BUIES CREEK, N.C. – Josue Soto of Campbell University is one of 22 players nationwide to be selected to the College Soccer News All-Freshman teams. The 2007 Atlantic Sun Conference player of the year, was a second-team choice.
"This is a great honor for Josue and we are proud of the way he assimilated into the college game right away, said Campbell head coach Doug Hess. “We truly believed each time he touched the ball that he was a threat, whether he was looking for something himself or trying to set up a teammate. Josue is an extremely talented individual and played a huge part in our success this past fall.”
Soto is the second Camel to earn Freshman All-America honors in the last two years. Sonny Guadarrama was also a College Soccer News All-Freshman selection following the 2005 season. The unanimous A-Sun Freshman of the Year in 2005, Guadarrama signed a professional contract with Mexican first division club Santos Laguna in 2006 and was recently transferred to Morelia. He is also a member of the Mexican Sub-20 National Team.
“We look for great things to come for Josue just as we did for Sonny," said Hess.
Soto was also named 2007 A-Sun Freshman of the Year and first-team all-conference, while gaining third-team NSCAA All-South Region recognition. He was also one of three players named on every ballot for the A-Sun all-freshman team. Soto and Justin Fojo of the College of Charleston were the only freshmen selected to the 33-man All-South squad.
A Monterrey, Mexico native, Soto was named MVP of the Richmond/Nike Challenge Cup, where the Camels defeated Duquesne (2-1) and Richmond (2-1) to win their first in-season tournament since 1988. He was also named A-Sun Player of the Week once and was selected to the national teams of the week by both Soccer America and College Soccer News on Sept. 17.
Soto’s selection marked the second time in three years that a Fighting Camel was named A-Sun freshman of the year. Sonny Guadarrama earned the honor in 2005, his only season at CU before he signed a professional contract with Mexican club Santos.
In his first collegiate season, the midfielder ranked fourth in the A-Sun with 22 points on eight goals and six assists. He also ranked fourth in assists, fifth in game-winning goals (3), points per game (1.0) and assists per game (0.27), sixth in goals, and ninth in goals per game (0.36). Soto led all A-Sun freshmen in points scored.
The Fighting Camels produced a 13-6-3 overall record (5-2-2 in the Atlantic Sun Conference) and claimed the A-Sun title with a pair of victories, plus a penalty kick shootout decision in three days (Nov. 14-17) at DeLand, Fla.
Despite the fact that the Camels dropped a 2-0 decision at 20th-ranked Furman in the NCAA first round, the program still enjoyed its second trip to the A-Sun final in three years and earned a number-seven ranking in the final regular season South Region poll.
College Soccer News - 2007 First Team All-Freshman
Phil Bannister - Forward - Loyola (MD)
Haris Cekic - Forward - Furman
Andrew Wiedeman - Forward - California
Bobby Warshaw - Midfielder - Stanford
Brayan Martinez - Midfielder - Seton Hall
Corben Bone - Midfielder - Wake Forest
Piero Bellizzi - Midfielder - Northwestern
Rodney Wallace - Defender - Maryland
Jalil Anibaba - Defender - Santa Clara
Ike Opara - Defender - Wake Forest
Paul Grandstrand - Goalkeeper – Brown
College Soccer News - 2007 Second Team All-Freshman
Steve Zakuani - Forward - Akron
C.J. Sapong - Forward - James Madison
Daniel Cruz - Forward - UNLV
Kyle Miller - Forward - Holy Cross
Josue Soto - Midfielder - Campbell
Robby Lynch - Midfielder - Evansville
A. Ampaipitakwong - Midfielder - Akron
James Shupp - Defender - Virginia Tech
Matt Gold - Defender - Ohio State
Matt Armstrong - Defender - Notre Dame
Austin Guerrero - Goalkeeper - Portland
Courtesy: GoCamels.com