Jan. 28, 2004

St. Louis - Soccer Times has selected Saint Louis' Vedad Ibisevic (St. Louis, Mo. / Roosevelt) as its 2003 national Freshman of the Year and placed the Billikens' forward on its first-team All-America squad. Meanwhile, College Soccer News picked Ibisevic and Will John (Kansas City, Mo. / Rockhurst) for its All-Freshman team and tabbed John DiRaimondo (St. Louis, Mo. / SLUH) as a second-team All-Freshman selection.

"The postseason honors continue to roll in for Vedad, and it's gratifying for all of us," Billikens head coach Dan Donigan said. "So many people throughout our program have contributed to his success both on and off the field, and Vedad has taken advantage of the opportunity presented to him."

Earlier this year, Ibisevic was named an NSCAA first-team All-America, a Soccer America MVP, Conference USA's Freshman of the Year and a first-team All-Conference selection. College Soccer News placed Ibisevic on its third-team All-America squad. He tied for fourth nationally in scoring with 40 points (18G, 4A). He shattered Brian McBride's SLU freshman scoring records set in 1990 of 29 points and 12 goals.

John was the Bills' second-leading scorer with 23 points (9G, 5A), was named second-team All-Conference and to the All-Freshman team. He tied for the C-USA lead with five game winners.

DiRaimondo was the Bills' third-leading scorer with 18 points (4G, 10A), was named second-team All-Conference and to the All-Freshman team. He ranked second in C-USA and topped the club with a SLU freshman record 10 assists.

"It's good to know that soccer people around the country recognize the contributions of our other players like Will and John," Donigan said. "The success of our team wasn't based only on Vedad's scoring."

The fourth-ranked Billikens won their fourth consecutive C-USA postseason tournament title, advanced to the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals and finished the year with a 15-4-3 record.

2003 SOCCER TIMES FIRST-TEAM ALL-AMERICA	
GK - Will Hesmer, Wake Forest
D - Ryan Cochrane, Santa Clara
D - Trevor McEachron, Old Dominion
D - Chris Wingert, St. John's
M - Scott Buete, Maryland
M - Sumed Ibrahim, Maryland
M - C.J. Klaas, Washington
M - Aldolfo Gregorio, UCLA
F - Ned Grabavoy, Indiana
F - Vedad Ibisevic, Saint Louis
F - Joseph Ngwenya, Coastal Carolina