Nov. 19, 2008

STANFORD, Calif. - Stanford's Michael Strickland and Bobby Warshaw were named to the All-Pacific-10 Conference first team for men's soccer, the conference announced Wednesday. It was the first such honor for each.

In addition, five others received all-conference recognition for the Cardinal (4-11-3), including defender Ryan Imamura, who was named to the second team.

Strickland, a junior central midfielder and co-captain from Davis, Calif., was instrumental in organizing the team on the field as well as winning and distributing the ball. His play often set the tone for the match and ignited the Cardinal's quick-passing game. He scored one goal and had one assist.

Warshaw, the team's leading scorer for the second consecutive season, proved his versatility by playing forward, midfield and central defense at different points in the season. Warshaw, a sophomore from Mechanicsburg, Pa., scored three goals and had two assists, and showed great vision on the field, as well as gifted passing and a strong shot.

Each was a second-team selection last season.

Imamura, a sixth-year senior from Eugene, Ore., was a rock in the central defense, anchoring a unit that allowed only 21 goals all season and never more than two in any game - the only team in the Pac-10 to accomplish the feat.

In addition, redshirt freshman midfielder Garrett Gunther (Long Beach, Calif.), senior attacking defender Tim Jones (Lawrenceville, Ga.), junior goalkeeper John Moore (Chino Hills, Calif.) and sophomore defender-midfielder Ryan Thomas (Claremont, Calif.) received honorable mention honors.

The following is the complete list:

Player of the Year: Michael Stephens, jr., MF, UCLA

Freshman of the Year: Danny Mwanga, F, OSU

Coach of the Year: Jorge Salcedo, UCLA

FIRST TEAM

Name Pos. Yr. School

Raphael Cox MF Sr. WASH

Stefan Frei* GK Jr. CAL

Maxwell Griffin F Sr. UCLA

Hector Jimenez MF So. CAL

George John* MF Sr. WASH

Jason Leopoldo* MF Sr. UCLA

Brad Rusin D Sr. UCLA

Michael Stephens MF Jr. UCLA

Michael Strickland MF Jr. STAN

Bobby Warshaw MF/F So. STAN

Andrew Wiedeman F So. CAL

*two-time All-Pac-10 honoree

SECOND TEAM

Name Pos. Yr. School

Tyler Barry D Sr. CAL

Nick Cardenas D Jr. SDSU

Servando Carrasco MF So. CAL

Ryan Imamura D Sr. STAN

Daniel Leach D Sr. OSU

Taylor Mueller D So. WASH

Danny Mwanga F Fr. OSU

Brian Perk GK Jr. UCLA

A.J. Soares D So. CAL

Evan Toft MF Jr. SDSU

Jamel Wallace D/MF Jr. SDSU

HONORABLE MENTION (received votes):

Ryan Callahan (Sr., MF, OSU); Robby Christner (Sr., F, OSU); Casey Cunningham (Jr., D, WASH); Khadim Diouf (So., F, SDSU); David Estrada (Jr., F, UCLA); Garrett Gunther (So., MF, STAN); Taylor Hoss (Jr., MF, WASH); Tim Jones (Sr., D, STAN); Jo Jo Katz (Jr., MF, WASH); Pat Marion (Sr., MF, CAL); Matt McManus (Jr., D/F, SDSU); Mike Miller (Jr., GK, OSU); John Moore (Jr., GK, STAN); Davis Paul (So., F, CAL); Raymundo Reza (So., MF, SDSU); Brent Richards (Fr., F, WASH); Andy Rose (Fr., D/MF, UCLA); Dennis Sanchez (Sr., D, SDSU); Danny Suits (Jr., D/MF, UCLA); Ryan Thomas (So., D/MF, STAN); Jacob Wilson (Jr., F, CAL).