March 9, 2004

Jamaica, N.Y. -- St. John's University freshman men's soccer player Ashley Kozicki (Pleasant Valley, Pa.) was named to Soccer America's Freshman All-American team, it was announced recently by the magazine.

Kozicki was one of 11 players selected to the team, and one of only two student-athletes from the BIG EAST Conference.

He was joined on the team by Chad Barrett of UCLA; Virginia goalkeeper Ryan Burke; Notre Dame defender Greg Dalby; Saint Louis forward Vedad Ibisevic; Saint Louis forward Will John; SMU midfielder Ramon Nunez; UCLA defender Brandon Owens; Indiana forward Jacob Peterson; Cal State-Northridge forward Willie Sims and Indiana defender Jed Zayner.

During his freshman season, the 5-10, 151-pound forward helped lead St. John's to a 17-6-3 overall record and the NCAA National Championship game, where the Red Storm lost to Indiana, 2-1. The Red Storm posted an 8-2-0 record and won the program's 11th BIG EAST Championship (six tournament, five regular season) in the last 12 years.

Kozicki finished fifth on the team in scoring with five goals and four assists for 14 points. His five goals ranked tied for third on the team, while his four assists were also tied for third on the team.

His last two goals of the season were game-winners. On November 1 at West Virginia, he scored the game-winning goal against the Mountaineers, giving the Red Storm a 2-1 win and clinching the BIG EAST regular season title for the team. One week later, Kozicki's goal in overtime lifted St. John's to a 2-1 win over Villanova in the BIG EAST Tournament Quarterfinals.

The magazine said of Kozicki, "Instrumental in the Red Storm's playoff run to the national final, logging a goal, two assists and drawing two penalty kicks."

Kozicki and his teammates will be back in action this spring. The Red Storm will open their spring schedule on Wednesday, March 31, hosting Long Island University at 8 p.m. at Belson Stadium. They will play the New York/New Jersey MetroStars on Thursday, April 8 at 10 a.m. St. John's will close out with a pair of games at Belson Stadium, hosting Fairleigh Dickinson on Friday, April 16 at 8 p.m. and hosting the Long Island RoughRiders on Monday, April 19 at 8 p.m. All games are tentative and can be changed as gameday gets closer.