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Dec. 8, 2000
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – University of Virginia men’s soccer soccer players Alecko Eskandarian (Montvale, N.J.), Kyle Martino (Westport, Conn./Staples) and Ryan Gibbs (West Chester, Pa./East) were named to the 2000 National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Adidas All-South Atlantic Teams. Eskandarian and Martino were selected to the NSCAA first team, while Gibbs gathered third team honors. In all, eight different Virginia Division I men’s soccer programs were represented by the chosen squads.
Eskandarian, a first-year forward, put together an outstanding season of play in his first year of collegiate action. He was recently named the Virginia Division I Men’s Soccer Player of the Year by the Virginia Sports Information Directors (VaSID). Eskandarian was also named the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Rookie of the Year, an All-ACC First Team selection, the ACC Player of the Week (Sept. 4) and to the Soccer America Team of the Week (Sept. 11). He tied a Virginia freshman record for goals scored in a season by scoring a team-high 16 goals, and set a new UVa record for most points scored by a freshman in a single season after recording a team-high 38 points for the Cavaliers. Eskandarian also tied for the team lead with six assists. He posted four game-winning goals (second on the team) and dished-out a team-high three game-winning assists. Eskandarian started 22 of the 24 games he appeared in and tallied 1,858 minutes of action.
Martino, a second-year midfielder, recorded 1,647 minutes of playing time after starting 22 of the 22 games he appeared in. He finished fifth on the team in scoring with 14 points resulting from a team-high six assists to go along with four goals. Martino is a First Team All-ACC selection, named to the 2000 ACC All-Tournament team and was named a First Team All-State choice by VaSID. He was chosen a Second Team Preseason All-American by Soccer America and is one of 15 players named as a Hermann Trophy finalist. Martino was also selected to Soccer America’s Team of the Week (Sept. 6) and was the MVP of the Virginia Soccer Classic Tournament.
Gibbs, a second-year forward, recorded 1,367 minutes of playing time after starting 16 of the 22 games he appeared in. He finished second on the team in scoring with 29 points resulting from 12 goals (second on team) and five assists. Gibbs scored a team-high five game-winning goals and added one game-winning assist. He was named to the 2000 ACC All-Tournament team.
Here is a look at the 2000 NSCAA Adidas All-South Atlantic Division I Men’s Soccer Team:
First Team
Pos. Name School
GK Dean Short Liberty
D Kevin Knott William & Mary
D Craig Ziadie Richmond
D Nick Downing Maryland
MF Kyle Martino Virginia
MF Carlos Mendes Old Dominion
MF Reggie Rivers James Madison
MF David Wood James Madison
F Juliano Celenza UMBC
F Alecko Eskandarian Virginia
F Eduardo Lima George Mason
F Jose Gomez Liberty
Second Team
Pos. Name School
GK Rob Beatty Loyola (Md.)
D Levi Strayer James Madison
D Niall Lepper Loyola (Md.)
D Andy Wells UMBC
D Caleb Stoddart William & Mary
MF Jon Frias Radford
MF Ramon Otten Virginia Commonwealth
MF Matt Gormley UMBC
F Alfonzo DeMares Towson
F Abe Thompson Maryland
F Kenny Owens Georgetown
F Mike Paisant Navy
Third Team
Pos. Name School
GK Brian Steckroth Navy
GK Shawn Alexander Richmond
D Ben Strawbridge Liberty
D Derek Avilez Liberty
MF Jon Tihen Richmond
MF Rob Birch Maryland
MF Kian Brownlee Liberty
MF Nino Marcantonio American
F Ryan Gibbs Virginia
F Todd Lauber Towson
F Attila Vendegh Old Dominion
F Matt Osborn George Washington
F T.J. Rolfing Radford