---

AUSTIN, Texas – University of Charleston's Conor Branson has been selected to the 2014 Capital One Academic All-America® Division II Men's Soccer team, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). The Capital One Division II Academic All-America® program is being financially supported by the NCAA Division II national governance structure to assist CoSIDA with handling the awards fulfillment aspects for the 2014-15 Division II Academic All-America® teams program.

Branson, a Junior Defensive Back, from Pontefract, England carries a 3.94 gpa. and is a Sports Administration major.  He has helped lead his team to a #1-Ranking in the country.  His nine goals and six assist leave him in third on the team in each category this season.  Charleston is currently 21-0-1 on the season and has won the Mountain East Conference regular season and conference tournament crowns.  Conor was named MEC Defensive Player of the Year by MEC coaches this past season and was selected to the MEC All-Tournament Team.  He is a First Team ALL- MEC selection.

Capital One Academic All-America® Men's Soccer Division II Team
 
Sixteen of the 33 members of the 2014 Capital One Academic All-America® NCAA Division II men's soccer teams have at least a 3.90 G.P.A., with four student-athletes maintaining a perfect 4.00 G.P.A. The 11 members of the first team have an average G.P.A. of 3.92.
 
Gannon University senior Robbie Bennett is a three-time Capital One Academic All-America® after earning first team honors for the second straight year. He was a third-team selection in 2012. A sports psychology major with a 3.95 G.P.A., the native of Durban, South Africa is a four-time All-Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference first team choice. He led the Golden Knights in goals (11), assists (4), and points (26). He is a two-time All-American, earning honorable mention Daktronics recognition a year ago and third team NSCAA accolades as a sophomore. In addition, he is a three-time Daktronics all-region selection and earned NSCAA all-region honors the last two years. The four-year starter concluded his Gannon career ranked sixth in career points (111) and career goals (47). He is a two-time PSAC Top 10 award winner.     
 
Senior Ilija Ilic of Young Harris College is a two-time Capital One Academic All-America® first team selection after repeating this year. Ilic is a forward from Belgrade, Serbia who has a 3.78 G.P.A. as a business and public policy major. He has helped the second-ranked Mountain Lions to an 18-0-1 record and a berth in the NCAA Division II third round. Young Harris, in its first year as an active member in NCAA Division II, will host Limestone. Ilic was recently named the Peach Belt Conference Player of the Year for the second consecutive season, just the third player in conference history to earn the award in back-to-back years and the first since 1999. He is a three-time All-PBC honoree. Ilic leads Division II lead in points (61), is tied for first in goals scored (24) and is tied for second in assists (13). He was a 2013 NSCAA All-American.
 
Harding University has a pair of returnees from the 2013 Capital One Academic All-America® teams. Jacob Stevens is now a two-time first team selection while Gehrig Haberstock was a second team selection last year. Stevens, a senior midfielder from Arlington, Texas, led the Bisons in scoring with 16 points on seven goals and a pair of assists. In 2013 he earned second team Daktronics All-Central Region honors and was an honorable mention All-Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association choice. He is a mechanical engineering major with a 4.00 G.P.A.
 
Haberstock is a senior defender from Waynesville, Missouri, with a 3.97 G.P.A. as a social work major. He started all 16 matches and finished with a pair of assists while helping the Bisons record a pair of shutouts. He was a 2012 second team Daktronics All-Central Region selection.
 
Quincy University's Ethan Venvertloh is a second team Capital One Academic All-American® after earning first team honors in 2013, while teammate Christopher Garavaglia moved up from the third team to the second this year. The duo has helped the fifth-ranked Hawks to a 19-1-2 record and their first-ever NCAA playoff victory. Quincy defeated Drury University 1-0 and moves on to the third round of the NCAA Tournament to face Saginaw Valley State University.
 
Venvertloh, a senior forward from Quincy, Illinois, has started all 22 games, contributing six goals and two assists for 14 points. A finance major with a 3.94 G.P.A., he earned second team All-Great Lakes Valley Conference honors. He was a first team All-GLVC choice in 2013 and was on the second team in 2012. He was also accorded Daktronics All-Midwest Region first team honors in 2013.
 
Garavaglia is a graduate student with a 3.63 G.P.A. in the MBA program. A native of St. Louis, Missouri, he was recently named the GLVC Defensive Player of the Year for the second time in his career, previously earning the honor in 2012. As a defender he has helped the defense post a school-record 14 shutouts while allowing just 12 goals. He was a 2013 first team Daktronics All-Midwest Region choice and earned third team NSCAA All-Midwest Region honors.
 
Sam Miles of the University of North Carolina at Pembroke is the final repeat performer from 2013. The senior forward from Christchurch, New Zealand moved up from the third to second team in 2014. A business major with a 3.91 G.P.A., Miles earned second team All-Peach Belt Conference honors, his fourth time as an All-PBC selection, and was the recipient of the Elite 15 Award. He led the team with eight goals and four assists for 20 points. A highly-decorated player, he was named the 2011 PBC Freshman of the Year.    
 
The rest of the 2014 Capital One Academic All-America® first team includes Kevin Leib of St. Edward's University, Ryan Lawhead of Missouri University of Science and Technology, Southern New Hampshire's Jonathan Lupinelli, Lars Zimmerman of Anderson (S.C.) University, University of Charleston (W.Va.)'s Conor Branson, and James Smith of Lees-McRae College.
 
The 11-member second team includes Saint Leo University's Manuel Schoenhuber, Javier Gallardo of New York Institute of Technology, Dane Nielson and Shane Panther of California State University, Los Angeles, Drury's Mike Lee, Barry University's Nico Gerke, James Roberts of the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, and Barton College's Erik Pajunk.
 
The third team is comprised of Northwood (Mich.) University's Johannes Sterobo, Fort Lewis University's Maik Brandt, Keegan Campbell and Sebastian Stezewski of Southern New University, Stan Schrock of Colorado Mesa University, Nick Watson of Fresno Pacific University, Cal Poly Pomona's Daniel Garcia Jr., Richard Garvey of Colorado School of Mines, Ben Jones of Lenoir-Rhyne University, Craig Neal of Saginaw Valley University, Ovan Oakley of Concordia (N.Y.) College, and Seattle Pacific University's Sean Russell.

About Capital One      
Capital One Financial Corporation (www.capitalone.com) is a financial holding company whose subsidiaries, which include Capital One, N.A., and Capital One Bank (USA), N. A., had $206.9 billion in deposits and $289.9 billion in total assets as of September 30, 2013. Headquartered in McLean, Virginia, Capital One offers a broad spectrum of financial products and services to consumers, small businesses and commercial clients through a variety of channels. Capital One, N.A. has more than 900 branch locations primarily in New York, New Jersey, Texas, Louisiana, Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia. A Fortune 500 company, Capital One trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "COF" and is included in the S&P 100 index.
 
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Michael MacEachern, Young Harris College (mfmaceachern@yhc.edu) (706) 379-5106
Academic All-America ® Co-Chair for Publicity/Communications
 
Bob Shreve, Edinboro University (rshreve@edinboro.edu)                      (814)732-1834
Academic All-America® Coordinator of Publicity

Academic All-America® of the Year: Elvind Austboe, LIU Post

FIRST TEAM
Pos. Name School Yr. Hometown GPA Major
GK Kevin Leib St. Edward's Jr. Dallas, Texas 4.00 Business Administration
D Gehrig Haberstock (2) Harding Sr. Waynesville, Mo. 3.97 Social Work
D Ryan Lawhead Missouri Science & Technology Jr. O'Fallon, Ill. 3.93 Petroleum Engineering
D Jonathan Lupinelli Southern New Hampshire Gr. Mont De Marsan, France 3.84 Marketing
D Lars Zimmerman Anderson (S.C.) Jr. Malente, Germany 3.90 Business
M Conor Branson Charleston Jr. Pontefract, England 3.97 Sport Administration
M James Smith Lees-McRae Sr. Eastbourne, England 3.85 Sports Science
M Jacob Stevens (1) Harding Sr. Arlington, Texas 4.00 Mechanical Engineering
F Eivind Austboe (1,!) LIU Post Sr. Stavanger, Norway 3.92 Business Administration
F Robbie Bennett Gannon Sr. Durban, South Africa 3.95 Sport Psychology
F Ilija Ilic (1) Young Harris Sr. Belgrade, Serbia 3.78 Business & Public Policy

SECOND TEAM
Pos. Name School Yr. Hometown GPA Major
GK Manuel Schoenhuber Saint Leo Jr. Traunstein, Germany 3.97 Business Management
D Javier Gallardo New York Institute of Technology Gr. Sevilla, Spain 3.63 Mechanical Engineering
D Christopher Garavaglia (3) Quincy Gr. St. Louis, Mo. 3.63 MBA
D Dane Nielsen Cal State Los Angeles Sr. Sandy, Utah 3.60 Biochemistry
D Mike Lee Drury Sr. St. Louis, Missouri 3.90 Biology / Chemistry
M Nico Gerke Barry Sr. Wahrenholz, Germany 4.00 Business Management
M Shane Panther Cal State Los Angeles Sr. Louisville, Ky. 3.90 Psychology
M James Roberts Colorado, Colorado Springs Sr. Perrysburg, Ohio. 3.60 Sport Management
F Sam Miles (3) UNC Pembroke Sr. Christchurch, New Zealand 3.91 Business
F Erik Pajunk Barton Sr. Rio De Janeiro, Brazil 3.65 Business Administration
F Ethan Venvertloh (1) Quincy Sr. Quincy, Ill. 3.94 Finance

THIRD TEAM
Pos. Name School Yr. Hometown GPA Major
GK Johannes Sterobo Northwood (Mich.) Jr. Odense, Denmark 3.98 International Business
D Maik Brandt Fort Lewis Sr. Stadthagen, Germany 3.88 Business Administration
D Keegan Campbell Southern New Hampshire Sr. Norton, Mass. 3.40 Business Administration
D Stan Schrock Colorado Mesa Sr. Okinawa, Japan 3.84 Journalism
D Nick Watson Fresno Pacific Sr. Clovis, Calif. 3.85 Kinesiology
M Daniel Garcia Jr. Cal Poly Pomona Sr. Lakewood, Calif. 3.65 Sociology
M Richard Garvey Colorado School of Mines Jr. Portmore, Jamaica 3.89 Electrical Engineering
M Ben Jones Lenoir-Rhyne Sr. Dagenham, England 4.00 Liberal Studies
F Craig Neal Saginaw Valley State Sr. Auburn, Mich. 3.88 Criminal Justice
F Ovan Oakley Concordia (N.Y.) So. Kingston, Jamaica 3.54 Business Administration
F Sean Russell Seattle Pacific Sr. Seattle, Wash. 3.76 Engineering
F Sebastian Stezewski Southern New Hampshire Jr. New Britain, Conn. 3.44 Justice Studies

Academic All-America® of the Year: Elvind Austboe, LIU Post

(1) – Capital One Academic All-America® Division II First Team selection in 2013
(2) – Capital One Academic All-America® Division II Second Team selection in 2013
(3) – Capital One Academic All-America® Division II Third Team selection in 2013
(!) – Capital One Academic All-America® of the Year selection in 2013