Goalkeeper Justin Vom Steeg and midfielder Geoffrey Acheampong of the UC Santa Barbara men’s soccer team were named to the Top Drawer Soccer preseason Freshman Best XI, the website announced on Monday.
UCSB was one of a pair of programs nationwide to place two rookies on the preseason Best XI, joining Virginia.
The highly touted duo was part of a 2014 recruiting class that ranked No. 5 in the nation, according to Top Drawer.
Acheampong, one of the most decorated prospects of the entire 2014 class, comes to the Gauchos after a superb prep career with Cate School and Santa Barbara Soccer Club. The two-time First Team All-American scored 45 goals as a four-year starter at Cate, taking the Rams deep into the CIF playoffs each season. He was also a key cog in a four year career with SBSC, winning a National Championship with the club and helping them to a No. 1 national ranking for the 2013-14 season.
Vom Steeg, another Santa Barbara local and son of head coach Tim, was the No. 2 goalkeeping prospect of his class according to Top Drawer and he arrives on campus with an already-loaded resume. The Real So Cal shot-stopper recently set a single-season franchise record with eight shutouts for the Ventura County Fusion and has been a mainstay with the US Men’s National Team program ever since his U-14 days.
The Gauchos open the 2015 season on Saturday night as they host cross-town rival Westmont for their annual exhibition game.
