Sias, Fontein, Kuntz get top Big West accolades

The UC Irvine men’s soccer team, which won the Big West Conference regular season and conference tournament titles, dominated the all-conference selections, earning three top individual awards.

Senior defender David Sias was named Big West Defensive Player of the Year. Freshman goalkeeper Andrew Fontein was named Big West Co-Freshman of the Year. Head coach George Kuntz was named Big West Coach of the Year.

Senior midfielder Matt Murphy, junior midfielder-forward Irving Garcia and sophomore forward Spencer Thompson joined Sais on the first team.

Murphy, UCI’s career leader in points (85) and goals (33), was a first-team performer as a sophomore. He and Sias were on the second team in 2007.

Fontein, seniors Rafael Macedo, Kyle Schmid, and Shane Westbook were second-team honorees for the Anteaters (14-1-6), who open their first NCAA Tournament appearance Tuesday at home against either UCLA or Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

UCI freshman Gray received honorable mention.

This is the fourth conference Coach of the Year honor for Kuntz, in his 14th season.

Quincy Amarikwa of UC Davis was named the Offensive Player of the Year, while teammate Dylan Curtis was named Midfielder of the Year.

— From staff reports