Men's Soccer Places Three on CoSIDA Academic All-District Team

LEWISBURG, Pa. -- The Bucknell men's soccer team's commitment to scholar-athlete excellence was backed up on Thursday, with three Bison student-athletes named to the 12-man CoSIDA Academic All-District 2 Team. Junior Sebastiaan Blickman and seniors Jesse Klug and Chris Thorsheim were all selected, and now all three will move on to the national Academic All-America ballot.

Academic All-America candidates are nominated and selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). Student-athletes must be at least a sophomore with a minimum 3.30 cumulative grade-point average and be a starter or key reserve.

This is the fourth time the Bison men's soccer team has garnered as many as three Academic All-District selections. The last was in 2011, when Brendan Burgdorf, Tommy Caso and Ryan Sappington all made the squad.

Klug is a repeat honoree, as he went on to earn Third Team Academic All-America honors a year ago. The standout striker is currently one of 10 national finalists for the Senior CLASS Award, which recognizes achievement in the areas of community, classroom, character and competition.

Klug carries a 3.65 GPA in managing for sustainability. In addition to his 2014 Academic All-America honor, he was also a National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Scholar All-American. He has won the Charles F. White Prize for Scholar-Athletes and is in Mortar Board and Omicron Delta Kappa (service chair) honor societies.

Klug spent the spring 2015 semester studying in Central America as part of his academic focus on academic focus on economic and socio-cultural issues, and he is one of the leaders on the Bucknell campus in the areas of social justice and inclusiveness.

On the field, Klug is a two-time All-Patriot League and two-time All-Mid-Atlantic Region selection. Last year he was the Patriot League's No. 2 scorer with 27 points on 11 goals and five assists. He was off to a great start in 2015, with 10 points on four goals and two assists in the first seven games. Klug suffered a broken bone in his foot early in the Boston University game on Sept. 27, but after a six-game absence, he returned to the lineup this past Saturday at American. In just his second game back, he handed out three assists in Bucknell's 5-0 victory over Loyola.

Blickman earned his first Academic All-District honor while carrying a 3.66 GPA in environmental studies and political science. This past summer he worked with The Food Project in his hometown of Lincoln, Massachusetts, where he helped produce and distribute sustainable agriculture to famers' markets and hunger relief organizations. Last March he completed an externship with Labella Associates in Rochester, New York, where he was involved in environmental planning and assessments.

On campus, Blickman is a member of the Bucknell Alumni Association's Board of Directors, where he serves on the Communications Committee. He is a member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and is active with Intervarsity Christian Fellowship.

Blickman is a starting midfielder for the Bison and ranks second on the team in minutes played (1,452), second in goals (4) and third in points (11). He was named MVP of the 2014 Patriot League Tournament after scoring twice, including the overtime game-winner, in the championship game at Boston University.

Thorsheim is an accounting and financial management major with a 3.40 GPA. After scoring twice against Loyola on Wednesday night, he moved into a share of the Patriot League lead with eight goals, and he ranks second in the league with 20 points, which is a new career high.

A highly skilled central midfielder, Thorsheim was named to the watch list for the Missouri Athletic Club Hermann Trophy, which goes to the national player of the year. He is a three-time All-Patriot League selection, including first-team citations in each of the last two seasons, and he is a two-time all-region pick. Thorsheim is also a member of the New York Red Bulls Under-23 team.

In 2014, Thorsheim was an NSCAA Scholar All-American along with Klug. He is currently the team's lone captain and is a member of Bucknell Bison Leadership Academy. This past summer he interned with the private equity firm River Capital Group in New York City, where he was tasked with creating an investor presentation on the Dallas-Fort Worth housing market.

The Bucknell men's soccer team is 6-6-4 this season and will be back in action on Saturday at Lehigh.