Five Deacons Earn NSCAA All-American Honors
12/14/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Dec. 14, 2008
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Five members of the Wake Forest men's soccer team were named All-Americans by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America. Midfielders Corben Bone and Sam Cronin, along with forward Marcus Tracy, were named first-team All-Americans.
Joining Bone, Cronin and Tracy on the NSCAA All-American team were second-team selection Ike Opara and Cody Arnoux, who was named to the third team.
Tracy and Opara notched their second All-American honors of the 2008 postseason. Both were named to Top Drawer Soccer's First Team of the Season. Arnoux and Cronin, who were both named All-Americans after the 2007 season, earned their first All-American honors of the 2008 season. Bone earned the first All-America accolades of his career, becoming the 19th All-American in program history and the 11th different player to earn first-team All-American honors.
Wake Forest had the most selections to the NSCAA All-American team with five. Six other schools placed two players each on the All-American squads.
A native of Plano, Texas, Bone played in all 24 games on the season, making 22 starts. He led the country with 17 assists on the season. The 17 assists also marked a school record for most assists in a single season. A first-team All-ACC selection, Bone also found the back of the net seven times on the season and was one of three Deacons to finish the 2008 season with more than 30 points.
Cronin, a two-time first team All-ACC selection, played and started every game on the season for the Deacons, extending his games started streak to 98 games. He is also the all-time leader in games played and games started at Wake Forest. A 2008 Hermann Trophy finalist, Cronin scored 10 goals and added four assists during the 2008 season. He also was named the winner of the 2008 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award.
A senior forward from Newtown, Conn., Tracy finished the 2008 season with 13 goals, 10 assists and 36 points. A 2008 Hermann Trophy finalist, Tracy was one of only two players in the country to finish the 2008 season with double-digit totals in goals and assists. Tracy registered points in 16 of the team's 24 games in 2008. Tracy finished his career ranked in the top 10 in points (83), goals (30) and assists (23) at Wake Forest.
One of the top central defenders in college soccer, Opara led a strong backline for Wake Forest that combined for 14 shutouts in 2008. For his defensive efforts, he was named the 2008 ACC Defensive Player of the Year. Opara also contributed for the explosive Wake Forest offense, scoring five goals.
A junior forward from Wilmington, N.C., Arnoux led Wake Forest with 17 goals and 42 points in 2008. A 2008 First Team All-ACC selection, Arnoux became the first Wake Forest player to exceed 40 points in a season since Scott Sealy finished the 2004 season with 44 points. After scoring only one goal in the first eight games of the season, Arnoux closed the season with 16 goals in the final 16 games.
For more information on the Wake Forest men's soccer team, visit WakeForestSports.com.
2008 NSCAA All-American Teams
First Team
GK, Jovan Bubonja, Jr., Illinois-Chicago, Chicago, Ill.
D, Calum Angus *, Sr., Saint Louis, Portsmouth, England
D, Matthew Besler, Sr., Notre Dame, Overland Park, Kan.
D, Omar Gonzalez *, Jr., Maryland, Dallas, Texas
D, Tennant McVea, Jr., Loyola (Md.), Belfast, Northern Ireland
M, Corben Bone, So., Wake Forest, Plano, Texas
M, Sam Cronin *, Sr., Wake Forest, Winston-Salem, N.C.
M, Andrei Gotsmanov, Sr., Creighton, Omaha, Neb.
M, Baggio Husidic, Jr., Illinois-Chicago, Libertyville, Ill.
F, Andre Akpan *, Jr., Harvard, Grand Prairie, Texas
F, Mike Grella *, Sr., Duke, Glen Cove, N.Y.
F, Marcus Tracy, Sr., Wake Forest, Newtown, Conn.
F, Steve Zakuani, So., Akron, London, England
Second Team
GK, Milos Kocic, Jr., Loyola (Md.), Leskovac, Serbia
D, Joel Gustafsson, Jr., St. John's, Queens, N.Y.
D, Ike Opara, So., Wake Forest, Durham, N.C.
D, Chris Schuler, Jr., Creighton, Omaha, Neb.
M, Alejandro Bedoya *, Sr., Boston College, Weston, Fla.
M, Michael Callahan, Sr., North Carolina, Cary, N.C.
M, Richard Jata, Sr., Campbell, Port Richey, Fla.
M, J.T. Noone, Jr., Temple, Harrisburg, Pa.
F, Quincy Amarikwa, Sr., Cal-Davis, Bakersfield, Calif.
F, Doug DeMartin, Sr., Michigan State, Mason, Mich.
F, Mike Fucito *, Sr., Harvard, Westford, Mass.
F, Daniel Revivo, Sr., Winthrop, Richmond Hill, Ontario
F, Chris Salvaggione, Sr., Charlotte, Monument, Colo.
Third Team
GK, Steward Ceus, Sr., Albany, Albany, N.Y.
D, Mark Blades, Jr., Northwestern, Lakewood, Ohio
D, Michael Holody, Sr., Michigan, Auburn Hills, Mich.
D, Yohance Marshall, Sr., South Florida, Tampa, Fla.
M, Anthony Ampaipitakwong, So., Akron, Carrollton, Texas
M, Joshua Boateng, Sr., Liberty, Lynchburg, Va.
M, Dylan Curtis, Sr., Cal-Davis, Pleasanton, Calif.
M, Craig Henderson, Sr., Dartmouth, Lower Hutt, N.H.
M, Brad Ring *, Sr., Indiana, Rockford, Ill.
F, Cody Arnoux *, Jr., Wake Forest, Wilmington, N.C.
F, Graciano Brito *, Sr., Quinnipiac, East Haven, Conn.
F, Samson Malijani, Jr., Fairleigh Dickinson, Lusaka, Zambia
F, Chris Pontius, Sr., UC-Santa Barbara, Yorba Linda, Calif.
F, O'Brian White *, Sr., Connecticut, Scarborough, Ontario
F, Andrew Wiedeman, So., California, San Ramon, Calif.
* indicates prior selection
