Dec. 15, 2009

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Seven Atlantic Coast Conference men’s soccer student-athletes were named to the 2009 College Soccer News (CSN) Men’s NCAA Division I All-America teams, including five of the 11 first-team honorees, as announced on Monday. Virginia goalkeeper Diego Restrepo, who spearheaded the Cavalier’s defense with a school-record 16 shutouts this season and led the team to its first National Championship since 1994, headlines the league’s first-teamers.

No. 2 Virginia captured its sixth NCAA Championship with a 3-2 penalty kick shootout win over top-ranked Akron following a 0-0 draw in the 2009 NCAA Championship final at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C. The title was the sixth for the Cavaliers in program history, having won the championship in 1989 and from 1991-94. Virginia (19-3-3) ended the season riding a 16-game unbeaten streak.

Joining Restrepo, who was also named the 2009 College Cup Defensive Most Valuable Player, on the first team were North Carolina senior defender Zach Loyd, Virginia sophomore midfielder Tony Tchani, Wake Forest junior midfielder and ACC Offensive Player of the Year Corben Bone, and Wake Forest junior defender and ACC Defensive Player of the Year Ike Opara.

Receiving second-team nods were Wake Forest’s senior forward Zack Schilawski and North Carolina’s junior midfielder Michael Farfan.

The ACC led all conferences with seven teams selected to the 2009 NCAA Men’s Soccer Tournament Field of 48 and owned 75 percent (3-of-4) College Cup teams (North Carolina, Virginia and Wake Forest). The league also finished with an impressive 15-2-1 record against non-conference opponents in this year’s NCAA Tournament.

ACC teams finished 77-20-7 against non-conference opposition during the 2009 season, a winning percentage of .774, and six of the league nine men’s soccer programs were ranked in the RPI Top 30, topping all other conferences in the country.