Four Blue Devils Named To All-South Region Teams

DURHAM, N.C. --- Midfielder Joe Germanese, forward Mike Grella, defender Tim Jepson and midfielder Michael Videira were all named to 2007 NSCAA/adidas All-South Region teams, announced Friday. Grella and Videira picked up first team honors for the second straight season, Jepson was placed on the second team and Germanese earned third team recognition.

There are eight regions throughout the country, with three teams of 11 players selected in each region. The South region includes the states of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida.

Germanese was second on the Blue Devil team with seven assists this year, and contributed three goals on 26 shots. The senior from St. Louis, Mo., ranked fourth on the squad with 13 points. Germanese started 19 games, missing only one match due to injury, and logged 1,313 minutes. He was named to the Academic All-America second team for 2007. Germanese has been invited to the 2008 MLS Combine in January.

Grella, a junior from Glen Cove, N.Y., was a first-team All-ACC selection and is currently a semifinalist for the Hermann Trophy as national player of the year. He led the Blue Devils with 10 goals this season and added six assists for 26 points. Grella was tops in the ACC with six game-winning goals. He was named Top Drawer Soccer's national player of the week on Sept. 1 and received a total of five national team of the week accolades from three different media sources. This year marks the second consecutive season that Grella earned first team All-South Region honors.

Despite missing the first 10 games due to a high hamstring injury, Jepson came back to start 10 straight games and log 797 minutes in captaining Duke's defense for the second year in a row. He recorded one assist and two shots. Jepson was named to the Academic All-District second team for the second year in a row and was named to the All-ACC second team. The senior from Yorba Linda, Calif., was also one of 10 national finalists for the men's soccer Lowe's Senior CLASS Award and one of 19 national semifinalists for the all collegiate sports Wooden Cup.

Videira, a native of Milford, Mass., is a Hermann Trophy semifinalist for the third consecutive season. He started 15 matches and played 1,215 minutes despite battling through a leg injury. Videira helped the Blue Devils with two goals and three assists as he ran the offense from the center midfield position. The senior captain earned third team Academic All-America honors for the second straight year in November. This is the fourth straight season that Videira has earned All-Region accolades.

-d-u-k-e-