Alex Caskey Named to NCCSIA All-State Team
BUIES CREEK, N.C. - Davidson senior midfielder Alex Caskey was one of twelve student-athletes from six universities to be named to the 2010 North Carolina Collegiate Sports Information Association (NCCSIA) University Division All-State Men's Soccer Team Thursday.
The team consists of NCAA Division I student-athletes from North Carolina colleges and universities. Nominees were submitted by North Carolina sports information professionals. NCCSIA members voted for the all-state teams.
The All-State soccer teams include one goalkeeper, three defenders, four midfielders and three forwards, plus any players included in ties. Teams are selected for men and women in both the college and university (NCAA Division I) divisions.
Among the 12 honored, eight, including Caskey, were also named to the NSCAA all-region teams, while Karo Okiomah of High Point also added third-team NSCAA All-America honors. Indy Smith of UNC Wilmington earned all-state honors for the third time in his career.
Caskey, a two-year team captain who played in and started all 76 Davidson matches the past four years, led the Wildcats in scoring this season with a career-best 18 points on seven goals and four assists, and was named to the Southern Conference All-Conference first team for the third-consecutive season by the league's coaches. Four of his seven goals were game-winners, including the decisive goal in the 'Cats win over eventual NCAA Tournament at-large selection College of Charleston in the first round of the Southern Conference tournament. During the regular season, he scored the Wildcats' lone goal in 1-0 wins over Campbell, Gardner-Webb (OT) and Virginia Tech. Caskey also tallied an assist in Davidson's draw with No. 13 UC Santa Barbara and a goal against No. 10 Duke.
This is Caskey's second selection to the NCCSIA All-State team. He was one of four players selected from the Southern Conference.
Founded in 2002, The North Carolina Collegiate Sports Information Association (NCCSIA) is composed of sports information professionals from NCAA Division I, II, III, NAIA and independent institutions from the state of North Carolina. The purpose of the organization is to promote collegiate athletics at all schools. Membership is open to anyone affiliated with a college, university or conference located in North Carolina, and whose area of responsibility lies within sports information.
NCSSIA selects all-state teams in the University (Division I) and College (Division II, III, NAIA) divisions for men's and women's basketball, men's and women's soccer, volleyball, softball and baseball.
Thomas Selected to All-State Men's Soccer Team
BUIES CREEK, N.C. - Elon sophomore Chris Thomas was one of 12 student-athletes selected to the 2010 North Carolina Collegiate Sports Information Association (NCCSIA) University Division All-State Men's Soccer Team. Thomas, the Southern Conference Player of the Year, was the lone player from Elon and one of four league players on the team. The native of Snellville, Ga. had an impressive second season in the maroon and gold, scoring a team-high 10 goals.
Thomas was named first-team all-conference after scoring the most goals in the league during the regular season. He was honored on the NSCAA All-South Region first team and earned a major league award for the second consecutive year after being the conference rookie of the year in 2009. The forward knocked in three game-winning goals, including the lone score in Elon's first-ever win over Old Dominion. Thomas had a stretch of five straight games during September when he scored a goal, earning SoCon Player of the Month honors.
Founded in 2002, The North Carolina Collegiate Sports Information Association (NCCSIA) is composed of sports information professionals from NCAA Division I, II, III, NAIA and independent institutions from the state of North Carolina. The purpose of the organization is to promote collegiate athletics at all schools. NCCSIA members voted for the all-state teams.
Byrd, Ilhan named to NCCSIA All-State Team
BUIES CREEK, N.C. - UNCG defender Kris Byrd and forward Hakan Ilhan were named to the North Carolina Collegiate Sports Information Association University Division All-State Men's Soccer Team, the NCCSIA announced Thursday.
The 12-member team consists of NCAA Division I student-athletes from North Carolina colleges and universities. Nominees were submitted by North Carolina sports information professionals. NCCSIA members voted for the all-state teams.
Byrd, a redshirt junior from Huntersville, N.C., started all 22 games for the Spartans, anchoring a defense that posted seven shutouts on the season, second-most in the Southern Conference. In his first season at UNCG after transferring from NC State, Byrd earned a spot on the All-SoCon First Team. He had one point on one assist this season, that coming in a 4-2 win over Wofford on Oct. 19.
Ilhan, a first-team All-SoCon selection, also earned National Soccer Coaches Association of America/Performance Subaru All-South Region Second Team honors this season. The sophomore from Stuttgart, Germany, led the SoCon with 31 points on a league-leading 12 goals and seven assists, which ranked second in the SoCon. Ilhan, also in his first year at UNCG, finished the season 10th in NCAA Division I in points and 12th in goals. Ilhan was the SoCon Player of the Month for October and was named to the SoCon Championship All-Tournament Team.
The duo helped UNCG to a 12-6-4 overall record and a 4-1-2 mark in league play as the Spartans shared the regular-season SoCon crown and took the top seed at the SoCon Championship. Byrd and Ilhan were instrumental in UNCG's winning its fifth SoCon tournament title, as Ilhan scored all four Spartan goals in the tournament and Byrd was part of a defense that allowed just one goal in three games - two of which went to overtime.
UNCG took an 11-match unbeaten streak into the NCAA tournament, going 8-0-3 after a 4-5-1 start.
North Carolina Collegiate Sports Information Association
2010 University Division All-State Men's Soccer Team
Nominated by North Carolina Sports Information professionals / Selected by NCCSIA members
Pos. Name Class School Hometown
GK Michael Chesler * Jr. High Point Highlands, Utah
D Kris Byrd * R-Jr. UNCG Huntersville, N.C.
D Charles Rodriguez * Jr. Charlotte Franklin, Tenn.
D Indy Smith *** Sr. UNC Wilmington Black Mountain, N.C.
MF Alex Caskey ** Sr. Davidson Dunwoody, Ga.
MF Tyler Gibson * Fr. Charlotte Nashville, Tenn.
MF Fejiro Okiomah * So. High Point Austin, Texas
MF Shawn Sloan * So. High Point Geneva, Ill.
MF Donnie Smith * So. Charlotte Matthews, N.C.
F Hakan Ilhan * So. UNCG Stuttgart, Germany
F Karo Okiomah * Jr. High Point Austin, Texas
F Chris Thomas ** So. Elon Snellville, Ga.
* indicates number of career all-state selections