Topping the University of North Florida men’s soccer team and ranking near the top in offensive production in the Atlantic Sun Conference, sophomores Adam O’Neill and Akil DeFreitas were named to the 2008 All-Atlantic Sun Conference team, the conference office announced Tuesday.
Both forwards earned A-Sun All-Freshman honors last season while DeFreitas, a native of Port of Spain, Trinidad, grabbed second-team all-conference honors a year ago. This season, O’Neill was chosen for the all-conference second team, and DeFreitas became the first player in UNF history to be dubbed an all-conference first team selection.
“Akil is one of the premier players in the conference,” Bunch said. “And Adam is very versatile; he has done a lot of good things for our team over the past two seasons.”
O’Neill and DeFreitas netted seven goals apiece in 2007 to lead the Osprey squad, and O’Neill was second on the team with three assists. A London, England native, O’Neill headed the team in both categories this season, scoring eight goals and assisting on four. DeFreitas ranked second in both with six goals and two assists and scored a team-high three game-winning goals.
The sophomore duo has already made its mark on the UNF men’s soccer record books, collectively owning three slots in multiple categories and close to notching several more. The two helped UNF reach program Division I-high win totals in each of their two seasons as Ospreys, achieving eight in 2007 and nine in 2008 (9-10-0 final record).
DeFreitas owns the top spot on both the single-season and career record list for game-winning goals after scoring an all-time high four in 2007 (tied with A.J. Romano) and an all-time second best in 2008 (tied with several others) for a career record seven (tied with Peter Sesay).
O’Neill’s 15 career goals is tied for 10th best on the career record list, and DeFreitas needs two more career goals to break into the top 10 on the same list. O’Neill will add his name to the all-time assists list with four more, and both athletes can also post their names on the remainder of the all-time scoring and participation lists.