Simonsen Named to Capital One Academic All-District ® Team, Makes Program History
SILOAM SPRINGS, Ark. (October 31, 2013) -- For the first time in program history, a Golden Eagle men's soccer player has been named to the Capital One Academic All-District ® First Team as sophomore Eli Simonsen has been awarded the honors, the College Sports Information Directors of America organization announced today.
Simonsen, a sophomore from Klaksvik, Faroe Islands, has already turned in a career season as his 17 points in the 2013 campaign stands one point more than his entire output last season. His seven goals and two assists last season marked him as one of the most clutch Golden Eagle players, but his attention this season has been to distributing the ball. Simonsen has three goals on the 2013 slate of games, two of which are game-winners, but more importantly, he has dished out a career-high 11 assists, placing him at No. 8 in the nation in total assists and No. 11 in assists per game (0.73).
An International Business and Accounting major, Simonsen boasts a 3.40 GPA and has started all 16 games this season, including all 34 games, spanning two seasons.
The Golden Eagle men's soccer program has only experienced one other All-District nomination when Sasha Viatrov landed second team honors in 2010.
In order to be nominated, student-athletes have to maintain a 3.30 GPA and have played an entire season prior to 2013 for the nominating institution. The student-athletes are then voted on by sports information directors in their respective divisions.
First-team Academic All-District ® honorees advance to the Capital One Academic All-America ® Team ballot, where first-, second- and third-team All-America honorees will be selected in November.
The Academic All-District ® teams are divided into eight geographic districts across the United States and Canada. This is the second year of the expanded Academic All-America ® program as CoSIDA moved from recognizing a University Division (Division I) and a College Division (all non-Division I) and has doubled the number of scholar-athletes honored. The expanded teams include NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II and NCAA Division III participants, while the College Division Academic All-America® Team combines NAIA, Canadian and two-year schools.
The 2013-14 Capital One Academic All-District ® Men's and Women's Soccer Teams, selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America, have been released to recognize the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances athletically and in the classroom. Capital One has been the entitlement rights holder to CoSIDA's Academic All-America teams programs since 2011.
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