Orange County Blue Star News Release
Friday, December 16, 2011
IRVINE, Calif. -- Multiple Orange County Blue Star players have earned major accolades after the conclusion of the the NCAA Division I Men’s Soccer season.
By far the highest achievement came from the club's players at the University of North Carolina, junior defender Jordan Gafa and freshman midfielder Mikey Lopez, who helped the team win the National Championship. Gafa made a crucial save in the last five minutes of the final, backing up his goalkeeper and heading a ball off the goal line. Lopez also won MLSsoccer.com Freshman Player of the Year, CSN Freshman All-America Honors, and was named to the ACC All-Freshmen team.
Chandler Hoffman, a junior forward, had an incredible season, leading the Pac-12 with 18 goals as he helped UCLA reach the semifinals of the NCAA Tournament. He was recently named to the Pac-12 Conference First Team, NCAA Division I All-Far West First Team, CSN Second Team All-America, NCSAA/Continental Tire Men’s NCAA Division I Third Team All-America, and the 2011 Men’s College Cup All-Tournament Team. Hoffman was also a MAC Hermann Trophy semifinalist.
Hoffman's teammate, senior forward/midfielder Eder Arreola is another UCLA standout and earned a spot on the Pac-12 Conference First Team. Sophomore defender Joe Sofia earned Pac-12 Conference Honorable Mention, while OC Blue Star Alum, junior midfielder, Ryan Hollingshead, was selected to the Pac-12 Conference Second Team and joined Hoffman on the College Cup All-Tournament Team. Hollingshead’s goal in the 17th minute of the national semifinal was also featured on ESPN’s Top Ten Plays, as the No.1 play of the day. Blue Star players who also played a role in UCLA's tournament run include Fernando Monge, Ryan Lee, Pat Matchett, Reed McKenna, and Oscar Reyes.
Joining Blue Star-UCLA players in earning Pac-12 honors was Steven Birnbaum, a junior defender for Cal, and Blue Star Alum Garrett Gunther, senior midfielder for Stanford. Both were named to the Pac-12 Conference First Team. San Diego State’s sophomore forward, Miles Byass, was named to the Pac-12 Conference Second Team.
Also making an appearance in the NCAA Tournament semifinals were junior midfielder Jose Gomez and junior forward Dion Acoff of Creighton University, who combined for seven goals and 10 assists on the season.
In the Big West, Luis Silva proved once again to be a standout player. The senior midfielder at UC Santa Barbara was named Big West Midfielder of the Year and also earned spots on the Big West Conference First Team, NCAA Division I All-Far West Team, CSN First Team All-America, and NSCAA/Continental Tire Men’s NCAA Division I All-America First Team. Silva ended the season with 17 goals and 10 assists, helping his team get to the third round in the NCAA Tournament. He also joined Hoffman as a MAC Hermann Trophy semifinalist.
Another star player in the Big West was Miguel Ibarra, senior forward for UC Irvine. He earned Big West Co-Offensive Player of the Year honors and was also named to the Big West Conference First Team, NCAA Division I All-Far West First Team, CSN First Team All-America, and NSCAA/Continental Tire Men’s NCAA Division I All-America First Team. He had nine goals and eight assists on the season.
UCI’s junior defender Everett Pitts was also named to the Big West Conference First Team, along with Blue Star Alum and CSU Fullerton’s senior midfielder, Kevin Venegas, and Cal Poly’s senior defender Pat Sigler. Sigler also earned NCAA Division I All-Far West Third Team honors.
Continuing to represent UC Irvine, senior midfielder/defender Jimmy Turner, was named to the Big West Conference Second Team, joined by Cal Poly’s senior defenders, Wes Feighner and Cam Walters, senior goalkeeper Pat McLain, as well as Blue Star Alum, Fullerton’s senior midfielder Oscar Aguero.
In the West Coast Conference, USD’s sophomore defender, Elijah Galbraith-Knapp made the WCC First Team, LMU’s senior forward/midfielder Phil Da Silva and senior defender Tyler Krumpe were both named to the WCC Second Team, and Wes Culver, junior midfielder from Santa Clara earned WCC Honorable Mention.
Christian Ramirez had an impressive season as Concordia University’s junior forward, ending with 18 goals and was recently named to the All-Golden State Athletics Conference Team.
After such a successful college season, up next is the 2012 MLS Player Combine. Blue Star players Pat Sigler, Luis Silva, Miguel Ibarra, and Eder Arreola have already been invited to participate in the week-long trial held January 6-10 in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.