Gustavus Adolphus College senior men’s soccer player Ben Ceder (Oregon, Wis.) has earned one of the highest honors granted to a collegiate student-athlete. Ceder is one of 11 NCAA Division III players to earn a spot on the 2011 Academic All-America Men’ Soccer Team.
The Capital One Division III Academic All-America program is being financially supported by the NCAA Division III national governance structure to assist CoSIDA with handling the awards fulfillment aspects for the 2011-12 Division III Academic All-America teams program.
Ben Ceder is a three-time Academic All-MIAC honoree with a GPA of 3.88 in Biology. Prior to earning Academic All-America honors, Ceder was named Academic All-District in early November.
On the soccer field, Ceder started in all 19 of Gustavus’ matches in the 2011 season, recording one assist for one point. The 2010 All-Conference performer started in 70-of-74 matches over his four-year career, finishing with two goals and two assists within that time.
The Gustavus men’s soccer team finished third in the MIAC with 21 points following a regular season in which the Gusties went 14-2-3 overall and 6-1-3 in league play. Ceder was a member of a backline that finished the season ranked fifth in NCAA Division III in goals against average (0.44) and ninth in shutout percentage (0.61). Within the MIAC, Gustavus allowed just seven goals for an average of .70 goals per game while turning in four shutouts.
Along with his accomplishments on the field and in the classroom, the Oregon, Wis. native is a volunteer for The Third Floor and the Special Olympics.
To be eligible for Academic All-America consideration, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative G.P.A. of 3.30 on a scale of 4.00, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standings at his/her current institution and be nominated by his/her sports information director.
Since the program’s inception in 1952, CoSIDA has bestowed Academic All-America honors on more than 14,000 student-athletes in Divisions I, II, III and NAIA, covering all NCAA championship sports.