The University of Akron Athletics
Trio Of Zips Earn All-America Honors From NSCAA
December 13 | Men's Soccer
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2013 NSCAA All-America Team
AKRON, Ohio – After leading the Zips back to the NCAA Tournament for the seventh-consecutive season, a trio of standouts from The University of Akron men's soccer team earned All-America honors from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Friday.
Senior Aodhan Quinn, the 2013 Mid-American Conference Player of the Year and Hermann Trophy semifinalist, secured a spot on the 11-man First Team while junior Bryan Gallego took Second Team honors and senior Reinaldo Brenes landed on the Third Team. Quinn, Gallego and Brenes each served as team tri-captains last fall.
It is the sixth-straight season UA has had multiple honorees named to the esteemed list, upping the program's total to 53 NSCAA All-American honors all-time.
Quinn, who finished second on the team with seven goals, played a key linking role in the Zips' possession-based attack last fall. Moreover, he was at this best when it mattered most, scoring a goal in three straight postseason matches, including a three-point performance with a goal and assist against defending national champion Indiana in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Quinn excelled against the best competition all season with game-winning goals against No. 15 Wake Forest and No. 11 Penn State.
Gallego, who started all 20 matches in which he was available, was the leader of one of the top defensive units in the nation as the Zips held opponents to one or fewer goals in all but three games while posting nine shutouts. In particular, Gallego, who earned All-MAC honors for the third time of this career in 2013, keyed a dominant stretch that saw Akron allow just three goals in eight contests including clean sheets against the Demon Deacons and No. 17 Michigan State.
Brenes, a two-time CoSIDA Academic All-American, followed up his breakout season of 2012 by leading the Zips in scoring for the second-straight year with eight goals despite missing four matches with a leg injury. As a real game-changer, the native of Costa Rica bagged game-winning goals five times last fall, including decisive strikes against Furman, Rutgers, Bowling Green, West Virginia and Indiana. Brenes finished his UA career with four goals in his final six contests, highlighted by a brace against the Hoosiers.
Akron finished the 2013 campaign with a record of 17-4-1 and captured MAC titles for both the regular season and tournament. UA is one of just eight Division I programs to qualify for the NCAA Tournament in each of the past seven seasons.
