Dec. 10, 2004
University of New Mexico junior men’s soccer player Jeff Rowland was named first team All-American by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America today. Rowland was one of four forwards on the first team and becomes the first All-American for New Mexico since Justin Sells was selected by Soccer America in 1997. Rowland led the Lobos to one of the most successful seasons in school history, posting a 17-1-2 record and advancing to the third round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history.
Rowland, a native of Albuquerque, N.M. (La Cueva HS), had the most prolific scoring output in school-history this season. He recorded seven assists, tied a school record with 19 goals and set a program-high with 45 points. He had the first hat-trick by a Lobo since 1999 in a 3-2, come-from-behind win in the season opener against Delaware. Rowland recorded five game-winning goals and had three multi-goal games in 2004. He finished the regular season ranked No. 2 in the NCAA with a 1.00 goals-per-game average and was named the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation co-Player of the Year.
The 6-0, finance major also got the job done in the classroom, earning ESPN The Magazine 1st Team Academic All-American honors with a 3.79 grade-point-average.
“That’s pretty awesome,” stated a surprised Rowland. “I did not expect to get on the first team. It would not have been possible had it not been for the success of our team and how well we did this season. This shows the progress of our program and is a reward for the entire team.”
Rowland is just the fourth Lobo to earn a spot on an All-American team, not including Junro Narita who was an honorable mention selection by CollegeSoccerNews.com in 2002. He joins Edmundo Rodriguez (NSCAA – 1992), Mike Strati (NSCAA 2nd Team – 1994) and Justin Sells (Soccer Amercia – 1997) as the only Lobo men’s soccer All-Americans.
To view a complete list of the 2004 NSCAA All-Americans click here.