UMBC fullback Liam Paddock has been selected to the 2012 Capital One Academic All-America® Division I Men’s Soccer First Team, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). Paddock becomes the first men’s soccer player at UMBC to receive the nation’s top academic honor. He is the fifth student-athlete in school history to earn first team honors and the 20th Retriever overall to be cited by CoSIDA since 1977.
A senior with a 3.92 G.P.A. as a psychology and sociology major, Paddock was the 2012 ECAC Division I Scholar-Athlete of the Year. A team captain at UMBC, he was named 2012 America East Defender of the Year and was a repeat selection to the America East all-conference first team. The Worcestershire, England native scored a career-high three goals this season while leading the Retrievers to the America East championship and an 11-4-7 record. UMBC reached the NCAA Championship in 2010 and 2012 with Paddock as a fixture at center back in the lineup. He started all 72 games that he dressed for in his four-year tenure in Baltimore.
“It’s remarkable how well Liam has done both on the field and in the classroom,” head coach Pete Caringi, Jr. said. “On the field, he was the leader and he helped us to get to three America East finals and compete in two NCAA tournaments. Off the field, he set the standard for our academic success. This culminates a tremendous career at UMBC and I couldn’t be more proud of what he’s done. Liam is a great player, but more importantly, he is a great person, and he has been an ambassador for our program.”
The Capital One Academic All-America® Men’s Soccer Division I first team had an average G.P.A. of 3.94. UMBC tennis standouts Oscar Lopez (1999) and Lana Khvalina (2003, 2004), cross country/track’s Jen Ecker (2001) and swimming’s Keilan Freeman (2011) are UMBC’s other first team honorees. Recent UMBC Athletics’ Hall of Fame inductee and soccer standout Ted Lawler earned Academic All-District II honors in 1999.
To be eligible for Academic All-America® consideration, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative G.P.A. of 3.30 on a scale of 4.00, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standings at his/her current institution and be nominated by his/her sports information director.
Since the program’s inception in 1952, CoSIDA has bestowed Academic All-America honors on more than 16,000 student-athletes in Divisions I, II, III and NAIA, covering all NCAA championship sports. For more information about the Academic All-America® Teams program, please visit www.cosida.com.
