It is championship weekend for NCAA Division II and Division III schools, and the Men’s College Cup for D-I schools is just around the corner. Now at the end of the college season, several Timbers U-23s have taken home end-of-season honors.
Seven players who suited up for the Timbers U-23s in 2009 received all-conference honors in their respective conferences.
For the University of Portland Pilots, Timbers U-23s forward
Collen Warner
, midfielder
Jarad vanSchaik
and goalkeeper
Austin Guerrero
all captured First Team All-West Coast Conference honors, while defender
Logan Emory
locked up a spot on the honorable mention list.
Warner, a senior, earned his third consecutive first-team selection, leading the Pilots with seven goals during the regular season. Guerrero earned his second first-team nod, while vanSchaik earned conference honors for the first time. Both Warner and Guerrero were also preseason all-conference selections.
Warner, vanSchaik, Guerrero and Emory led the Pilots to a Sweet 16 finish in the NCAA tournament this season. UP defeated New Mexico and NC State on the road in the opening rounds before falling to No. 2 Virginia in the Round of 16.
In the Pac-10, University of Washington and Timbers U-23s standouts
Brent Richards
and
Matt Van Houten
were named to the All-Pac-10 Second Team. Richards, who was the Timbers U-23s second leading scorer and assist leader last season, paced the Huskies in scoring for a second straight season in 2009. Van Houten turned in a career-high four goals during the recent NCAA campaign, and finished third in scoring for UW.
Down in Corvallis, Ore., Oregon State defender
Chris Harms
was a Pac-10 honorable mention. Harms played in 17 of the Beavers’ 18 contests, earning the start in each of his appearances, and scored a goal.
All-three active Pac-10 representatives on the Timbers U-23s’ 2009 squad also took home Pac-10 All-Academic honors. Richards, a sophomore, was named to the All-Academic First Team with a 3.63 grade-point average. Both Van Houten and Harms were named to the honorable mention list.
To be eligible for selection to the Pac-10’s academic team, the student-athlete must have a minimum 3.0 overall grade-point average and be either a starter or significant contributor to their team.
Other highlights featuring Timbers U-23s players during the 2009 NCAA season:
- Goalkeeper Jason Dodson spent his freshman season at Stanford. While he did not make an appearance, Stanford represented the Pac-10 in the Men’s College Cup tournament and reached the Sweet 16 as well.
- Midfielder Roberto Farfan made an instant impact at UNLV in his freshman season in 2009. He was one of only three Rebels to play in all 18 games (12 starts) and led the team in assists with four. In fact, he ranked among Mountain Pacific Sports Federation leaders in assists.
UNLV ended its season a game short of the conference championship game, falling to top-seeded Sacramento State in double overtime in a semifinal matchup, 1-0. The Rebels ended their season with an 8-7-4 record, the team’s first winning record for the program since 2002. - Midfielder Masaki Hemmi played in 21 games for the Colorado School of Mines and ranked among team leaders with six assists. He helped guide the Orediggers to the school’s second-ever NCAA Div. II tournament appearance, but were eliminated in the first round by Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference foe Ft. Lewis. Overall, CSM finished the 2009 season with a 15-3-4 overall record.
