November 17, 2009
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
UCLA's Okugo honored

WALNUT CREEK, Calif---UCLA midfielder Amobi Okugo was named the Pac-10 Men’s Soccer Freshman of the Year, and the back-to-back Pac-10 Conference champions landed six players on the 2009 All-Pac-10 teams, including four on the first team.

Bruins receiving first-team all-conference honors were seniors David Estrada, Kyle Nakazawa, Brian Perk and Michael Stephens. Okugo received second-team acclaim, and senior Sean Alvarado picked up an honorable mention nod.

Oregon State sophomore forward Danny Mwanga was named Pac-10 Player of the Year, and Stanford head coach Bret Simon was named Pac-10 Coach of the Year.

Okugo (Sacramento, CA/Rio Americano HS) becomes the fourth Bruin player and first since 2005 to win the honor of Pac-10 Freshman of Year. He joins Alex Yi (2000), Chad Barrett (2003) and Sal Zizzo (2005) as the other Bruins to win the postseason accolade. Okugo started every game in a defensive midfield position for the Bruins, recording two assists and helping the Bruin defense to a Conference leading 0.78 team goals against average.

Estrada (Salinas, CA) picks up his fourth career All-Pac-10 honor and first first-team selection. He ranks second on the UCLA squad in scoring with 13 points (3g, 7a) and leads the team and ranks second in the Pac-10 in assists.

Nakazawa (Palos Verdes Estates, CA) ranked second in the Pac-10 in goals scored (11) and points (28) and was tied for fourth in assists (6). He provided the bulk of the scoring for UCLA this season, recording a goal or assist on 63% of the Bruin goals. This is Nakazawa’s third career all-conference nod and first first-team selection.

Perk (Rancho Santa Margarita, CA) also becomes a first-time first-team all-conference selection and three-time overall pick. He led the Pac-10 in goals against average (0.75) and save percentage (.833) and ranked second in shutouts per game (0.33). Perk tied the Pac-10 record earlier in the year with four career Pac-10 Player of the Week honors.

Stephens (Naperville, IL) received his second consecutive first-team honor. Last season he was the Pac-10 Player of the Year. This year, he ranks fourth in the Pac-10 in assists with six despite having missed five games while playing with the U.S. U-20 National Team.

Alvarado (West Orange, NJ) is a first-time conference honoree. One of just four players to start in all 17 games this year (the other three are Estrada, Nakazawa and Okugo), Alvarado came back from injury-plagued sophomore and junior seasons to lead the Bruin team in minutes played (1566). He has scored two goals this season, including the game-winner at Maryland.