2012 NAIA Men's Soccer All-America Teams Announced
By Chad Waller, Director of Communications and Sports Information
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) announced the 2012 NAIA Men's Soccer All-America teams on Monday. The NAIA All-America committee consists of the NAIA-Men's Soccer Coaches Association Executive Committee, the championship games committee and two men's soccer coaches based on geography. There were 11 members on each of the first Team, second Team and third Teams, and then an additional honorable mention list.
Mobile (Ala.) senior midfielder Stephen Okai (pictured top right), a native of Accra, Ghana, was honored as the Select Sport America-NAIA Men's Soccer National Player of the Year. Since the awards inception in 1997, Okai becomes the first Ram to be National Player of the Year in men's soccer.
Okai was part of a program to go 17-5-2 on the season and a runner-up finish in the NAIA National Championship. He started in 23 games and tied for second on the team in assists (9) and tallied 10 goals and 29 points. The Southern States Athletic Conference Player of the Year collected a season-best three assists against Florida Memorial on Aug. 24 and went for two goals on two different occasions this year. His goal in the 82nd minute put Mobile on the board and propelled the squad to a 2-1 semifinal victory over MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) in the NAIA National Championship.
Okai now stands as a three-time NAIA All-American after receiving second team status in 2011 and first team accolades in 2010.
Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) and Rio Grande (Ohio), two rivals in the Mid-South Conference, each placed a school-high four individuals on the All-America first, second and third teams. Lindsey Wilson adds to its NAIA-best total of all-time All-Americans with 65. Both Concordia (Calif.) and Auburn Montgomery (Ala.) had three players named.
National champion Belhaven (Miss.) landed Will Monsour on the third team.
The 2012 Select Sport America-NAIA Men's Soccer National Coach of the Year will be announced at the National Soccer Coaches' Association of America (NSCAA) National Convention held in Indianapolis, Ind., from Jan. 16 - 20.
2012 NAIA Men's Soccer All-America Teams
| First Team (sorted by position) | ||||
| Player | School | Pos. | Yr. | Hometown |
| Felipe Silva | Hannibal-LaGrange (Mo.) | F | Jr. | Belo Horizonte, Brazil |
| Christian Ramirez | Concordia (Calif.) | F | Sr. | Garden Grove, Calif. |
| Jordan Green | Hastings (Neb.) | F | Sr. | Lincoln, Neb. |
| Richard Isberner & | Rio Grande (Ohio) | F | Sr. | Sao Paulo, Brazil |
| Stephen Okai^ * | Mobile (Ala.) | MF | Sr. | Accra, Ghana |
| Miguel Jimenez | Missouri Valley | MF | Jr. | Madrid, Spain |
| Lebogang Moloto & | Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) | MF | Sr. | Polokwane, South Africa |
| Fernando Galvan | Benedictine (Kan.) | D | Sr. | Kansas City, Mo. |
| Scott Parkinson | Science & Arts (Okla.) | D | Jr. | Liverpool, England |
| Nikola Velickovic * | Columbia (Mo.) | D | Sr. | Cacak, Serbia |
| Vignir Johannesson | Auburn Montomgery (Ala.) | GK | Jr. | Kopavogur, Iceland |
| ^ 2012 Select Sport America-NAIA National Player of the Year | ||||
| Second Team (sorted by position) | ||||
| Player | School | Pos. | Yr. | Hometown |
| Septi Danciu | Concordia (Ore.) | F | Jr. | Bristita, Romania |
| Joe Sbarro | Benedictine (Kan.) | F | Jr. | Kansas City, Mo. |
| Agust Arnarson | Auburn Montgomery (Ala.) | F | Fr. | Kopavogur, Iceland |
| Oliver Hewitt-Fisher | Rio Grande (Ohio) | MF | Sr. | Swansea, Wales |
| Gaetan Massiah | Mobile (Ala.) | MF | Fr. | Bordeaux, France |
| Yazeed Davids | Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) | MF | Fr. | Cape Town, South Africa |
| Luis Trude | William Carey (Miss.) | MF | So. | Sao Paulo, Brazil |
| Christopher Dillon * | Mobile (Ala.) | D | Sr. | Bournemouth, England |
| Sicelo Buthelezi | Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) | D | Sr. | Johannesburg, South Africa |
| Matias Aristegui | Auburn Montgomery (Ala.) | D | Sr. | North Miami, Fla. |
| Julio Trejo | Concordia (Calif.) | GK | Jr. | Garden Grove, Calif. |
| Third Team (sorted by position) | ||||
| Player | School | Pos. | Yr. | Hometown |
| Perry Sansford | Science & Arts (Okla.) | F | Jr. | Colchester, England |
| Emeka Maduka | Southern Poly (Ga.) | F | Sr. | Lagos, Nigeria |
| Eddy Campbell | Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) | F | Sr. | Montigo Bay, Jamaica |
| Will Monsour | Belhaven (Miss.) | F | Jr. | Shreveport, La. |
| Nathan Would | Thomas (Ga.) | MF | Sr. | Cleethorpes, England |
| Thiago Pereira | Hannibal-LaGrange (Mo.) | MF | Sr. | Belo Horizonte, Brazil |
| Daniel Pena | Southern Wesleyan (S.C.) | MF | So. | Bogota, Colombia |
| Brian Kudron | Hastings (Neb.) | D | Sr. | Omaha, Neb. |
| Omar De La Piedra | Concordia (Calif.) | D | Jr. | Los Angeles, Calif. |
| Mike Burney | Rio Grande (Ohio) | D | Sr. | Annandale, Va. |
| Jack Marchant | Rio Grande (Ohio) | GK | Sr. | Leeds, England |
& 2011 NAIA First Team All-Americans
* 2011 NAIA Second Team All-Americans
| Honorable Mention (sorted by school) | |
| Player | School |
| Tyler Fischer | Aquinas (Mich.) |
| Lucas Almeida | Ashford (Iowa) |
| Tom Cosgrave | Belhaven (Miss.) |
| James Anderson | Brescia (Ky.) |
| William Prado | Concordia (Calif.) |
| Kyle Breckan | Cornerstone (Mich.) |
| Fabio Pena | Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) |
| Isaac Sanchez | Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) |
| Ryan Adamson | Grand View (Iowa) |
| Ross Alexander | Grand View (Iowa) |
| Juan Guzman | Great Falls (Mont.) |
| Liam Barrett | Illinois Tech |
| Jade Johnson | Jamestown (N.D.) |
| Jose Velasco | Kansas Wesleyan |
| Francisco Cantero | Kansas Wesleyan |
| Yuta Nomura | Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) |
| Amaury Barritault | Martin Methodist (Tenn.) |
| Johnny Nuthall | McPherson (Kan.) |
| Andrew Cota | Menlo (Calif.) |
| Eric Angell | Menlo (Calif.) |
| Chris Eriksson | MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) |
| Chrispin Ocheing | Milligan (Tenn.) |
| Marcus Johansson | Northwood (Fla.) |
| Gordy Gurson | Robert Morris (Ill.) |
| Oliver Gore | Rocky Mountain (Mont.) |
| Nick Heffernan | Rocky Mountain (Mont.) |
| Brinton Nute | SCAD Savannah (Ga.) |
| Bryan Byars | Science & Arts (Okla.) |
| Dennis Kramer | Southern Poly (Ga.) |
| Douglas Andrade | Southern Wesleyan (S.C.) |
| David Edwardson | Spring Arbor (Mich.) |
| Jhona Rico | St. Thomas (Fla.) |
| Ricardo Diegues | Texas at Brownsville |
| Henry Moody | Texas at Brownsville |
| Johannes Fortspointer | William Carey (Miss.) |
