All-West Region Men's Soccer Selections Highlighted by Unanimous First-Team Trio
The All-West Region men’s soccer teams were released in the last several days, with 12 CCAA student-athletes being honored by the Division II Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA) on Nov. 20, and 17 by the United Soccer Coaches on Monday morning.
A trio of CCAA major award winners made both first teams in CCAA Offensive Player of the Year Jimmie Villalobos of Cal Poly Pomona, and the Cal State LA duo of CCAA Defensive Player of the Year Morten Bjoershol and CCAA Goalkeeper of the Year Alexander Brems.
Villalobos was chosen the D2CCA West Region Player of the Year. The Oasis product leads the CCAA and is tied for first in the West and third nationally with his career-best 18 goals scored. Five of them were game winners. Villalobos paces the league and region with 42 total points, having added six assists. The third-year Bronco directed his team to the CCAA Tournament title after falling in back-to-back finals, and a fifth-straight NCAA Championship berth. He started all 20 matches at a forward spot for the 2017 and 2018 national semifinalists, who started 0-3-1 but finished 12-5-3 and in second place in the league table with a 10-1-1 mark. Villalobos was a D2CCA second-teamer in each of the past two seasons.
Bjoershol, a junior center back and native of Oslo, Norway, has spearheaded the No. 2 defense statistically in Division II men’s soccer, now with a team goals-against average of .365. The third-ranked CCAA regular-season and NCAA Super Region 4 champion Cal State LA is also second in shutout percentage (.667) with 14 clean sheets over its 21 contests. The Golden Eagles are the lone unbeaten left in the country at 18-0-3 overall. Bjoershol has started all 21 matches and added a pair of goals, one a winner, on the offensive end. He made the D2CCA second team in 2018.
Brems, the second-year senior Golden Eagle goalkeeper from Odense, Denmark, grabbed a share of the national lead in Division II in individual shutouts when he kept his 13th in Cal State LA’s 2-0 home victory over Cal State San Bernardino in Saturday’s inaugural Super Region 4 final. It advanced the Golden Eagles to their first national semifinal in nearly 40 years, since a 1981 runner-up effort. Brems is also second in GAA (.368) and third in save percentage (.857). A repeat D2CCA first-team pick, he has started all 21 games and played all but 19:14, making 48 saves.
The 13-member D2CCA All-West Region First Team also featured Cal Poly Pomona upperclassmen Eduardo Faria and Cyro Oliveira, Cal State LA junior midfielder David Elizaga and Chico State redshirt junior center back Garrett Hogbin.
Bjoershol, Brems and Villalobos were joined on the 11-player United Soccer Coaches All-West Region First Team by the Cal State San Bernardino tandem of CCAA Freshman of the Year Frank Daroma and senior defender Brandon Sangbarani, as well as UC San Diego junior striker Brett Jones.
CCAA representation on the 13-member D2CCA second team consisted of Daroma, Jones and fellow UC San Diego captain Kelvin Uribe, Humboldt State senior forward Isaiah Dairo, and Cal State LA senior captain Tim Klefisch, a repeat choice.
On the United Soccer Coaches second team were Elizaga, Klefisch and Uribe, Cal Poly Pomona senior center back Jason Ramos, Cal State Monterey Bay senior forward Walmer Martinez, and Chico State redshirt freshman forward Jacob Chong. Third-team CCAA standouts were Hogbin and Chico State teammate Jose Paredes, Dairo, Oliveira, and Cal State LA’s Antonio Rosas.
The United Soccer Coaches awards are voted on by member coaches in each region, while the D2CCA teams are chosen by the region’s sports information directors and conference offices. Only first-teamers are now eligible for All-America distinction from the respective organizations, to be announced later this week ahead of the men’s and women’s national semifinals in Pittsburgh, Pa., on Thursday.
| United Soccer Coaches All-West Region First Team (complete list) |
| Pos. |
Name |
School |
Year |
Hometown |
| GK |
Alexander Brems |
Cal State LA |
Sr. |
Odense, Denmark |
| F |
Brett Jones |
UC San Diego |
Jr. |
Mission Viejo |
| MF |
Frank Daroma |
Cal State San Bernardino |
Fr. |
Goleta |
| MF |
Jimmie Villalobos |
Cal Poly Pomona |
Sr. |
Oasis |
| D |
Morten Bjoershol |
Cal State LA |
Jr. |
Oslo, Norway |
| D |
Brandon Sangbarani |
Cal State San Bernardino |
Sr. |
Moreno Valley |
| United Soccer Coaches Second Team |
| Pos. |
Name |
School |
Year |
Hometown |
| F |
Jacob Chong |
Chico State |
Fr. |
Encinitas |
| F |
Walmer Martinez |
Cal State Monterey Bay |
Sr. |
Santa Cruz |
| MF |
David Elizaga |
Cal State LA |
Jr. |
Madrid, Spain |
| MF |
Tim Klefisch |
Cal State LA |
Sr. |
Leverkusen, Germany |
| D |
Jason Ramos |
Cal Poly Pomona |
Sr. |
Montebello |
| D |
Kelvin Uribe |
UC San Diego |
Sr. |
Lake Forest |
| United Soccer Coaches Third Team |
| Pos. |
Name |
School |
Year |
Hometown |
| GK |
Jose Paredes |
Chico State |
Jr. |
Long Beach |
| F |
Isaiah Dairo |
Humboldt State |
Sr. |
Hayward |
| MF |
Cyro Oliveira |
Cal Poly Pomona |
Sr. |
Bauru, Brazil |
| D |
Garrett Hogbin |
Chico State |
Jr. |
Mission Viejo |
| D |
Antonio Rosas |
Cal State LA |
Sr. |
Monrovia |
| D2CCA All-West Region Team |
| Region Player of the Year: |
Jimmie Villalobos, Cal Poly Pomona |
| D2CCA First Team |
| Pos. |
Name |
School |
Year |
Hometown |
| GK |
Alexander Brems |
Cal State LA |
Sr. |
Odense, Denmark |
| F |
Jimmie Villalobos |
Cal Poly Pomona |
Sr. |
Oasis |
| MF |
David Elizaga |
Cal State LA |
Jr. |
Madrid, Spain |
| MF |
Eduardo Faria |
Cal Poly Pomona |
Jr. |
Porto Alegre, Brazil |
| MF |
Cyro Oliveira |
Cal Poly Pomona |
Sr. |
Bauru, Brazil |
| D |
Morten Bjoershol |
Cal State LA |
Jr. |
Oslo, Norway |
| D |
Garrett Hogbin |
Chico State |
Jr. |
Mission Viejo |
| D2CCA Second Team |
| Pos. |
Name |
School |
Year |
Hometown |
| F |
Isaiah Dairo |
Humboldt State |
Sr. |
Hayward |
| F |
Brett Jones |
UC San Diego |
Jr. |
Mission Viejo |
| MF |
Frank Daroma |
Cal State San Bernardino |
Fr. |
Goleta |
| MF |
Tim Klefisch |
Cal State LA |
Sr. |
Leverkusen, Germany |
| D |
Kelvin Uribe |
UC San Diego |
Sr. |
Lake Forest |