POMONA -- Cal Poly Pomona men's soccer senior defender
Nadeer Ghantous and junior midfielder
Jimmie Villalobos have been selected to the 2018 Division II Conference Commissioners Association (D2 CCA) All-West Region Team, it was announced Wednesday morning. Ghantous captured First Team honors for the third straight season while Villalobos earned a Second Team nod for the second consecutive year.
A four-time All-CCAA honoree, Ghantous has appeared in all 21 games this season for the Broncos, logging the most minutes of any field player for CPP (1,831). He has scored two goals in 2018, one in a 2-1 win over Notre Dame de Namur on Sept. 15 and the other in a 3-0 win at Cal State East Bay on Oct. 21. He anchors a defense that has posted a 1.12 goals against average and eight shutouts, three of which have come in the last four contests, all playoff matches. As a First Team selection, the senior from Hifa, Israel advances to the All-America ballot, and could potentially become the program's first three-time All-American. The 2018 D2 CCA All-America Team will be announced on Nov. 28.
Villalobos, hailing from Oasis, Calif., is the CCAA's fifth-leading scorer this season, netting nine goals, and new career-high, and has six more goals than any one else on the CPP roster in 2018. Three of his goals were game-winners, two of which were golden -- Aug. 31 against Montana State Billings and Sept. 15 against Notre Dame de Namur.
The D2 CCA All-Region and All-America Teams are nominated and voted on by the Sports Information Directors of NCAA Division II institutions that sponsor men's soccer.
The Cal Poly Pomona men's soccer team will play in the NCAA Division II West Region Championship match on Thursday for the fourth consecutive season. The Broncos won't have to travel far as they head to Azusa to take on the No. 2 seed in the West Region, Azusa Pacific. Kickoff on Thursday is set for 7:00 pm at the Cougar Soccer Complex. The winner of Thursday's match will play the winner of the South Central Region championship contest between West Texas A&M and Colorado Mesa on Saturday at 6:00 pm, also in Azusa, for the right to advance to the Final Four in Pittsburgh, Pa. in two weeks.
The Division II Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA) 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.
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2018 Division II Conference Commissioners Association (D2 CCA) Men's Soccer All-West Region Team
| FIRST TEAM |
| Pos |
Name |
School |
Yr |
Hometown |
| GK |
Alexander Brems |
Cal State L.A. |
Jr. |
Odense, Denmark |
| F |
Arturo Astorga |
Azusa Pacific |
Jr. |
El Paso, Texas |
| F |
Connor Gordon |
Concordia-Irvine |
Sr. |
Huntington Beach, Calif. |
| F |
Mamadi Camara (2016-2) |
Simon Fraser |
Sr. |
Montreal, Quebec |
| F |
Matteo Polisi (2017-1) |
Simon Fraser |
So. |
Coquitlam, British Columbia |
| MF |
Anthony Velarde (2017-2) |
Fresno Pacific |
Sr. |
Reedley, Calif. |
| MF |
Connor Glennon |
Simon Fraser |
Fr. |
Vernon, British Columbia |
| MF |
Danny Ortiz |
Cal State San Bernardino |
Sr. |
El Paso, Texas |
| MF |
Gabriel Costa |
Azusa Pacific |
Fr. |
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |
| D |
Aydan Bowers (2017-2) |
San Francisco State |
Sr. |
Murrieta, Calif. |
| D |
Isaac Bawa |
Azusa Pacific |
Fr. |
Accra, Ghana |
| D |
Michael North |
Simon Fraser |
Sr. |
Coquitlam, British Columbia |
| D |
Nadeer Ghantous (2017-1, 2016-1) |
Cal Poly Pomona |
Sr. |
Hifa, Israel |
|
| SECOND TEAM |
| Pos |
Name |
School |
Yr |
Hometown |
| GK |
Damion Lewis |
Chico State |
Sr. |
Miami, Fla. |
| F |
James Ndubueze |
Azusa Pacific |
So. |
Paderborn, Germany |
| F |
Jeremiah Egujie (2017-2) |
Chico State |
Sr. |
Benin City, Nigeria |
| F |
Robin Lindahl |
Cal State L.A. |
Jr. |
Lillestroem, Norway |
| F |
Tim Siegfried |
Point Loma |
So. |
Osterburken, Baden-Württemberg, Germany |
| MF |
Jimmie Villalobos (2017-2) |
Cal Poly Pomona |
Jr. |
Oasis, Calif. |
| MF |
Josh Santillian |
Notre Dame de Namur |
Fr. |
Union City, Calif. |
| MF |
Marcello Polisi (2017-1) |
Simon Fraser |
So. |
Coquitlam, British Columbia |
| MF |
Tim Klefisch |
Cal State L.A. |
Jr. |
Leverkusen, Germany |
| D |
Joost Mangert |
Simon Fraser |
Sr. |
Rotterdam, Netherlands |
| D |
Kyle Diaz |
Azusa Pacific |
Sr. |
San Diego, Calif. |
| D |
Moises Claudio (2017-2) |
Notre Dame de Namur |
Jr. |
Hawthorne, Calif. |
| D |
Morten Bjoershol |
Cal State L.A. |
So. |
Oslo, Norway |
|
| West Region Player of the Year: Matteo Polisi (So., F, Simon Fraser) |
|
| *Numbers in parentheses indicate previous D2CCA All-West Region selection - Season-Team (1=1st Team, 2=2nd Team) |
