Forward Jarett Park, who led NCAA Division I men in assists with 14 in 15 games, has been selected 2001 College Men’s Freshman of the Year by Soccer America magazine. Park, who was sixth in the Big East Conference in scoring with 24 points, is the first Syracuse athlete, man or woman, to earn the honor from Soccer America. Park is among 11 players on Soccer America‘s All-Freshman team. NCAA champion North Carolina is represented by forward Marcus Storey, the top rookie scorer in the Atlantic Coast Conference, and runner-up Indiana placed forward Mike Ambersley on the squad. Others honored are Michigan midfielder Knox Cameron, Santa Clara defender Ryan Cochrane, Furman midfielder Clint Dempsey, Washington midfielder C.J. Klaas, Hartford forward Alon Lubezky, Boston College defender Guy Melamed, Virginia defender Matt Oliver and Notre Dame goalkeeper Chris Sawyer. Previous men’s Freshmen of the Year include Claudio Reyna, Brad Friedel and Shaka Hislop, who play in the English Premier Division. Last year’s winner was Virginia’s Alecko Eskandarian. Soccer America‘s men’s and women’s Freshmen of the Year and All-Freshman Team selections are featured in the magazine’s Feb. 4 issue. Soccer America‘s College Men’s All-Freshmen Team: MIKE AMBERSLEY (Indiana) Forward The Big Ten’s Co-Freshman of the Year contributed six goals and five assists — No. 2 on the team — as the Hoosiers rolled to 18 victories and a spot in the NCAA final. The U.S. U-20 forward scored the tying goal and assisted on the overtime winner in Indiana’s semifinal victory over St. John’s. KNOX CAMERON (Michigan) Midfielder The All-Big Ten second-team selection led the second-year Wolverines in scoring with five goals and three assists in a 10-7-1 campaign. Three of his strikes came in victories over Wisconsin and Ohio State. RYAN COCHRANE (Santa Clara) Defender The All-West Coast Conference second-teamer started all 21 games in the back for the Broncos, who captured their eighth WCC title and shut out seven foes, including California in an NCAA first-round clash. CLINT DEMPSEY (Furman) Midfielder The Southern Conference’s Freshman of the Year contributed 16 points — four goals and eight assists — in 21 starts for the nation’s most prolific attack (3.09 goals per game). The Paladins went 17-5 and won their fourth successive SoCon title. C.J. KLAAS (Washington) Midfielder The Pacific 10 Freshman of the Year, a defender with the U.S. U-20 squad, started 16 games for the Huskies, scoring a goal and dishing off five assists as Washington reached the NCAA tournament for the seventh straight year. He was a second-team All-Pac-10 selection. ALON LUBEZKY (Hartford) Forward The America East Conference’s Rookie of the Year — an honor brother Asaf, a Hartford junior, captured in 1999 — was the lone freshman on the NSCAA All-America teams after leading the Hawks with 50 points (on 21 goals and eight assists) in 20 starts. The Israeli striker scored 14 goals with seven assists in 11 AEC matches and was a first-team all-conference choice. GUY MELAMED (Boston College) Midfielder/Defender The former Israeli U-16 and U-18 player, a 22-year-old freshman, split time in midfield and defense, starting 17 games and scoring a pair of goals to help the Eagles gain their second successive NCAA bid. MATT OLIVER (Virginia) Defender Oliver started 19 of 20 games in a Cavs defense that notched 11 shutouts, surrendered 0.60 goals per game and allowed foes only 3.25 shots on goal per match. Virginia went 17-2-1 and won the Atlantic Coast Conference title. JARETT PARK (Syracuse) Forward The Big East Conference’s Rookie of the Year scored five goals and assisted on another 14, factoring in more than half the Orangemen’s output. He led the nation in assists with the second-best single-season total in Syracuse history, passing off for nine in 10 Big East games, and was a third-team All-Big East selection. Park also plays for Syracuse’s lacrosse team. CHRIS SAWYER (Notre Dame) Goalkeeper The All-Big East second-team netminder grabbed the starting job six games into the season and led the Fighting Irish to 10 victories, second place in the Big East and their fifth NCAA tournament bid. Sawyer posted 6 1/2 shutouts — four of them in conference play — and a 0.56 goals-against average, surrendering only eight goals in nearly 1,300 minutes of action. MARCUS STOREY (North Carolina) Forward The Atlantic Coast Conference’s Rookie of the Year was the NCAA champions’ No. 3 scorer with nine goals and eight assists — tops among ACC first-years — while starting 17 of 25 matches. He earned a penalty kick in the Tar Heels’ 2-0 victory over Indiana in the NCAA championship. FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR Jarett Park (Syracuse) SA FRESHMEN OF THE YEAR (Since 1988) Men 1988 — Shaka Hislop (Howard) 1989 — Ruben Tufino (South Carolina) 1990 — Brad Friedel (UCLA) 1991 — Claudio Reyna (Virginia) 1992 — Guillermo Jara (San Diego) 1993 — Andre Paris (Princeton) 1994 — Nick Bone (Boston University) 1995 — Jay Heaps (Duke) 1996 — Wojtek Krakowiak (St. John’s) 1997 — Nick Garcia (Indiana) 1998 — Taylor Twellman (Maryland) 1999 — Conor Casey (Portland) 2000 — Alecko Eskandarian (Virginia) 2001 — Jarett Park (Syracuse) Women 1988 — Heather Taggart (Wisconsin) 1989 — Kristine Lilly (North Carolina) 1990 — Tiffeny Milbrett (Portland) 1991 — Tisha Venturini (North Carolina) 1992 — Thori Staples (North Carolina State) 1993 — Cindy Daws (Notre Dame) 1994 — Staci Wilson (North Carolina) 1995 — Cindy Parlow (North Carolina) 1996 — Laurie Schwoy (North Carolina) 1997 — Anne Makinen (Notre Dame) 1998 — Mary-Frances Monroe (Connecticut) 1999 — Christie Welsh (Penn State) 2000 — Lindsay Browne (Clemson) 2001 — Christine Sinclair (Portland)