UC Irvine was recognized for its outstanding season to date as the Anteaters claimed three of the men's soccer major awards today. UCI was honored with the Defensive Player of the Year in David Sias, the Co-Freshman of the Year in Andrew Fontein and the Coach of the Year in George Kuntz.
UC Davis and Cal Poly each picked up a pair of awards as well as the Aggies’ Quincy Amarikwa was named the Offensive Player of the Year, while teammate Dylan Curtis was awarded the Midfielder of the Year. The Mustangs' two awards went to Eric Branagan-Franco, who was honored as the Co-Goalkeeper of the Year, and Patrick Sigler, who shared the Co-Freshman of the Year award with Fontein. The remaining honor went to Kevin Guppy who was the Co-Goalkeeper of the year along with Branagan-Franco.
Amarikwa, a senior from Bakersfield, Calif., is closing out his senior season in an Aggie uniform with a bang. Amarikwa leads the Big West in goals (15) and ranks second in points (31), easily setting career-highs in each category. The swift forward has shown the ability to score in bunches with four two-goal matches to go along with a panchant for clutch scores with five game-winning goals. Amarikwa, who twice claimed Big West Player of the Week accolades, has also received national attention for his goal-scoring prowess, claiming College Soccer News and Soccer America National Player of the Week honors on October 13 as well as being named to both publications’ National Teams of the Week September 2.
Sias, a senior from Fountain Valley, Calif., was the captain of a UC Irvine team that was one of the most improved defenses in the country. A year ago, the Anteaters allowed 31 goals in 20 matches. Sias helped the club improve those numbers to 21 goals in 21 games. Against the highest scoring teams in the league, Sias led a defense that allowed just two goals in three matches against UC Davis, three goals in two wins against UC Santa Barbara and just one goal in a tie against Cal Poly. Sias also becomes just the second winner of the Defensive Player of the Year honor in UCI history, joining Saul Wolf who shared the honor in 2001.
Curtis, a senior from Pleasanton, Calif., is the main offensive catalyst in the UC Davis attack. He is tied atop the Big West in assists (10), while tying for 10th in goals (5) and ranking fifth in points (20). On the NCAA leaderboard, Curtis is currently ranked #13 in assists per game (0.50), a category that he led for several weeks during the early part of the season. During the Aggies' early season surge, Curtis had a hand in 10 of clubs' first 14 goals via two scores and eight assists. Curtis has also garnered national acclaim for his exploits on and off the field as he won two Big West Player of the Week awards, was named to the Soccer America and College Soccer News National Teams of the Week September 23 and was named a finalist for the prestigious Lowe's Senior CLASS award. The award is presented annually to senior student-athletes across nine NCAA Division I sports who best exemplify dedication and achievement in four areas: classroom, character, community and competition.
Sigler, who hails from Windsor, Calif., is the second straight Cal Poly player to claim Freshman of the Year honors. An outstanding two-way player for the Mustangs, Sigler is part of a defense that has allowed just 20 goals in 21 matches and leads the league with eight shutouts. When he pushes forward to join the attack, Sigler has put up solid numbers with five goals and one assist for 11 points. He scored a pair of goals in the Mustangs' 2-1 upset road win over New Mexico September 14 and also put up two more goals in Cal Poly's home tie against San Jose State the following game. Sigler's fifth goal was an important one as well, it knotted the Big West Tournament semifinal match against UC Santa Barbara in the 78th minute.
Fontein, a native of Las Vegas, Nev., was a pleasant surprise in net for the Anteaters on their way to the Big West regular season and tournament titles. The first year player won 11 matches in net, posting a 0.97 goals against average to go along with 67 saves and four shutouts. In his first foray into Big West play, Fontein went 5-1-4 with a 1.01 goals against average and 41 saves while allowing more than two goals on just two occasions. That set him up nicely for the conference tournament where he made 11 saves, including nine in the championship match against UCSB, and allowed just a pair of penalty kick goals on his way to Tournament MVP honors.
Branagan-Franco, a senior from Napa, Calif., played all 2033:44 in goal for Cal Poly this season, winning 10 matches. The keeper was at his best in the biggest games as he recorded 10 saves against UC Santa Barbara October 17, 11 more stops against UC Irvine October 22, seven saves against UCLA November 8 and 11 more stops November 12 against UC Santa Barbara in the Big West Tournament semifinals. In all, Branagan-Franco leads the Big West with 98 saves, 15 more than second place, and is also tops in saves per game (4.67), save percentage (.831) and shutouts (8), while ranking second in goals against average (0.89). In the NCAA ranks, Branagan-Franco ranks 44th in saves per game and 32nd in save percentage.
Guppy, a senior from Chino Hills, Calif., bookends his Cal State Northridge career with Goalkeeper of the Year awards after previously winning the award in 2005. He was once again a constant in goal for the Matadors, playing all 1842:01 between the pipes. Guppy ranks fifth in the Big West in goals against average (1.12), third in save percentage (.783), tied for second in saves (83), second in saves per game (4.37) and third in shutouts (6). He wraps up a very successful career which saw him rank second in goalie wins (38), matches in goal (79) and goalie minutes (7469), fourth in shutouts (25) and seventh in goals against average (1.00) on the Big West career lists.
Kuntz, who is in his 13th year as the head coach of the UC Irvine program, is putting the finishing touches on what can be considered the best season in Anteater history. UCI won the first Big West regular season title in school history, becoming the first program other than Cal State Northridge and UC Santa Barbara to win the crown since the Big West reinstated men's soccer in 2001. Kuntz then led the club to the inaugural Big West Tournament title and the first NCAA Tournament appearance in school history, where the selection committee gave the Anteaters a #14 national seed for their accomplishments. Even more amazing is how consistent UC Irvine has been this season, opening the year with a 10-match unbeaten streak (7-0-3), while currently riding another 10-match unbeaten string (7-0-3).
UC Irvine lead all schools with four first team All-Big West selections and overall All-Conference choices with nine. UC Santa Barbara had seven All-Big West selections, while Cal Poly had six, including three first team choices.
The complete teams can be viewed below:
2008 ALL-BIG WEST MEN’S SOCCER TEAMS
| FIRST TEAM |
| Player |
School |
Year |
Position |
Hometown |
| Quincy Amarikwa |
UC Davis |
Senior |
Forward |
Bakersfield, Calif. |
| Irving Garcia |
UC Irvine |
Junior |
Forward |
San Luis, Ariz. |
| +Chris Pontius |
UC Santa Barbara |
Senior |
Forward |
Yorba Linda, Calif. |
| Spencer Thompson |
UC Irvine |
Sophomore |
Forward |
Ahwatukee, Ariz. |
| Dylan Curtis |
UC Davis |
Senior |
Midfielder |
Pleasanton, Calif. |
| Sunghyun Kim |
Cal State Northridge |
Junior |
Midfielder |
Los Angeles, Calif. |
| +Matt Murphy |
UC Irvine |
Senior |
Midfielder |
Anaheim Hills, Calif. |
| Anton Peterlin |
Cal Poly |
Senior |
Midfielder |
San Franciso, Calif. |
| David Lozano |
UC Riverside |
Junior |
Defender |
Dana Hills, Calif. |
| Matt Sanders |
Cal State Fullerton |
Junior |
Defender |
Orange, Calif. |
| David Sias |
UC Irvine |
Senior |
Defender |
Fountain Valley, Calif. |
| Patrick Sigler |
Cal Poly |
Freshman |
Defender |
Windsor, Calif. |
| Eric Branagan-Franco |
Cal Poly |
Senior |
Goalkeeper |
Napa, Calif. |
| +Kevin Guppy |
Cal State Northridge |
Senior |
Goalkeeper |
Chino Hills, Calif. |
| SECOND TEAM |
| Player |
School |
Year |
Position |
Hometown |
| Camilo Rojas |
Cal State Northridge |
Sophomore |
Forward |
Canoga Park, Calif. |
| Kyle Montgomery |
Cal Poly |
Sophomore |
Forward |
Seattle, Wash. |
| Nick Perera |
UC Santa Barbara |
Senior |
Forward |
Madrid, Spain |
| David Zamora |
Cal Poly |
Sophomore |
Forward |
San Jose, Costa Rica |
| Julian Alvarez |
Cal Poly |
Senior |
Midfielder |
Scotts Valley, Calif. |
| Rafael Macedo |
UC Irvine |
Senior |
Midfielder |
Los Angeles, Calif. |
| Alfonso Motagalvan |
UC Santa Barbara |
Senior |
Midfielder |
Gilroy, Calif. |
| Robert Pate |
Cal State Northridge |
Junior |
Defender |
Chatsworth, Calif. |
| Kyle Schmid |
UC Irvine |
Senior |
Defender |
Torrance, Calif. |
| Shane Westbrook |
UC Irvine |
Senior |
Defender |
St. Louis, Mo. |
| Jordan Vanderpoorten |
UC Davis |
Senior |
Defender |
La Verne, Calif. |
| Andrew Fontein |
UC Irvine |
Freshman |
Goalkeeper |
Las Vegas, Nev. |
| HONORABLE MENTION |
| Player |
School |
Year |
Position |
Hometown |
| Sule Anibaba |
UC Davis |
Senior |
Forward |
Davis, Calif. |
| Celso Alvarez |
Cal State Fullerton |
Sophomore |
Forward |
Los Angeles, Calif. |
| David Walker |
UC Santa Barbara |
Junior |
Forward |
Orange, Calif. |
| Gray Bailey |
UC Irvine |
Sophomore |
Midfielder |
Huntington Beach, Calif. |
| Joel Crompton |
UC Riverside |
Senior |
Midfielder |
Plesanton, Calif. |
| Paul Marcoux |
UC Davis |
Junior |
Midfielder |
Mountain View, Calif. |
| Luis Silva |
UC Santa Barbara |
Freshman |
Midfielder |
Los Angeles, Calif. |
| Chad Borak |
Cal State Northridge |
Junior |
Defender |
Palmdale, Calif. |
| Michael Boxall |
UC Santa Barbara |
Sophomore |
Defender |
Auckland, New Zealand |
| Michael Tetteh |
UC Santa Barbara |
Freshman |
Defender |
Accra, Ghana |
| + - Two-time All-Big West First Team selection |
2008 Big West Offensive Player of the Year
Quincy Amarikwa, UC Davis |
2008 Big West Midfielder of the Year
Dylan Curtis, UC Davis |
2008 Big West Defensive Player of the Year
David Sias, UC Irvine |
2008 Big West Co-Goalkeepers of the Year
Eric Branagan-Franco, Cal Poly
Kevin Guppy, Cal State Northridge |
2008 Big West Co-Freshmen of the Year
Patrick Sigler, Cal Poly
Andrew Fontein, UC Irvine |
2008 Big West Coach of the Year
George Kuntz, UC Irvine |