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Grella Selected To All-America First Team
DURHAM, N.C.?Duke University senior forward Mike Grella was named to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America All-America first team the organization announced on Dec. 12. The native of Glen Cove, N.Y., captured All-America honors from the NSCAA for the second consecutive season.
Grella was one of 11 players to earn All-America recognition for the second time and one of five players from the Atlantic Coast Conference named to the first team. He is the 16th Blue Devil in history to earn first team All-America honors and the first since 2005.
Grella also was selected to the College Soccer News All-America first team. He earned second team honors last season and is one of five ACC players on the first team in 2008.
"Congratulations to Mike Grella on a well deserved honor," head coach John Kerr said. "He certainly had a spectacular season scoring some big time goals. He finishes off a phenomenal career in which he and the team experienced incredible success here at Duke. We wish him tremendous succes in his professional career."
The 2008 ACC Offensive Player of the Year and three-time first team All-ACC honoree, Grella paced the Blue Devil offense over the past three seasons. He led all scorers this season with 14 goals and eight assists for 36 points. His 36 points and 14 goals rank second in the ACC and, while he currently ranks seventh in the nation in points per game (1.89) and 11th goals per game (0.74).
Grella earlier was named a Hermann Trophy Semifinalist for the second consecutive season. He is the first Duke player to earn the Offensive Player of the Year award from the ACC since its inception in 2004 and is the fourth Blue Devil to earn an ACC Player of the Year award since the beginning of the ACC in 1970. He also joined elite company this season as he became the eighth player in Duke soccer history to earn first-team honors three consecutive seasons.
As a junior, Grella was voted a semifinalist for the Hermann Trophy, awarded to the nation’s top player, and captured All-American Third Team recognition. He led all Blue Devils with 26 points from 10 goals and six assists that season. For his career, Grella has 41 goals and 27 assists to his name for 109 points. He closes out his career ranked seventh in career goals and eighth in points. He helped guide Duke to a 51-25-7 record in four seasons, an ACC regular season and Tournament Championship in 2006, an ACC Tournament title in 2005, and four consecutive appearances in the NCAA Tournament. Grella tallied the game-winning goals in ACC Tournament championship games in 2005 and 2006.
The Blue Devils finished the 2008 season with a 10-8-2 overall record and 3-3-2 mark in ACC action. Duke earned its 22nd and fifth consecutive berth in the NCAA Tournament, hosting UNC Greensboro in the first round.
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