BUIES
CREEK,
N.C. Josue Soto of Campbell University is one of 22 players
nationwide to be selected to the College Soccer News All-Freshman
teams. The 2007 Atlantic
Sun Conference player of the year, was a
second-team choice.
"This is a
great honor for Josue and we are proud of the way he assimilated
into the college game right away, said Campbell head coach Doug
Hess. "We truly believed each time he touched the ball that he was
a threat, whether he was looking for something himself or trying to
set up a teammate. Josue is an extremely talented individual and
played a huge part in our success this past fall."
Soto is the
second Camel to earn Freshman All-America honors in the last two
years. Sonny Guadarrama was
also a College Soccer News All-Freshman selection following the
2005 season. The unanimous
A-Sun Freshman of the Year in 2005, Guadarrama signed a
professional contract with Mexican first division club Santos
Laguna in 2006 and was recently transferred to Morelia. He is also a member of the Mexican
Sub-20 National Team.
"We look for
great things to come for Josue just as we did for Sonny," said
Hess.
Soto was also
named 2007 A-Sun Freshman of the Year and first-team
all-conference, while gaining third-team NSCAA
All-South Region recognition. He was also one of three players
named on every ballot for the A-Sun all-freshman team. Soto and Justin Fojo of the College of
Charleston were the only freshmen selected to the 33-man All-South
squad.
A Monterrey, Mexico native,
Soto was named MVP of the Richmond/Nike Challenge Cup, where the
Camels defeated Duquesne (2-1) and Richmond (2-1) to win their
first in-season tournament since 1988. He was also named A-Sun
Player of the Week once and was selected to the national teams of
the week by both Soccer America and College Soccer News on Sept.
17.
Soto's selection marked the
second time in three years that a Fighting Camel was named A-Sun
freshman of the year. Sonny Guadarrama earned the honor in 2005,
his only season at CU before he signed a professional contract with
Mexican club Santos.
In his first collegiate
season, the midfielder ranked fourth in the A-Sun with 22 points on
eight goals and six assists. He also ranked fourth in assists,
fifth in game-winning goals (3), points per game (1.0) and assists
per game (0.27), sixth in goals, and ninth in goals per game
(0.36). Soto led all A-Sun freshmen in points scored.
The Fighting Camels produced
a 13-6-3 overall record (5-2-2 in the Atlantic Sun Conference) and
claimed the A-Sun title with a pair of victories, plus a penalty
kick shootout decision in three days (Nov. 14-17) at DeLand,
Fla.
Despite the fact that the
Camels dropped a 2-0 decision at 20th-ranked Furman in the NCAA
first round, the program still enjoyed its second trip to the A-Sun
final in three years and earned a number-seven ranking in the final
regular season South Region poll.
College
Soccer News - 2007 First Team All-Freshman
Phil
Bannister - Forward - Loyola (MD)
Haris
Cekic - Forward - Furman
Andrew
Wiedeman - Forward - California
Bobby
Warshaw - Midfielder - Stanford
Brayan
Martinez - Midfielder - Seton Hall
Corben
Bone - Midfielder - Wake Forest
Piero
Bellizzi - Midfielder - Northwestern
Rodney
Wallace - Defender - Maryland
Jalil
Anibaba - Defender - Santa Clara
Ike
Opara - Defender - Wake Forest
Paul
Grandstrand - Goalkeeper Brown
College
Soccer News - 2007 Second Team All-Freshman
Steve
Zakuani - Forward - Akron
C.J.
Sapong - Forward - James Madison
Daniel
Cruz - Forward - UNLV
Kyle
Miller - Forward - Holy Cross
Josue
Soto - Midfielder - Campbell
Robby
Lynch - Midfielder - Evansville
A.
Ampaipitakwong - Midfielder - Akron
James
Shupp - Defender - Virginia Tech
Matt
Gold - Defender - Ohio State
Matt
Armstrong - Defender - Notre Dame
Austin
Guerrero - Goalkeeper - Portland