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Yuta Kizaki selected All-American

Junior center midfielder Yuat Kizaki of Karatsu-Shi, Japan has been chosen a third team All-American selection by the Nataional Soccer Coaches Assoication (NSCA) for the 2007 season.

Kizaki, who was named Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Player of the Year for the second straight season, helped lead the Vikings to a 12-7-1 record and a third consecutive appearance in the MASCAC postseason tournament championship match.

A three-time MASCAC first team all-star selection, Kizaki earned first team All-New England honors for 2007 after being chosen a third team member in 2006. Despite suffering a leg injury which foreced the 5'5 dynamo to miss four matches last fall, Kizaki still scored a dozen goals and contributed four assists to place among the league's top three scorers.

The Vikings have recorded an overall record of 39 wins, 19 losses and a pair of ties since Kizaki's arrived on campus prior to the start of the 2005 season. Kizaki launched an impressive 67 shots at opposing goalkeepers in 2007 to rank No. 1 in the MASCAC with a 4.19 per match average while also posting a league-leading 1.75 points per match.

"Not only is Yuta one of the nation's top soccer players, more importantly he is one of the most humble and hardworking players I have had the pleasure to coach," said veteran SSC head coach Turi Lonero. "He is a dynamic performer who is a difference-maker, a game-breaker."

Kizaki is SSC first men's soccer's All-American selection since 1999 when senior sweepback Osvaldo Dos Reis was honored as a second team member.