SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – A program record eight Santa Clara men's soccer student-athletes were named West Coast Conference All-Academic by the league on Friday.  All eight Broncos - Yoni Aidlberg, Jack Civitts, Pierce Dyal, Itamar Efrat, Naji Elder, Brennan Mallett, Jack Stoecker and Will Wiersdorf - were named honorable mentions. 

The eight honorees eclipsed the previous high of seven that were recognized four times – in 2014, 2019, 2020 and 2022. 

At the conclusion of each athletic season, the WCC selects an all-academic squad for each WCC-sponsored sport. To be considered, a student-athlete must maintain at least a 3.20 cumulative grade point average, while participating in at least 50 percent of the completed contests and have at least sophomore athletic and academic standing with at least one year in residence completed at the nominating institution.

Aidlberg has a 3.611 GPA while majoring in finance.  The senior midfielder was one of two Broncos to start in all 16 matches this season.  He logged 980 minutes of action and was credited with an assist on the game winning goal by Tyler Tipton against Boston University on the road.

Civitts, a sophomore, has a 3.775 GPA.  He appeared in all 16 matches and started in 10 with a goal and two assists to his credit.  Against San Jose State, the forward scored the game-tying goal and assisted on the game winner by Efrat.  Civitts' other assist came against Pacific on the game-winning goal by Tipton in the 2-1 victory. 

Dyal repeats as an WCC All-Academic Honorable Mention, posting a 3.688 GPA.  The economics major started in 12 of the 14 matches he appeared in.  The junior midfielder collected an assist on the game-winning goal by Florian Deletioglu in the season opener against UC San Diego.

Efrat has a 3.387 GPA majoring in bioengineering while starting in 13 of the 15 matches he appeared in.  The sophomore defender played the full 90 minutes in five of the eight WCC contests including the last four.  He scored the game-winning goal with two seconds left in the match against San Jose State.

Elder with a 3.637 GPA in public health science was named Second Team All-WCC earlier in the week.  The junior defender started all eight games that he appeared in including seven WCC contests during which the Broncos conceded just five goals.  He returned to action against the Portland after missing the previous eight matches to stabilize the Santa Clara back line in the scoreless draw to earn league Defensive Player of Week honors.  In his seven other games, he played the full 90 minutes and logged 709 minutes of action on the season.

Mallett is majoring in communication and has a 3.769 GPA.  The senior midfielder played the second most minutes on the team with 1,266 over 16 games and 15 starts. He played the full 90 minutes, 11 times. 

Stoecker, a graduate student, has a 3.235 GPA in Management Information Systems.  The 6-foot-7 goalkeeper started in all 11 matches he appeared in and posted a 3-5-3 record with three shutouts.  He had a .739 save percentage with a 1.09 goals against average.

An All-WCC Second Teamer, Wiersdorf has a 3.744 GPA.  He finished tied for second on the team with three goals and tied for the team lead with two assists playing in 11 games, starting in all.  The sophomore midfielder scored the game-winning goal against Gonzaga in the 1-0 win and assisted on the game winner in the season opening 1-0 victory over UC San Diego.

With the exception of Dyal, this is the first all-academic recognition for everyone.