Dec. 13, 2010

LOS ANGELES - Senior Rafael Baca has become the fourth player in LMU history to be named to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America All-America team, earning a place on the Third Team, the organization announced Saturday. Baca joins Andres Murriagui and Arturo Torres (both 2002) and Matt Kovar (2004) as the only Lions to earn NSCAA All-America recognition.

The honor is the second in a week from the NSCAA for Baca (Lawndale, Calif.), who earned his First Team All-Far West Region recognition on December 8. The senior capped his stellar career by becoming just the second LMU player ever to earn three consecutive All-West Coast Conference First Team honors. Baca led the league with eight assists, tied for second-most in a single season in LMU history. He added three goals and tied for fifth in the WCC with 14 points. Baca leaves LMU as number two in career games played (79), shots (213), and assists (19), third with 57 points, and fourth with 19 goals. A Preseason All-WCC selection, he earned WCC Player of the Week honors for the second time in his career on November 8 after scoring notching his third career two-goal game at Portland. Baca was also on the Wildcat Invitational All-Tournament Team and is the 10th-ranked player in the nation according to TopDrawerSoccer.com.

Baca has already earned multiple All-American honors from various organizations. In 2010, he was a Third Team Preseason All-American from College Soccer News and a member of TopDrawerSoccer.com's National Team of the Season Second Team. In 2009, he was named to the Goal.com All-America First Team and was a candidate for both the MAC Hermann Trophy, which is given annually to the national player of the year, and the Soccer News Net Player of the Year award.

LMU finished atop the WCC standings, sharing the regular season title with Santa Clara. With a 12-6-2 overall record and 8-3-1 in conference, the Lions secured one of their best seasons in school history. LMU's previous best finish in the WCC had been second place in 2004 while this year's eight conference wins matched the school record also set in 2004. LMU posted 12 victories during the regular season, its most since 2003 and second-most ever, and registered consecutive double-digit win seasons for the first time since 2003-04. The conference title is the first in men's soccer for LMU and the school's first since women's rowing and men's golf won the WCC crown in 2006.

About the National Soccer Coaches Association of America
Based in Kansas City, Kan., the NSCAA is the largest soccer coaches' organization in the world. Since its founding in 1941, it has grown to include more than 30,000 members who coach both genders at all levels of the sport. In addition to a national rankings program for colleges and high schools, NSCAA offers an extensive recognition program that presents nearly 10,000 individual awards every year. It fulfills its mission of coaching education through a nationwide program of clinics and week-long courses, teaching more than 6,000 soccer coaches each year.