Dec. 6, 2007

BERKELEY - California junior Michael Nieraeth and sophomore Evan Sassano earned spots on the Pac-10 All-Academic men's soccer second team and senior Luke Sassano and sophomore Imaan Kerchgani earned honorable mention conference honors, Pac-10 commissioner Tom Hansen announced today.

Nieraeth, a reserve midfielder from Lakewood, Calif., has a 3.31 grade-point average as an integrative biology major. He played in 14 games this year, started six of them, and recorded an assist in Cal's 2-1 win against Washington on Oct. 5. Nieraeth was a Pac-10 All-Academic honorable mention selection last year.

Evan Sassano, a defender from Orinda, Calif., has a 3.43 GPA. He appeared in 17 matches and started 16 of them. Sassano, who was a contributor to the Golden Bears' stingy defense all season, notched an assist against San Diego State on Oct. 12.

Luke Sassano, a senior from Orinda, Calif., concluded his Cal career with the Bears' 3-2 loss to Virginia Tech in the second round of the College Cup last Wednesday in Blacksburg, Va. Sassano's efforts on the field this year also earned him a spot on the All-Pac-10 first team. He ended the season tied for the team lead in assists with five. He scored his lone goal of the campaign on Senior Day in Cal's 3-1 victory over UCLA.

Kerchgani, a reserve midfielder from San Jose, Calif., provided good energy off the bench this season, playing in 18 games and starting seven.

Pac-10 All-Academic Men's Soccer Team

First Team
Scott Bolkan, STAN** Sr. 3.64 Human Biology
Kevin Forrest, WASH** Sr. 3.45 Business Administration
Brett Gardner, OSU** Sr. 3.93 Business Administration
Rylan Hawkins, WASH* RS So. 3.93 Computer Engineering
Daniel Leach, OSU Jr. 3.59 Psychology
Freddy McDonald, SDSU* Sr. 3.45 Chemistry
John Moore, STAN So. 3.58 Undeclared
Daniel Phelps, WASH So. 3.62 Arts & Sciences
Dan Shapiro, STAN** Sr. 3.84 Economics
Nick Webb, OSU* Sr. 3.40 Exercise & Sport Science
Mike Zaher, UCLA Sr. 3.44 Political Science

* - two-time all-academic first team selection
** - three-time all-academic first team selection

Second Team
Ryan Callahan, OSU Jr. 3.49 Business Administration
Stephen Fung, WASH Rs Fr. 3.44 Business Administration
George John, WASH Jr. 3.47 Business Administration
Alex Kozachenko, STAN RS So. 3.53 Undeclared
Chance Myers, UCLA So. 3.33 History
Tom Montgomery, STAN Jr. 3.40 Management Science & Engineering
Michael Nieraeth, CAL Jr. 3.31 Integrative Biology
Evan Sassano, CAL So. 3.43 Undeclared
Michael Strickland, STAN So. 3.29 Undeclared
Mason Webb, OSU Sr. 3.33 Psychology
Justin Woodard, OSU So. 3.40 Business Administration

Honorable Mention: Mark Bartlett, Sr., STAN; Brant Bishop, So., STAN; Josh Cameron, Jr., OSU; Alex Christensen, Sr., OSU; Derek Crismier, Sr., WASH; Packy Deenihan, Jr., OSU; Greg Folk, Sr., UCLA; Tracy Hasson, Jr., OSU; Kyle Hency, RS Sr., STAN; Taylor Hoss, So., WASH; Ryan Imamura, Sr., STAN; Tim Jones, Jr., STAN; Andrew Kartunen, RS Sr., STAN; Imaan Kerchgani, So., CAL; Adam Lang, So., WASH; T.J. Novak, Jr., STAN; Thiago Sa Freire, So., STAN; Luke Sassano, Sr., CAL; Danny Suits, So., UCLA.