PLAYER CARD
Voting starts 10/16/2008 Andy Iro (Defender) UC Santa Barbara
Statistics:
Classroom:A sociology major, Iro intends to pursue a career in public relations or advertising in the entertainment or sports field, once his career as a soccer player is over. He is expecting to graduate in June of 2008.
Character:The Gauchos team captain, Iro feels that everyone has an opinion and everyone should be heard, not just the captains. Iro suffered a knee injury in the fourth game that required off-season surgery, which kept him at about 70 percent last season. Iro worked hard to recover from the surgery in time to compete with the English National Team at the World University Games in Thailand.
Community:The UCSB men's soccer program has an excellent relationship with the local soccer community and holds several youth camps and clinics throughout the year. Iro worked a total of six camps during the summer of 2007 and is also the head varsity soccer coach at San Marcos High School. He is also active in many UCSB booster functions, addressing fans and alumni on behalf of the team.
Competition:He earned pre-season All-American honors and went on to garner NSCAA Second-Team All-American acclaim as a junior after leading the Gauchos to the program’s first national championship, despite playing with a nagging knee injury for most of the season. He was selected as the College Cup Most Outstanding Defensive player after leading a back line that allowed only one goal in 200 minutes during the semifinals and finals. He earned a second consecutive Big West Defensive Player of the Year award and a third-straight first team all-conference selection after his defense led the Big West with a total of 12 shutouts and a goals-against average of 0.86. He was named a third-team All-American by the NSCAA as a sophomore, making him the first two-time all-American in program history.
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