LIU Soccer Teams Honored for Academics; Men's Team's Grade-Point Average is Best in the Nation

1/12/05 -- Long Island University was one of 53 schools which saw its men’s and women’s soccer team each post at least a 3.00 grade-point average during the 2003-04 academic year with each squad earning the NSCAA (National Soccer Coaches Association of America)/adidas Team Academic Award.

The men’s squad closed with a 3.30 GPA to finish first in the country among Division I schools and tied for the ninth best mark overall. The Blackbirds were one of 73 schools honored. They had a Northeast Conference best 11 student-athletes named to the Academic Honor Roll.

The men’s team was led on the academic forefront by senior David Ledet (New Orleans, La.), who recorded a 3.88 GPA as a double major in English and Political Science. The 6-0 defender was an ESPN Academic All-America First Team selection and named the Northeast Conference’s Men’s Soccer Scholar-Athlete. Ledet was onE of only 816 athletes to earn the honor this academic year among the NCAA Division I, II, III and the NAIA.

The Blackbirds (9-6-4, 5-2-2 NEC) also achieved success on the field, capturing their first NEC title since 1997 win a 1-0 victory over top-seeded Fairleigh Dickinson in the final. LIU clinched its first trip to the NCAA College Cup since 1986 before falling, 3-0, at American University.

The women’s team finished with a 3.18 GPA, one of 290 schools cited in the nation, and saw nine of its student-athletes make the NEC Honor Roll. The Blackbirds (9-7-2, 4-3-2) made postseason play for just the second time in school history, advancing to the ECAC final before an overtime setback to Columbia. In its first postseason appearance since the 1999 NCAA College Cup, the Blackbirds defeated Fordham to reach the final.