The major awards were spread out among four programs as the 2011 Big West Men’s Soccer All-Conference Team was announced today. UC Irvine’s Miguel Ibarra and UC Riverside’s Cesar Diaz Pizarro were named Co-Offensive Players of the Year while UC Santa Barbara’s Luis Silva took home Midfielder of the Year honors. The conference’s Defender of the Year was James Kiffe of UC Santa Barbara and Andrew Fontein of UC Irvine earned Goalkeeper of the Year recognition. In addition, Matt Wiesenfarth of UC Davis claimed the Freshman of the Year award and UC Riverside Othoniel Gonzalez Jr. received Coach of the Year recognition.
Ibarra (Lancaster, Calif./Taft College) became the fifth different Anteater and the third in as many years to capture the conference’s top offensive honor. He tied for second in the Big West in points (24), and for third in goals (8) and assists (8). Ibarra also shared the conference lead with four others for most game-winning goals (4). He clinched the Big West regular season title for the Anteaters with his strike in a 1-0 win at Cal Poly on Nov. 1. Ibarra then garnered Big West Tournament Most Valuable Player recognition when he scored in the 105th minute to lead UCI to a 3-2 double overtime victory over UC Santa Barbara and the program’s third tournament title in four seasons.
Pizarro (Chino, Calif./Ruben S. Ayala HS) is only the second UC Riverside player to win a major Big West award of any kind, joining 2007 Goalkeeper of the Year Charles Alamo on the list. He placed second in the league with nine goals while ranking fourth in points (21) and tying for first in game-winning goals (4). Pizarro was the focal point of the Highlander offense, accounting for nearly one-third of the team’s 28 goals on the season. Pizarro finished his four years at UCR second on the career charts in goals (21) and points (48), and as the all-time leader in game-winning goals with eight.
Silva (Los Angeles, Calif./Bishop Mora Salesian) produced one of the finest statistical seasons in Big West history to continue a standard of dominance at the midfielder position. This is the fourth time in the last five years a Gaucho has racked up that award. Silva led the Big West in goals (16) and points (41), and ranked second with nine assists. He tallied at least one point in 13 of UCSB’s 20 matches, and scored multiple goals on four different occasions. Silva had a hat trick to propel the Gauchos to a 3-0 win against San Diego on Sept. 23, leading him to one of his four Big West Player of the Week awards this season. In addition, his 41 points puts him in a tie for seventh in Big West single-season history, while his 16 goals tie him for 10th.
Kiffe (Santa Barbara, Calif./San Marcos HS) secured UC Santa Barbara’s seventh Defender of the Year award in the last eight seasons. Kiffe’s ability to attack on the offensive end enabled him to lead all Big West defenders with 10 points on two goals and six assists. He tied for seventh in the conference in assists. Kiffe notched a pair of assists, including the game-winner, to help the Gauchos defeat defending national champion Akron 3-2 in overtime on Oct. 5.
Fontein (Las Vegas, Calif./Sierra Vista HS) led the Big West with nine shutouts and ranked second in goals against average (0.96) as the conference’s premier goalkeeper. He started all 22 matches for UC Irvine and played 2,058 minutes, which stands sixth in Big West single-season annals. Fontein’s .784 save percentage ranked second in the league as he allowed only 22 goals all season. The 2008 Big West Co-Freshman of the Year accumulated 80 saves to bring his career total to 245, which ranks ninth-best in the record book. In addition, his 29 career shutouts are the four-most in Big West history.
Wiesenfarth (Sacramento, Calif./Jesuit HS) is the first Aggie to receive top freshman acclaim. He tied for ninth in the league with five goals while his 13 points led the team. He scored four goals against conference opponents, including one stretch of three straight games. Wiesenfarth collected either a goal or an assist in seven of the the last 10 games for UC Davis.
Gonzalez guided UC Riverside to the most successful season in the program’s Division I history. Picked to finish last in the coaches preseason poll, the Highlanders finished fourth with 15 points and advanced to their first Big West Tournament. UCR established a school Division I record with nine victories and three of those came against nationally ranked programs in UC Santa Barbara (twice) and UC Irvine. Gonzalez guided the Highlanders to separate six-game and five-game unbeaten streaks during the season en route to finishing 9-6-4 overall.
Rated the nation’s second-best conference in the NCAA Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) this season, the Big West revealed an all-conference contingent that unsurprisingly had all seven programs represented on the 13-player first team. UC Irvine and UC Santa Barbara placed four players apiece on the first team to lead all schools.
The all-conference team also featured a number of repeat selections. Cal Poly’s Patrick Sigler and UC Santa Barbara’s Luis Silva were named first team all-conference for the third time. Cal State Fullerton’s Kevin Venegas, UC Irvine’s Miguel Ibarra and UC Santa Barbara’s Sam Garza were recognized All-Big West First Team for the second time in their careers.
The complete 2011 All-Big West Men’s Soccer Team can be viewed by clicking on the link at the top of the page:
2011 ALL-BIG WEST MEN’S SOCCER TEAM
| FIRST TEAM |
| Player |
School |
Year |
Position |
Hometown |
| +Sam Garza |
UC Santa Barbara |
Junior |
Forward |
Highland Village, Tex. |
| +Miguel Ibarra |
UC Irvine |
Senior |
Forward |
Lancaster, Calif. |
| Cesar Diaz Pizarro |
UC Riverside |
Senior |
Forward |
Chino, Calif. |
| Rafael Garcia |
Cal State Northridge |
Senior |
Midfielder |
Canoga Park, Calif. |
| Christian Hernandez |
UC Irvine |
Senior |
Midfielder |
Palmdale, Calif. |
| ^Luis Silva |
UC Santa Barbara |
Senior |
Midfielder |
Los Angeles, Calif. |
| +Kevin Venegas |
Cal State Fullerton |
Senior |
Midfielder |
Lakewood, Calif. |
| James Kiffe |
UC Santa Barbara |
Senior |
Defender |
Santa Barbara, Calif. |
| Lance Patterson |
UC Davis |
Senior |
Defender |
Aurora, Colo. |
| Everett Pitts |
UC Irvine |
Junior |
Defender |
Chino Hills, Calif. |
| Tim Pontius |
UC Santa Barbara |
Senior |
Defender |
Yorba Linda, Calif. |
| ^Patrick Sigler |
Cal Poly |
Senior |
Defender |
Windsor, Calif. |
| Andrew Fontein |
UC Irvine |
Senior |
Goalkeeper |
Las Vegas, Nev. |
| SECOND TEAM |
| Player |
School |
Year |
Position |
Hometown |
| Kyle Montgomery |
Cal Poly |
Senior |
Forward |
Seattle, Wash. |
| Thomas Ramos |
Cal State Northridge |
Sophomore |
Forward |
Phoenix, Ariz. |
| Matt Wiesenfarth |
UC Davis |
Freshman |
Forward |
Sacramento, Calif. |
| Oscar Aguero |
Cal State Fullerton |
Senior |
Midfielder |
Anaheim, Calif. |
| Evan Richter |
Cal Poly |
Senior |
Midfielder |
Normandy Park, Wash. |
| Kevin Schulte |
UC Davis |
Sophomore |
Midfielder |
Riverside, Calif. |
| Jimmy Turner |
UC Irvine |
Senior |
Midfielder |
Mission Viejo, Calif. |
| Wes Feighner |
Cal Poly |
Senior |
Defender |
Los Alamitos, Calif. |
| Marco Franco |
UC Irvine |
Sophomore |
Defender |
Chino Hills, Calif. |
| Nicholas Hamilton |
Cal State Northridge |
Senior |
Defender |
Coronado, Calif. |
| Cameron Walters |
Cal Poly |
Senior |
Defender |
Danville, Calif. |
| Patrick McLain |
Cal Poly |
Senior |
Goalkeeper |
Eau Claire, Wis. |
| HONORABLE MENTION |
| Player |
School |
Year |
Position |
Hometown |
| Lester Hayes |
UC Irvine |
Freshman |
Forward |
Alexandria, Va. |
| Richie Osborne |
UC Riverside |
Sophomore |
Forward |
San Jose, Calif. |
| Nick Posthuma |
Cal State Fullerton |
Senior |
Forward |
Pasadena, Calif. |
| Edwin Rivas |
Cal State Northridge |
Freshman |
Forward |
Los Angeles, Calif. |
| Dom Sarle |
UC Santa Barbara |
Sophomore |
Forward |
Huntington, N.Y. |
| Rene Anguiano |
Cal State Northridge |
Junior |
Midfielder |
Los Angeles, Calif. |
| Josue Madueno |
UC Santa Barbara |
Junior |
Midfielder |
Watsonville, Calif. |
| Christopher Santana |
UC Irvine |
Sophomore |
Midfielder |
Bishop, Calif. |
| Jose Diaz |
UC Riverside |
Junior |
Defender |
Corona, Calif. |
| Joe Franco |
Cal State Northridge |
Junior |
Defender |
Monrovia, Calif. |
| Peter Schmetz |
UC Santa Barbara |
Sophomore |
Defender |
Düsseldorf, Germany |
| Michael Abalos |
Cal State Northridge |
Junior |
Goalkeeper |
San Juan Capistrano, Calif. |
| Cody Suppé |
UC Riverside |
Senior |
Goalkeeper |
Chino, Calif. |
| +Two-time All-Big West First Team selection |
| ^ Three-time All-Big West First Team selection |
2011 Big West Midfielder Of The Year
Luis Silva, UC Santa Barbara |
2011 Big West Co-Offensive Players Of The Year
Miguel Ibarra, UC Irvine & Cesar Diaz Pizarro, UC Riverside |
2011 Big West Goalkeeper Of The Year
Andrew Fontein, UC Irvine |
2011 Big West Defender Of The Year
James Kiffe, UC Santa Barbara |
2011 Big West Coach Of The Year
Othoniel Gonzalez Jr., UC Riverside |
2011 Big West Freshman Of The Year
Matt Wiesenfarth, UC Davis |