Dec. 15, 2008
DAVIS, Calif. - UC Davis seniors Quincy Amarikwa and Dylan Curtis have added another first for the Aggie men's soccer team as the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) named the duo to their 2008 NCAA Division I NSCAA/Adidas All-America Teams. The achievement marks the first D-I All-Americans for the men's soccer program and the first time since 1999 that the men's soccer team has boasted an All-American.
In addition, UC Davis was one of only six teams to place multiple student-athletes on the teams. Prior to the announcement, a total of two Aggie men's soccer players had earned NSCAA All-America status (Tom Amick, Sean Buchanan).
"This is just an outstanding achievement for these young men," said UC Davis head coach Dwayne Shaffer. "It shows that their hard work and dedication has paid off. Quincy and Dylan have helped establish UC Davis as a legitimate Division I men's soccer program. I'm just happy and pleased for both of them. It's not only a great accomplishment for our program, but reflects well on UC Davis as a whole to have two players on the All-America Teams."
Amarikwa, a native of Bakersfield, was named to the second team at the forward position. The All-America honors come just a week after his All-Far West Region first-team nod. Amarikwa also earned Big West Offensive Player of the Year honors following the best offensive season of his career. He finished as the conference leader in goals scored (15) and was second in points (31). Both are career highs and put him into the top five on the UC Davis career list. Amarikwa also led conference players with two Big West Player of the Week honors and two national team of the week accolades. He also became the first Aggie to receive national player of the week honors on Oct. 13. Amarikwa's list of accolades also includes a spot on the TopDrawerSoccer.com Teams of the Season, which is their equivalent of an All-America team, and
Soccer America MVP's second team.
Curtis, a native of Pleasanton, earned third-team honors as a midfielder to cap a busy week of accolades. Last Friday he was named to the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award All-Senior All-America first team just two days after earning first-team all-region acclaim. Curtis capped his most successful collegiate season by a tying a school record with 11 assists. He also added five goals for 21 points en route to earning Big West Conference Midfielder of the Year honors. Curtis finished his career with 17 assists, which ties him with Eli Carter for second all-time. In addition, Curtis was named to the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA)/ESPN The Magazine first-team Academic All-Region and third-team All-Academic All-American.
Both Amarikwa and Curtis have begun the next step in their soccer careers and were two of just 65 D-I senior student-athletes nationwide to receive invitations to the Major League Soccer (MLS) Adidas Player Combine for pre-draft workouts. The MLS SuperDraft takes place on Jan. 15.
2008 NSCAA/adidas NCAA Division I Men's All-America Team
First Team
Pos., Name, Class, School, Hometown
K, Jovan Bubonja, Jr., Illinois-Chicago, Chicago, Ill.
D, Calum Angus *, Sr., Saint Louis, Portsmouth, England
D, Matthew Besler, Sr., Notre Dame, Overland Park, Kan.
D, Omar Gonzalez *, Jr., Maryland, Dallas, Texas
D, Tennant McVea, Jr., Loyola (Md.), Belfast, Northern Ireland
M, Corben Bone, So., Wake Forest, Dallas, Texas
M, Sam Cronin *, Sr., Wake Forest, Winston-Salem, N.C.
M, Andrei Gotsmanov, Sr., Creighton, Omaha, Neb.
M, Baggio Husidic, Jr., Illinois-Chicago, Libertyville, Ill.
F, Andre Akpan *, Jr., Harvard, Grand Prairie, Texas
F, Mike Grella *, Sr., Duke, Glen Cove, N.Y.
F, Marcus Tracy, Sr., Wake Forest, Newtown, Conn.
F, Steve Zakuani, So., Akron, London, England
Second Team
K, Milos Kocic, Jr., Loyola (Md.), Leskovac, Serbia
D, Joel Gustafsson, Jr., St. John's, Queens, N.Y.
D, Ike Opara, So., Wake Forest, Durham, N.C.
D, Chris Schuler, Jr., Creighton, Omaha, Neb.
M, Alejandro Bedoya *, Sr., Boston College, Weston, Fla.
M, Michael Callahan, Sr., North Carolina, Cary, N.C.
M, Richard Jata, Sr., Campbell, Port Richey, Fla.
M, J.T. Noone, Jr., Temple, Harrisburg, Pa.
F, Quincy Amarikwa, Sr., UC Davis, Bakersfield, Calif.
F, Doug DeMartin, Sr., Michigan State, Mason, Mich.
F, Mike Fucito *, Sr., Harvard, Westford, Mass.
F, Daniel Revivo, Sr., Winthrop, Richmond Hill, Ontario
F, Chris Salvaggione, Sr., Charlotte, Monument, Colo.
Third Team
K, Steward Ceus, Sr., Albany, Albany, N.Y.
D, Mark Blades, Jr., Northwestern, Lakewood, Ohio
D, Michael Holody, Sr., Michigan, Auburn Hills, Mich.
D, Yohance Marshall, Sr., South Florida, Tampa, Fla.
M, Anthony Ampaipitakwong, So., Akron, Carrollton, Texas
M, Joshua Boateng, Sr., Liberty, Lynchburg, Va.
M, Dylan Curtis, Sr., UC Davis, Pleasanton, Calif.
M, Craig Henderson, Sr., Dartmouth, Lower Hutt, N.H.
M, Brad Ring *, Sr., Indiana, Rockford, Ill.
F, Cody Arnoux *, Jr., Wake Forest, Wilmington, N.C.
F, Graciano Brito *, Sr., Quinnipiac, East Haven, Conn.
F, Samson Malijani, Jr., Fairleigh Dickinson, Lusaka, Zambia
F, Chris Pontius, Sr., UC Santa Barbara, Yorba Linda, Calif.
F, O'Brian White *, Sr., Connecticut, Scarborough, Ontario
F, Andrew Wiedeman, So., California, San Ramon, Calif.
* indicates prior selection
