Nikolic Named to Academic All-America Division II Men’s Soccer Second Team

East Stroudsburg University junior forward Nemanja Nikolic has been named to the Capital One Academic All-America Division II Men’s Soccer second team for the 2011 season, it was announced Wednesday.

Nikolic (Kragujevac, Serbia), a Spanish major with a 4.0 grade-point average, led the Warriors with seven goals and two assists in 13 starts this season, including three game-winning goals. He was named to the All-PSAC second team at forward.

Nikolic is in his third semester at ESU after spending one year at Fort Scott CC in Kansas. He was a member of Fort Scott’s football program which reached the NJCAA championship game in 2009 and did not compete in football or soccer at ESU in 2010 before joining the soccer program this fall under first-year head coach Rob Berkowitz.

He scored five of his seven goals in a three-game stretch for ESU to earn the PSAC Player of the Week award. He had two goals in a 3-1 win at Slippery Rock, one goal and an assist in a 3-1 win over No. 12 Mercyhurst and both goals in a 2-1 win at Gannon that helped the Warriors close the gap on a PSAC tournament spot before falling one game short.

He is the fourth men’s soccer player to be named to the Academic All-America team, joining Toric Robinson (2009), Jorge Chapoy (2003) and Kamar Samuels (2002, 2003).

Sophomore back Khriswayne Wallace, a Business Management major with a 3.95 GPA, joined Nikolic on the Academic All-District team and was also on the national ballot for consideration.

The PSAC is also represented on the team by Bloomsburg forward Bryce Shaffer on the first team and California goalkeeper Charlie Dagnal on the third team. There were six PSAC student-athletes on the women’s team, including three first team picks in goalkeeper Paula Jackson and back Kristen Orrett of California and forward Amanda Sharbaugh of Gannon.

This marks the first year that the Academic All-America programs, selected and administered by CoSIDA (College Sports Information Directors of America), are divided into four teams – Division I, Division II, Division III and College Division (NAIA, Canada and two-year schools). Teams were previous selected in the University Division (DI) and College Division (all others).