CoSIDA release (pdf)
NORTHFIELD, Minn. -- Three members of the Carleton College men’s soccer team were named to the 2009 CoSIDA/ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District Team for their performance on the soccer field and in the classroom. Ross Hamilton (Sr./Western Springs, Ill./Lyons Township) was voted to the first team, while Robert Carlton (Sr./Madison, Wis./Memorial) and Tim Wills (So./Portland, Ore./Central Catholic) were second-team seelctions. For the second year in a row, the Knights had the most players honored in the MIAC.
Hamilton is a chemistry major with a 3.74 GPA. He was selected to the second team in 2008, when he was named to the NSCAA All-Far West Region Second team as a midfielder. After the Knights allowed six goals in their first two games this sesason, Hamilton was moved to defense to bolster the backline. Since then, the Knights have yielded only six goals in 17 games. Despite switching from midfield to defense, Hamilton has scored six goals, ranking fourth on the team.
Robert Carlton owns a 3.67 GPA, while double majoring in economics and mathematics. Carlton is the leader of the Knights’ dominating defense, which has the eighth-best shut out percent in the nation (.67). Carlton was integral to the Knights shutout streak earlier this year running 791:37 minutes and spanning parts of 10 games. Last year, he was named to the NSCAA All-America second team and All-Far West Region first team.
As a sophomore, Tim Wills will not declare a major until the end of this year, but he has also earned a 3.67 GPA. Wills has been the offensive sparkplug for the Knights this season. He leads the MIAC in points and assists with 27 and 13 respectively. Wills is tenth in the nation with .67 assists per game. He has also repeatedly come through in the clutch for Carleton as he has either scored or assisted the game-winning goal nine times this season.
The Knights will host Macalester College this Saturday at 1 p.m. with the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament up for grabs.
The ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District team is part of the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America program, administered by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) a 2,000-member organization consisting of sports public relations professionals for colleges and universities in the United States and Canada. The Academic All-America program annually honors over 1600 student-athletes who have succeeded at the highest level on the playing field and in the classroom.
Top student-athletes from non-Division I programs in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ontario and Manitoba are eligible for inclusion on the district team. To be eligible, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative grade point average of 3.30 on a scale of 4.00, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standings at his current institution and be nominated by his sports information director.
