Dec. 11, 2008

Four UCLA men's soccer players were honored as 2008 NSCAA All-Far West Region selections. Junior midfielder Michael Stephens was named to the first team, while seniors Brad Rusin, Jason Leopoldo and Maxwell Griffin were selected to the second team.

Stephens, the 2008 Pac-10 Player of the Year, led UCLA in scoring with 23 points, was second on the squad in goals scored with seven and tied for the team and Pac-10 lead with nine assists. He was also named to Top Drawer Soccer's National Team of the Season.

Rusin earned first-team All-Pac-10 acclaim and was selected to the second-team Top Drawer Soccer Team of the Season. A team co-captain, Rusin led an inexperienced defensive group to eight shutouts, including six consecutive, while scoring a career-high three goals and two assists.

Leopoldo was also a first-team All-Pac-10 honoree and finished the year tied for the team and Pac-10 lead with nine assists. He also ranked third on the team in scoring with 15 points.

Griffin, a first-team All-Pac-10 and second-team Pac-10 All-Academic selection, led the Bruins in goals scored for the second-straight season with a career-high 10 and ranked second in points with 22.

2008 NSCAA/adidas NCAA Division I Men All-Far West Region Teams

First Team
GK - Stefan Frei, Jr., California
D - David Sias, Sr., UC Irvine
D - Patrick Sigler, Fr., Cal Poly
D - Tyler Barry, Sr., California
M - Dylan Curtis, Sr., UC Davis
M - George John, Sr., Washington
M - Matt Murphy, Sr., UC Irvine
M - Michael Stephens, Jr., UCLA
F - Andrew Wiedeman, So., California
F - Chris Pontius, Sr., UCSB
F - Quincy Amarikwa, Sr., UC Davis

Second Team
GK - Eric Branagan-Franco, Sr., Cal Poly
D - Nick Cardenas, Jr., San Diego State
D - Brad Rusin, Sr., UCLA
D - Alfonso Motagalvan, Sr., UCSB
M - Jason Leopoldo, Sr., UCLA
M - Nick Cukar, Jr., San Jose State
M - Sunghyun Kim, Jr., Cal State Northridge
M - Lamar Neagle, Sr., UNLV
F - Maxwell Griffin, Sr., UCLA
F - Justin Davis, Jr., New Mexico
F - Conor Chinn, Jr., San Francisco

Third Team
GK - Joe Willis, So., Denver
D - Simon Ejdemyr, Jr., New Mexico
D - Babajide Ogunbiyi, Sr., Santa Clara
D - AJ Soares, So., California
M - Anton Peterlin, Sr., Cal Poly
M - Joey Mathot, Sr., Denver
M - Rafa Baca, So., Loyola Marymount
M - Hector Jimenez, So., California
F - Kyle Christensen, Sr., Denver
F - Tye Perdido, Jr., Gonzaga
F - Kyle Montgomery, So., Cal Poly