CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - With the 2011 men's soccer season set to begin next week, a pair of America East men's soccer standouts have received national preseason recognition. UMBC's Andrew Bulls and Boston University's Michael Bustamante were tabbed preseason All-Americans by College Soccer News and were also named to the Missouri Athletic Club Hermann Trophy Watch List, from which the national player of the year will be chosen.
Bulls, who is entering his senior year at UMBC, led the Retrievers to one of their best seasons in program history last season when he tallied five goals and 15 assists, which set a new America East record. A third-team preseason choice by College Soccer News, Bulls is a two-time first-team all-conference selection was the league's Striker of the Year in 2009.
Bustamante, also a rising senior, has earned first-team All-America East honors in all three of his collegiate seasons. The 2008 America East Midfielder of the Year, Bustamante has six career goals and 23 assists from his midfield position. Also a third-team preseason choice by College Soccer News, Bustamante helped lead the Terriers to the America East regular-season title in 2010.
The MAC Hermann Trophy is the highest individual award in intercollegiate soccer. The recipients are selected by head coaches of NCAA Division I programs who are members of the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA). Voting for the award is conducted in late November, when a field of 15 semifinalists is reduced to three finalists. Those three will be invited to the Missouri Athletic Club in St. Louis on Friday, Jan. 6, 2012, where a news conference will be held to announce the winner, followed by a banquet to honor the three finalists.