POMONA, Calif. - - A trio of Wildcats have been named to the 2019 Division II Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA) Men's Soccer All-America Team, headlined by junior forward Lorne Bickley being named the 2019 Ron Lenz National Player of the Year.
Sports Information Directors from NCAA Division II schools and conferences sponsoring men's soccer selected the D2CCA All-America Team. The process begins at the regional level with all First Team All-Region picks advancing to the national ballot. This marks the 14th year that teams have been selected since the All-America program began in 2006.
In addition to Lorne Bickley (St. Helier, Jersey) being named the Ron Lenz National Player of the Year, he was voted First Team All-American with teammate Joe Bell (Epsom, England). Junior classmate Shawn Genus was voted Second Team All-American for his work this season as well.
Bickley leads the nation with 26 goals and 54 points as the Wildcats posted a 17-3-1 record and qualified for the NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Championship Tournament in back-to-back seasons for the first time in program history before falling in the Second Round as the No. 5 seed in the Super Region 1 bracket.
Named the Player of the Year in both the East Region and the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC), Bickley also leads all of Division II in goals per match (1.24) and points per match (2.57). Over the course of the season, he converted a goal in 14 of the 21 games he appeared in, posting three hat tricks, a stretch of eight consecutive games in which he scored a goal, and a season-high four goals in an 8-1 victory over Felician back on Sept. 21. A three-time All-Region selection, this is the first D2CCA All-America award for Bickley. He also scored three goals and had an assist in the first game of the year after missing all of 2018 with an injury.
Bickley becomes the second men's soccer student-athlete from the East Region to win the Ron Lenz National Player of the Year honor, an award given out to the top men's soccer student-athlete in the nation every year since 2006. The first student-athlete in the East Region to win the nation's Player of the Year honor was Eivind Austboe of LIU Post (NY) back in 2013.
The forward joins Jefferson's (Philadelphia University) Christian Burns ('07) and University of the Sciences men's basketball's Garret Kerr ('15) as CACC student-athletes that have been named National Player of the Year. Kerr was a two-time National Player of the Year for the Devils.
The Ron Lenz National Player of the Year award was named for long-time South Dakota State sports information director Ron Lenz in 2008. Lenz was instrumental in the foundation of the D2 CCA All-America program, which honors outstanding student-athletes across eight NCAA Division II sports.
Joe Bell picks up his second All-American award this week, also being named Third Team by the United Soccer Coaches organization. Bell has seized every opportunity this year, earning two First Team All-Region honors, CACC Defensive Player of the Year, First Team All-CACC. As a centerback, he has scored eight goals and dished out two assists, being the focal point on set plays and corners. Having only seen action in 12 games in his first two years, Bell took over the starting position as a junior and took full advantage of the chance as a senior. He finishes his career with nine goals, four assists, and making 40 starts on the back line.
This is the first All-American honor for Shawn Genus, picking up Second Team Honors. He finished third in all of Division II with 12 assists on the year, scoring 11 more for 34 points. The center midfielder scored a season high five points with two goals and an assist at Nyack on October 26. He was a First Team All-CACC, First Team United Soccer Coaches All-Region, and First Team D2CCA All-Region honoree in his first season with the Wildcats.
Azusa Pacific, Bellarmine, Cal State LA, Lake Erie and Wilmington (Del.) all led the way with three All-America selections, while Charleston, Fort Hays State and Wingate had two selections.
A total of 39 student-athletes from 26 institutions are represented on the three All-America Teams.
The Division II Conference Commissioners Association encourages and promotes Division II athletics and high standards of sportsmanship as important elements of higher education. The CCA is a key communications link among the conferences as they discuss views, policies and regulations that impact Division II intercollegiate athletics and works closely with the NCAA as a communications channel to NCAA Division II member colleges and universities.
AGATE
2019 Division II Conference Commissioners Association Men's Soccer All-America Team
FIRST TEAM
Pos Name School Yr Hometown
GK Alexander Brems Cal State LA Sr. Odense, Denmark
F Lorne Bickley Wilmington (Del.) Jr. St. Helier, Jersey
F Sergio Diaz Post University Jr. Madrid, Spain
F Paul Ngongo Wingate Fr. Copenhagen, Denmark
F Jimmie Villalobos Cal Poly Pomona Sr. Oasis, Calif.
MF Arturo Astorga Azusa Pacific Sr. El Paso, Texas
MF Jonathon Carr Lake Erie College Sr. Sunderland, United Kingdom
MF Ryan King Clayton State Sr. County Durham, England
MF Christian Ramos Harding Sr. Denton, Texas
D Isaac Bawa Azusa Pacific So. Accra, Ghana
D Joe Bell Wilmington (Del.) Sr. Epsom, England
D Morten Bjoershol Cal State LA Jr. Oslo, Norway
D Jason Zobott Colorado School of Mines Sr. Lake in the Hills, Ill.
SECOND TEAM
Pos Name School Yr Hometown
GK Tom John Lake Erie College Jr. Ahrensburg, Germany
F Santiago Agudelo Fort Hays State Sr. Frisco, Texas
F Brandon Madsen Saint Martin's Sr. Auburn, Wash.
F James Ndubueze Azusa Pacific Jr. Paderborn, Germany
F Javier Steinwascher Indianapolis Sr. Sterling Heights, Mich.
MF Elliot Cutts Wingate Sr. London, England
MF Jasminko Dizdarevic Urbana Sr. St. Charles, Ill.
MF Micah Linscott Bellarmine Jr. Radcliffe, Ky.
MF Shawn Genus Wilmington (Del.) Jr. St. Elizabeth, Jamaica
D Omar Oliveros-Alvarez Lake Erie College Sr. Gijon, Spain
D Jordi Ramon Charleston Jr. Valencia, Spain
D Sergio Villalba Fort Hays State Sr. Asuncion, Paraguay
D Eddie Williamson Bellarmine Jr. Stockholm, Sweden
THIRD TEAM
Pos Name School Yr Hometown
GK Dillon Dean Rogers State Jr. Mustang, Okla.
F Tomas Bernedo Bellarmine Sr. Santiago, Chile
F Andrea DiSomma Lock Haven Fr. Lancaster, Pa.
F Alex Lee Yaw Gannon Jr. Jamestown, NY
F Dylan Ruiz Roberts Wesleyan So. Mexico City, Mexico
MF Christos Charalambous Charleston So. Nicosia, Cyprus
MF David Elizaga Cal State LA Jr. Madrid, Spain
MF Alex VonHalle UCCS Sr. Midland, Texas
MF Ollie Wright St. Mary's (Texas) Jr. London, England
D Rodrigo Fernandez Lynn Sr. Mexico City, Mexico
D Garrett Hogbin Chico State Jr. Mission Viejo, Calif.
D Toby Sims Chowan Jr. Tuxford, England
D Iwan Webster Maryville Jr. Liverpool, United Kingdom
Ron Lenz National Player of the Year: Lorne Bickley (Jr., F, Wilmington-DE)
Ron Lenz National Player of the Year History:
2006 - John Cunliffe (Fort Lewis)
2007 - Leandro Pereira (Lincoln Memorial)
2008 - Steven Beattie (Northern Kentucky)
2009 - Sam Charles (Montana State Billings)
2010 - Steven Beattie (Northern Kentucky)
2011 - Mark Anderson (Barry)
2012 - Kenny Hogg (Palm Beach Atlantic)
2013 - Eivind Austboe (LIU Post)
2014 - Ilija Ilic (Young Harris)
2015 - Nathan Regis (Pfeiffer)
2016 - Nathan Regis (Pfeiffer)
2017 - Aidan Apodoca (California Baptist)
2018 - Santiago Agudelo (Fort Hays State)
2019 – Lorne Bickley (Wilmington-DE)