Senior co-captain and defender Jonathan Shum and sophomore midfielder Matthew Davey of the UCSD men’s soccer team were each named to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America/Adidas 2003 Division II All-America First Team on Jan. 6.
The duo helped lead the Tritons to their first ever NCAA Division II postseason appearance in 2003. UCSD, which led the California Collegiate Athletic Association for most of the regular season, earned a wild-card berth in the conference playoffs, where they upset four-time defending champion Cal State Dominguez Hills, 2-1, in the semifinals before falling to Chico State in the CCAA final.
Although UCSD lost in the conference championship, the Tritons were still given a berth into the Division II Championship, where they again were upended by eventual national runner-up Chico State in the Far West Regional Semifinal, 2-0, ending UCSD’s season with an overall record of 11-7-1.
Shum started all 18 games that he played in, missing the Tritons’ final contest of the season due to a one-game suspension after receiving a red card in the CCAA Final. He anchored the UCSD defense, which allowed more than two goals in only three games this season and gave up an average of 1.6 scores per match.
Starting every game for UCSD, Davey was the Tritons’ leading scorer in 2003. He posted team bests in goals scored (eight) and assists (eight), and he was third on shots attempted with 37. Two of the midfielder’s eight goals were game winners.
aIt’s kind of nice to see him get [the honor] in his sophomore year,”” UCSD head coach Derek Armstrong said. “”He’s kind of getting ahead of himself a little bit.””
Shum and Davey were among two other CCAA men’s soccer players to be named to the 11-man All-America First Team. Chico State’s senior goalkeeper Dominic Jakubek and junior midfielder Victor Guerrero of Cal State Dominguez Hills were the other two conference players to earn the distinction.
East Stroudsburg University and Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville were the only other institutions to have two players named on the First Team.
“”The fact that we had two members of our team selected speaks quite nicely for the program,”” Armstrong said.
This marked the first time UCSD players earned All-America honors since forward Bobby Saadati earned a selection to the First Team in 2000.
