July 6, 2009

UCLA senior midfielder Michael Stephens was selected as a pre-season first-team All-American by College Soccer News.

Stephens, who hails from Naperville, IL, is a member of the U.S. Under-20 National Team. Last season, he earned second-team Soccer America MVP honors and was the Pac-10 Player of the Year after leading UCLA in scoring with 23 points (7g, 9a) and tying for the team lead in assists. Stephens was also named to Top Drawer Soccer's National Team of the Season and was a first-team NSCAA All-Far West honoree. In the regular season finale last year at San Diego State, Stephens tied the UCLA record for assists in a game with four.

College Soccer News also ranked UCLA 17th in its pre-season rankings.

2009 College Soccer News Pre-Season All-America First Team
Andrew Wiedeman - Junior - Forward - California
Andre Akpan - Senior - Forward - Harvard
Samson Malijani - Senior - Forward - FDU
Nelson Becerra - Senior - Midfielder - St. John's
Corben Bone - Junior - Midfielder - Wake Forest
Michael Stephens - Senior - Midfielder - UCLA
Craig Henderson - Senior - Midfielder - Dartmouth
Chris Schuler - Senior - Defender - Creighton
Ike Opara - Junior - Defender - Wake Forest
Joel Gustafsson - Senior - Defender - St. John's
Jovan Bubonja - Senior - Goalkeeper - UIC