University of Connecticut men's soccer player Julius James (Maloney Gardens, Trinidad) has been named a Preseason All-American by Soccer America, as announced on the publication's Web site Thursday. James is one of 23 players from around the country to receive the honor and one of five honorees from the BIG EAST Conference.
James started off his senior campaign being named a candidate for the M.A.C. Hermann Trophy for the third time in his career after finishing as a semifinalist in 2006. He is a two-time NSCAA All-America selection after finishing his junior season as the BIG EAST Defender of the Year for the second-straight year.
He helped the Huskies hold opponents to 1.17 goals per game last season, while tallying five shutouts on the year and leading the Huskies to as high as No. 7 in the nation. As a two-time All-BIG EAST First Team honoree, James played and started in all 19 games last season, tallying two goals, including the game-winner at Marquette and one in the NCAA Tournament First Round game against Fairfield.
Soccer America's Preseason Men's All-American Team is headlined by Notre Dame's Joseph Lapira, the 2006 Soccer America Men's College Player of the Year. Defending national champion UC Santa Barbara (Andy Iro and Eric Avila), St. John's (Jason Landers and Ryan Soroka), Virginia (Jonathan Villanueva and Yannick Reyering) and Duke (Michael Videira and Mike Grella) are the only teams with two players selected on the 23-player team.