Kljestan Earns Men's Soccer All-America Honors

Sacha Kljestan

SOUTH ORANGE, NJ – Seton Hall junior midfielder Sacha Kljestan (Huntington Beach, Calif.) was named to the 2005 National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)/adidas Men’s Division I All-America Third team announced on Friday afternoon. Kljestan was named to the First Team last year, making him just the fourth Pirates men’s soccer player to earn multiple All-America honors, joining Pat O’Kelly (1988-89), Jim Hanna (1949-51) and Bill Sheppell (1948, 1950).

Kljestan capped an outstanding junior year by leading the Pirates with a career-high 33 points on nine goals and 15 assists. Kljestan set a Seton Hall single-season mark for assists and ranked second in the NCAA with 0.75 assists-per-game. For his efforts, Kljestan was named the BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year after directing SHU to a second-place finish in the Blue Division. He was responsible for directing an offense that ranked fourth in the NCAA with 2.55 goals per game and outscored opponents, 51-22. Among his highlights this year, was scoring the only goal in a 1-0 win over third-ranked Connecticut and posting two assists in SHU’s 2-1 win over Hartwick in the NCAA Tournament First Round.

Kljestan, who was among 15 semifinalists for the M.A.C. Hermann Trophy, was not among the three finalists also named on Friday. Three First Team All-Americans, Jason Garey (Maryland), Jeff Rowland (New Mexico) and Brian Plotkin (Indiana), will vie for college soccer’s player of the year award, which will be announced on January 6.

The Pirates finished the season with a 13-4-3 mark and advanced to the NCAA Tournament Second Round for the first time since 2001.

2005 adidas/NSCAA Men’s Division I All-America Team

FIRST TEAM
Chris Dunsheath, GK, Sr., Bradley
Greg Dalby, D, Jr., Notre Dame
Tyson Wahl, D, Sr., California
Marvel Wynne, D, So., UCLA
Medi Ballouchy, M, Jr., Santa Clara*
Scott Jones, M, Jr., UNC Greensboro*
Yohann Mauger, M, Sr., Akron
Brian Plotkin, M, Sr., Indiana
Jason Garey, F, Sr., Maryland*
Ross McKenzie, F, Sr., Akron
Jeff Rowland, F, Sr., New Mexico*
Willie Sims, F, Jr., Cal State-Northridge

SECOND TEAM
Phil Marfuggi, GK, Jr., Clemson
Patrick Ianni, D, Jr., UCLA
Julius James, D, So., Connecticut
John Latting, D, Sr., Davidson
Blake Camp, M, Sr., Duke*
Dax McCarty, M, So., North Carolina
Ryan McMahen, M, Sr., Michigan State
Sinisa Ubiparipoivic, M, Jr., Akron
Ryan Anderson, F, So., Missouri State
Calen Carr, F, Sr., California
Duke Hashimoto, F, Sr., Southern Methodist
Aaron King, F, Sr., North Carolina State
Randi Patterson, F, Jr., UNC Greensboro*

THIRD TEAM
Tally Hall, GK, Jr., San Diego State
Andrew Boyens, D, Jr., New Mexico
Andy Iro, D, So., UC Santa Barbara
Nathan Sturgis, D, So., Clemson
Matt Wieland, D, Sr., Creighton
Jed Zayner, D, Jr., Indiana
Mike Chabala, M, Sr., Washington
Matt Groenwald, M, Sr., St. John’s
Lance Watson, M, Sr., New Mexico
Brian Cvilikas, F, Sr., Old Dominion
Willy Guadarama, F, So., Campbell
SACHA KLJESTAN, F, Jr., Seton Hall*
Jacob Peterson, F, Jr., Indiana

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