Nov. 3, 2005
Seven members of the Lobo men’s soccer team were honored today with ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District VI awards. The Lobos took all but four of the 7 spots on the District VI University Division team. Seniors Ben Ashwill, Brandon Moss, Jeff Rowland and Matt Wootton led UNM with their third-straight academic all-district honors.
Making their first appearance on the academic all-district team were senior Erik Bagwell, junior Andrew Boyens and sophomore Mike Graczyk. The ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District teams are voted on by members of the Collegiate Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). In order to be nominated for recognition, a student-athlete must have a 3.20 overall grade-point-average or better, participate in at least 50% of their team’s games and be a sophomore or higher in eligibility.
All seven of these Lobos are significant contributors to UNM’s 12-1-1 record and No. 2 national ranking. Ashwill, Wootton and Boyens make up 3/4 of the starting backline. Graczyk has started every game in goal while Moss has started every game in the midfield. Rowland is one of the leading scorers in the nation with 12 goals and two assists on the year, and Bagwell has started four games at forward in 2005.
The Lobos’ recent success on the field has been matched with their accolades in the classroom. In 2004, they placed four players on the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American squads, including Ashwill, Rowland and Wootton. They also posted a program-record 3.35 team g.p.a. in the 2005 spring semester. All seven of these players are now eligible for the 2005 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American team.
On the field, the Lobos (12-1-1, 4-1-1 MPSF) return to action Friday, Nov. 4, on the road against San Jose State (10-4-2, 6-1-0 MPSF). Game time is set for 8:00 p.m. (M.S.T.) in San Jose, Calif. UNM returns home for their final regular season weekend on Friday, Nov. 11, against Denver at 7:00 p.m. (M.S.T.) at the UNM Soccer Complex.