Bennett, Ribeiro Garner NSCAA All-American Honors
CONWAY - After leading the Coastal Carolina men's soccer team to its second consecutive and ninth overall NCAA Tournament appearance, junior Ashton Bennett and sophomore Pedro Ribeiro each earned All-American status, the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) announced Friday.

Bennett, the 2011 Big South Conference Attacking Player of the Year and Hermann Trophy semifinalist, garnered first team honors, while Ribeiro, a first team All-Big South selection, was named to the third team.  In all, Coastal has now recorded six NSCAA All-Americans under 14th-year head coach Shaun Docking. 

Behind Bennett and Ribeiro, the Chanticleers finished the season with an 18-4 record, including a perfect 9-0 conference mark, and claimed the program's 10th Big South regular season championship.  Coastal earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, where the Chants hosted and defeated Elon in the first round before taking national finalist North Carolina to the brink of elimination in the second round.

The duo represent the sixth and seventh Chanticleers to be named to the prestigious list joining Coastal greats Joseph Ngwenya (2003, first team/2002, second team), Mubarike Chisoni (2003, third team), Boyzzz Khumalo (2003, third team) and Guy Norcott (1992, third team). 

Bennett tallied an NCAA-leading 23 goals, including nine game-winners. The Claredon, Jamaica native finished the season ranked first in three offensive categories including total goals (23), total points (53.0) and points per game (2.41) as well as second in goals per game (1.05). Nationally, Bennett also ranks 47th with seven assists on the year and 99th in assists per game (.32). He posted seven multi-goal games during the 2011 campaign, including hat tricks against Richmond and Liberty. He was named the TopDrawerSoccer.com National Player of the Week during the week of Oct. 24 in addition to being named to its National Team of the Week on three occasions. Bennett was also named to the College Soccer News National Team of the Week twice this season. Additionally, the striker was named the MVP of the Virginia Commonwealth and Coastal Carolina tournaments.

Ribeiro, who was also named to the NCAA Men's Division I All-South Atlantic Team, led the team with eight assists, which was good enough for 20th in the national rankings. The Brazilian ranked second on the team in total points (26), goals (9) and tied for the team lead with seven assists. He was tabbed to the Top Drawer Soccer National Team of the Week and Big South Player of the Week. The sophomore also recorded two game-winning goals for the Chants.

In all, the 35 athletes from around the country were selected for the All-America first, second and third teams. They will be recognized at the annual All-America Luncheon, to be held in the Kansas City Convention Center's Grand Ballroom on Saturday, Jan. 14, in conjunction with the 2012 NSCAA Convention in Kansas City, Mo.

2011 NSCAA/Continental Tire Men's NCAA Division I All-America Team
First Team          
Pos.   Player                               Class      School                                Hometown
K         Brian Holt                        Sr.           Creighton                          Omaha, Neb.
D         Chris Estridge                 Sr.           Indiana                               Indianapolis, Ind.
D         Matthew Hedges         Sr.           North Carolina                 Carmel, Ind.
D         Charles Rodriguez        Sr.           Charlotte                           Franklin, Tenn.
M        Miguel Ibarra                 Sr.           UC Irvine                           Lancaster, Calif.
M        Enzo Martinez*            Jr.           North Carolina                 Rock Hill, S.C.
M        Luis Silva                          Sr.           UCSB                                   Los Angeles, Calif.
F          Ashton Bennett            Jr.           Coastal Carolina             Claredon, Jamaica
F          Ethan Finlay*                 Sr.           Creighton                          Marshfield, Wis.
F          Billy Schuler                    Jr.           North Carolina                 Allentown, N.J.
F          Andrew Wenger*        Jr.           Duke                                   Lititz, Pa.                

Second Team            
K         Brian Rowe                     Sr.           UCLA                                   Eugene, Ore.
D         RJ Allen*                          Sr.           Monmouth                       Old Bridge, N.J.
D         Andrew Duran              Sr.           Creighton                          Mokena, Ill.
D         Kyle Venter                    Jr.           New Mexico                    Aurora, Colo.
M        Carlos Alvarez                Jr.           Connecticut                      Los Angeles, Calif.
M        Greg Jordan                   Sr.           Creighton                          Naperville, Ill.
M        Lance Rozeboom         Sr.           New Mexico                    Walker, Iowa
M        Paul Wyatt                      Jr.           James Madison               Modbury, England
F          Dom Dwyer                    Jr.           South Florida                   London, England
F          Evans Frimpong            Sr.           Delaware                           Accra, Ghana
F          Darren Mattocks          So.          Akron                                  Portmore, Jamaica
F          Casey Townsend          Sr.           Maryland                           Traverse City, Mich.                

Third Team            
K         Andre Blake                   Fr.           Connecticut                      May Pen, Jamaica
D         Austin Berry                   Sr.           Louisville                            Cincinnati, Ohio
D         Eric Schoenle                 Jr.           West Virginia                   Yardley, Pa.
D         Walker Zimmerman    Fr.           Furman                              Lawrenceville, Ga.
M        Scott Caldwell                Jr.           Akron                                  Braintree, Mass.
M        Jonathan Mendoza     Jr.           Stetson                              Altamonte Springs, Fla.
M        Pedro Ribeiro                So.          Coastal Carolina             Belo Horizonte, Brazil
M        John Stertzer                 Jr.           Maryland                           Oakton, Va.
F          Chandler Hoffman       Jr.           UCLA                                   Birmingham, Ala.
F          Mark Sherrod                So.          Memphis                           Knoxville, Tenn.
F          Yannick Smith                Jr.           Old Dominion                  Hillsborough, N.J.
F          Gyasi Zardes                  So.          CSU Bakerfield                Hawthorne, Calif.