a 3.85 G.P.A., he was The Mount's second-leading scorer with three goals and eight assists. One of the top ten scorers in school history, Detzel was a second team All-NEC selection as a junior. A native of York, Pennsylvania, he led The Mount to a 7-10-1 record as a senior.

A management information systems major with a 3.98 G.P.A., O'Reilly scored five goals with an assist as he helped Saint Francis (Pa.) reach the NEC championship game. In the NEC semi-finals, he scored two goals in a win over Sacred Heart, earning a spot on the NEC all-tournament team. A native of Front Royal, Virginia, O'Reilly had three game-winning goals as a senior. In his career for the Red Flash, he started as the team manager and finished up as a starting midfielder.


ESPN Academic All-America® College Division honors

The average G.P.A. of the 12-member ESPN Academic All-America® College Division first team is a very impressive 3.93.

Carr is one of two repeat first team selections on the ESPN Academic All-America® College Division team. Senior forward Christian Therkelsen of Massachusetts Institute of Technology was also named to the first team again. For Therkelsen, it marks the third consecutive year that he has been named to the ESPN Academic All-America® College Division Men's Soccer first team.

Senior midfielder Toby Peter of St. Scholastica, a second team pick last year, was named to the first team in 2010. A pair of third team honorees in 2009, defender Tyler Czinege of Trinity (Texas) and forward Alex Gang of Oklahoma City, were also named to the College Division first team. Seniors Aaron Gildner of De Sales, Zach Sell of Neumann and Adam Waxman of Emory joined Czinege as defenders on the first team.

Senior midfielders Zach Ganzberg of Bethel (Ind.) and Chuck Witt of Grove City were also named to the first team along with juniors Drew Golz of Wheaton (Ill.) and Riley McGlynn of Concordia-Moorhead.

A four-time All-NEWMAC first team pick, Therkelsen has a double major of electrical engineering and computer science with a minor in economics and a 3.84 G.P.A. A native of Nesbru, Norway, he led MIT to a 10-3-2 record as a senior by scoring four goals with eight assists. The second-leading scorer in MIT history, Therkelsen concluded his career with 37 goals, 25 assists and 99 points. A research assistant at MIT's Intellegent Transportation Systems Lab, he created a traffic simulation model to analyze and predict traffic congestion.

A business administration and marketing major with a 3.99 G.P.A., Czinege has been one of the top defenders for Trinity of Texas, the number one-ranked team in NCAA Division III. A native of Kansas City, Kansas, Czinege has played in 12 games and started twice, leading the Tigers to a 19-2-1 record and a berth in the NCAA Sectionals. A member of Phi Beta Kappa and the Omicron Delta Epsilon International Economics Honors Society, he has contributed to a defense which is allowing 0.72 goals per game.

Named first team All-Upper Midwest Athletic Conference four times, Peter led St. Scholastica to a 17-4-2 record as a senior and its first-ever NCAA Division III Tournament appearance. A History and economics major with a 3.96 G.P.A., he was the Saints' leading scorer as a senior with seven goals and seven assists. A native of Spalt, Germany, Peter set a school record with 16 assists in 2009. Named as the UMAC Player of the Year twice, he finished his career with 30 goals and 42 assists.

An honorable mention NAIA All-American as a junior, Gang led Oklahoma City to an 11-6-2 record and second place in the Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament in 2010. A political science major with a 3.99 G.P.A., Gang was the SAC's Offensive Player of the Year as a junior. In 2009, the Seoul, South Korea native scored 22 goals with five assists. He finished his career with 40 goals and 16 assists.

A starter in all 22 games for DeSales, Gildner led the Bulldogs to a 15-5-2 record and the Freedom Conference championship. An accounting and finance major with a 3.98 G.P.A., he was a defensive leader for a team that surrendered only 16 goals in 22 games. Named second team all-conference as twice, the Slatington, Pennsylvania native finished his career with five goals and ten assists.

Named as the Colonial States Athletic Conference Player of the Year in 2009 and 2010, Sell led Neumann to a 14-4-2 record as a senior. An athletic training major with a 3.86 G.P.A., the Baltimore, Maryland native led the Knights to the CSAC championship and a berth in the NCAA Division III Tournament. The ECAC South Division III Defensive Player of the Year as a junior, Sell finished his career with a school record 67 points, scoring 23 goals with a school record 21 assists.

A starter in all 18 games on defense at Emory, Waxman is the final defender on the ESPN Academic All-America® College Division first team. An economics, mathematics and philosophy major with a 3.92 G.P.A., Waxman led the 14th-ranked Eagles to a 14-3-2 record and an NCAA Division III Tournament berth. An honorable mention All-University Athletic Association selection, the Chagrin Falls, Ohio native was a key to one of the toughest defenses in the nation. The Eagles set a school record with 15 shutouts and allowed 0.41 goals per game.

A three-year starter in the midfield at Bethel (Ind.), Ganzberg is a Pre-Law major with a 3.95 G.P.A. As a senior, he scored 12 goals with six assists to lead the Pilots to a 14-7 record and the Mid-Central College Conference Tournament championship. Honored as the MCC Offensive Player of the Year, the South Bend, Ind. native also led the Pilots to a berth in the 2010 NAIA Tournament.

A mechanical engineering major with a 3.95 G.P.A., Witt earned first team All-Presidents' Athletic Conference honors while leading Grove City to a 15-5-2 record. The second-leading scorer in the PAC, the Dillsburg, Pa. native has been inducted into Omicron Delta Kappa and Mortar Board. As a junior, he was named honorable mention All-PAC.

The leading scorer at Wheaton (Ill.), Golz scored 13 goals with three assists while leading the Thunder to an 11-7-3 record. A two-time all-conference first team selection, the River Forest, Ill. native is a chemistry major with a 3.96 G.P.A. A two-sport standout who also plays baseball, he transferred to Wheaton from the Air Force Academy.

A two-time selection as first team All-Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, McGlynn was one of the leading scorers in NCAA Division III with 16 goals and 10 assists in 20 games. A biology major with a minor in chemistry and a 3.80 G.P.A., he led Concordia-Moorhead to a 13-6-1 record and a runner-up finish in the MIAC Tournament. A native of Hampstead, N.C., he has scored 25 goals with 14 assists in his three-year career.

To be eligible, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative grade point average of 3.30 on a scale of 4.00, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standings at his/her current institution and be nominated by his/her sports information director. Since the program's inception in 1952, CoSIDA has bestowed Academic All-America honors on more than 15,000 student-athletes in Divisions I, II, III and NAIA, covering all NCAA championship sports.

The ESPN Academic All-America® program currently selects 12 teams at the University Division level and 12 teams at the College Division level. The program currently selects the following Academic All-America® teams: men's and women's soccer, volleyball, football, men's and women's basketball, baseball, softball, men's cross country and track, women's cross country and track, men's at-large and women's at-large.

For more information about the ESPN Academic All-America® Teams program, please visit www.cosida.com.

For more information on the ESPN Academic All-America program, contact:

Dan O'Connell, Towson University (doconnell@towson.edu)
Academic All-America ® Vice-Chair For Publicity/Communications
(410) 704-3102

Jeff Schwartz, North Dakota State University (Jeff.Schwartz@ndsu.edu)
Academic All-America ® Coordinator of Publicity
(701) 231-8332