DeLand, Fla. - Senior midfielder Joakim Helland (Bergen, Norway) and junior defender Luis Ocejo (Mexico City, Mexico) of the Stetson men's soccer team have been named to the Capital One CoSIDA Academic All-District IV Team, the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) announced Friday. Both Hatters are now eligible to advance to the national Academic All-America Team ballot.
Academic All-District honorees must have completed one or more years at their institutions, have played in at least 50 percent of the team's contests with significant accomplishment and hold a cumulative grade point average of 3.30 or higher.
Helland, in his second season at Stetson after transferring from St. John's, has played in all 17 matches with nine starts for the Hatters. He is tied for second on the team with four goals, adding one assist for nine points, also ranking fourth in total points. All four of Helland's goals have come in Stetson victories, including both scores in the October 28 2-0 win at UNF as well as in wins over Florida Tech (August 27) and Belmont (October 21). Helland is majoring in Finance.
Ocejo, also a Finance major and the anchor of a Stetson back line with six shutouts in 2011, has six points on the season on the strength of two goals and two assists. He scored his first career goal in the 87th minute to tie George Washington 2-2 on the road (September 25) and found the net again in a 3-2 overtime win at USC Upstate (October 16). He assisted on goals in key Stetson victories over #15 Penn State (September 2) and A-Sun rival Jacksonville (October 30).
The Hatters stand at 9-5-3 overall and 6-1-1 in the Atlantic Sun Conference after running through the month of October unbeaten in eight matches (6-0-2). Having already clinched the #2 seed in the upcoming A-Sun tournament, Stetson concludes the regular season in non-conference play at 7:00 pm Saturday at home against Nebraska-Omaha.
Helland and his fellow seniors Ryan Asare-Bediako (Tampa, Fla.), Dan Billman (Troy, Mo.), Gonzalo de Mujica (Buenos Aires, Argentina), Matt Delisle (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) and Stephan Ledain (Mississauga, Ont.) will be honored on Senior Night for their contributions to the program. Live Stats and Hatter Vision will be available at GoHatters.com.
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