Jan. 9, 2008

EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State men's soccer standout Doug DeMartin (Mason, Mich./Mason) was named first-team scholar all-american by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA). The redshirt-junior forward, who led the Big Ten in goals and owns a 3.91 GPA in finance at MSU, was one of 12 NCAA Division I players and the only Big Ten student-athlete on the first team.

DeMartin, who was first-team All-Big Ten this season after scoring a league-best 12 goals, led the Spartan men's soccer program to one of its best seasons in history. After starting the season 7-0-2, MSU spent five weeks in the NSCAA rankings while posting two wins over nationally-ranked opponents. On October 10, MSU defeated No. 3 Notre Dame, 1-0, and four days later, DeMartin scored two goals in MSU's 5-0 win over No. 21 Michigan.

"Doug was our offensive leader this season," head coach Joe Baum said. "He is a great student-athlete on and off the field, and he is deserving the honors he receives. He brings a lot of effort to every practice and match as well as in the classroom."

The 2007 soccer season ended with DeMartin also leading the Big Ten in game-winning goals (5) while ranking second in shots (78) and points (24). Additionally, his 0.57 goals per game mark was almost double any player in the Big Ten who played in 20 matches.

Indiana's Chay Cain and Penn State's Jason Yeisley were named to the NSCAA's second team. Forty-seven players in all three NCAA divisions were selected, and they will be honored at the NSCAA All-American luncheon in Baltimore, Md., on Saturday, Jan. 19.