Torda - Lowe's Senior CLASS Award Spotlight
DAYTON, Ohio - University of Dayton men's soccer players Ben Murray and Alex Torda have been selected as candidates for the 2009 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award. They are included on a list of 30 of the best men's soccer student-athletes in the country.
To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence - classroom, character, community and competition.
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in SchoolTM, the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.
Even with the rigors of being a Division I College athlete, Murray maintains a 3.7 GPA with double major in business economics and finance. He was named to the prestigious 2008 NSCAA/Adidas University Scholar All-East Region Third Team. Murray was named Most Valuable Player for the Flyer men's soccer team that posted a school-best record, won the 2008 Atlantic 10 Men's Soccer Championship and advanced to its first-ever NCAA Tournament.
He is a member of the UD Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) Finance Team. The two-year captain had a breakout year in 2008. He was chosen to the Atlantic 10 Championship All-Tournament Team for gritty performances, playing all three games - all 277 minutes - in four days to lead the Flyers to the A-10 title. Murray was also named to the Dayton Flyer Courtyard by Marriott Classic All-Tournament Team after notching the game-winning assist against Marshall and also producing an assist against Robert Morris. He finished the season with a career-high four assists.
Torda maintains a 3.6 GPA in honors classes in finance and entrepreneurship and was named to the prestigious 2008 NSCAA/adidas Scholar All-America Team, as well as the 2008 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America Second Team. He was one of 11 players named to the Atlantic 10 All-Academic Team in 2008 and was also a First Team All-District IV ESPN The Magazine All-Academic Selection.
In 2008, Torda became the first-ever at University of Dayton to be named a candidate for the Hermann Trophy. He lived up to the billing his junior season, leading the Flyers to an Atlantic 10 Tournament Championship and the first-ever NCAA berth for Dayton men's soccer. He was named to all-tournament teams in three of the four tournaments Dayton played during the 2008 season. He was named UD's Offensive Player of the Year after leading the team in goals and points. Torda was twice named Atlantic 10 Player of the Week and once named to the College Soccer News National Team of the Week. He is a two-time All-Atlantic 10 selection, honored to the First Team in 2007 and the Second Team in 2008. He is also a two-time All-Ohio First Team member, as well as NSCAA/adidas All- Mid Atlantic Region.
Torda repeated as a pick on the A-10 Preseason All-Conference Team this season. He was also recently named to the 2009 College Soccer News Third Team Preseason All-America. As a sophomore, he led the Flyers in scoring and was named the team's Most Valuable Player. He was also the only sophomore in the conference named First Team All-Atlantic 10.
Both Murray and Torda have volunteered every year as a University of Dayton Soccer Academy camp counselor and are also annual volunteers for UD Christmas on Campus program, which involves "adopting a child" to give them a better holiday. They also work with TOPS Soccer (The Outreach Program for Soccer) which is a national soccer program created to train young people with disabilities in a caring coaching environment. Another team activity they participate in is the inner city free soccer clinics the Flyers conduct. Both have also served as student tutors.
From the list of 30 candidates, a national media committee will select 10 finalists for the 2009 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award at the end of September. Those 10 names will then be placed on the official ballot for a nationwide vote beginning October 5 and concluding November 13. Fan balloting will be coupled with votes from coaches and media to determine the recipient of the award. The winner will be announced during the 2009 NCAA Division I Men's College Cup in Cary, North Carolina, scheduled for December 11-13.
