COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Seven Fort Lewis College men’s soccer players were named to the Daktronics Men’s Soccer Division II All-Central Region team, regional coordinator Sarah Meier announced today.

Four Skyhawks — Berekk Blackwell, Thomas Hoang, Fabian Kling, and Ryan Wirth — were named to the first team. While at Fort Lewis, all four have been part of three Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference regular season, postseason, and NCAA playoff teams (2008, 2009, and 2011) and FLC’s 2009 NCAA Division II national championship team.

Three others — Alberto Capdepon-Rodriguez, Cory Dean, and Joey Madigan — received second team honors.

Blackwell, a 6-foot-2 senior defender from Notre Dame Prep in Scottsdale, Ariz., earned all-region honors for the first time in his career. He previously received first team All-RMAC, first team Capitol One Academic All-District 7 Division II and first team RMAC All-Academic distinction in 2011. He was a second team RMAC All-Academic pick in 2010 and a two-time recipient of the D2 Athletic Directors Association/WeatherPORT Academic Achievement Award. He has notched one goal and one assist thus far in 2011. During his four-year career, he has tallied eight total points on three goals and two assists in 69 career appearances.

“Berekk has been outstanding for our team this year and has been probably one of our most consistent performers every game we play,” said third-year FLC head coach Oige Kennedy. “You always know that you will get a reliable performance from him and that is such an important feature for any defender to have in his game.”

Hoang, a 5-foot-11 senior forward from Liberty High School in Colorado Springs, Colo., was named to the All-Central Region first team for the second year in a row. Earlier this season, he earned All-RMAC first team accolades and was a third team All-RMAC selection as a junior. He ranks among FLC career leaders in assists (third, 30), total points (seventh, 74), and goals (ninth, 22) in 71 career appearances. He scored the biggest goal of his Skyhawk career when he banged home a rebound with 6:06 left in regulation this past Sunday in FLC’s 1-0 win over Incarnate Word in the second round of the NCAA playoffs.

“Thomas is a very special player and as a coach I am lucky to have been given the opportunity to work with such a talent,” said Kennedy. “He is so dangerous around the box and always looks as if something positive will happen when he gets hold of the ball. I think even though he is not wearing a captain’s armband, he displays great leadership through his play and how hard he works on the field.”

Kling is a 6-foot-3 senior defender from Holbein Gymnasium in Augsburg, Germany. This marks the fifth time in his career that he’s earned All-Central Region honors, including both the Daktronics (selected by sports information directors) and NSCAA (chosen by coaches) teams. Kling has also previously earned All-America third team accolades in 2010 (by both Daktronics and NSCAA), is a multiple All-RMAC selection, an RMAC All-Academic first teamer as a senior, the Most Valuable Player of the 2011 RMAC tournament, the 2011 RMAC Defensive Player of the Year, and a member of the NCAA-II All-Final Four squad in 2009. Despite playing central defense, Kling ranks seventh in FLC in goals (27) and tenth in total points (59) in 59 career games.

“Fabian’s achievements this year have been remarkable when you think he missed seven games through a very serious knee injury,” said Kennedy. “And the whole team is just so glad to have him back on the field for this final stretch of the season. In my opinion, when you look back on this program’s history of elite players, Fabian will rank very highly on this list. He is this year’s team captain and our inspirational leader.”

Wirth, a 5-foot-10 senior goalkeeper from Bayfield, Colo., earned All-Central Region accolades for the first time in his career. He was also a first team All-RMAC selection, RMAC Student-Athlete of the Month for October, and a two-time RMAC Defensive Player of the Week in 2011. He currently ranks second in the nation in goals against average (0.4-0) and save percentage (.883) and has posted 13 shutouts in 22 games in 2011. He is FLC’s career leader in winning percentage (23-2-4, .862) and goals against average (0.453).

“Ryan has worked extremely hard with our goalkeeper coach this year (Zane Wells) and has managed to keep the opponents to very minimal goals consistently from game to game,” said Kennedy. “It is no surprise to us that statistically he is amongst the top keepers in the nation because we get to see him perform every day in training and he is a top class goalkeeper and could very well be this program’s fifth All-American goalkeeper and our third from the local area.”

Capdepon-Rodriguez is a 5-foot-10 freshman central midfielder from Vicent Andrés Estelles in Almoradi, Spain. He was previously named to the RMAC All-Tournament team. During his first season in Skyhawk whites, he has amassed 14 total points on three goals and eight assists.

“Alberto has been a major addition to our team this season,” said Kennedy. “He has come into our program and settled straight away. It is amazing to me how he has been able to adapt to life in a new country. He has had to move halfway around the world, leave all his family and friends behind, and take a gamble on a new life. There is a lot of pressure that comes with a move like that, but he has been first class in how he has dealt with everything on and off the field. And his ability as a football player is unrivaled. He has as much potential as any player that I have been lucky enough to work with and I am excited to see how he develops with Fort Lewis College in the years to come.”

Dean is a 5-foot-8 senior central midfielder from Sandia High School in Albuquerque, N.M. A four-year staple on the Skyhawk side, he was previously named to the RMAC All-Tournament team and the second team All-RMAC squad in 2011. During his career, he’s notched 23 points on eight goals and seven assists in 66 appearances.

“I think having Cory back and join us for another year is one the biggest signings this program has made in years,” Kennedy said of his senior who graduated last April but returned for a fourth soccer season and to take additional classes to prepare for graduate school. “His influence on the team this year has been immense. He has a good knowledge of what we expect from our players and how we try to play the game. His ability to cover ground on a football field is second to nobody and he has been the engine of our team all season.”

Madigan, a 5-foot-9 senior midfielder from Arapahoe High School in Centennial, Colo., added second team All-Central Region honors to his awards collection that includes All-RMAC Tournament, All-RMAC second team, and RMAC All-Academic second team distinction in 2011. He’s amassed 20 points on seven goals and six assists in 2011 and has 33 career points on 11 goals and 11 assists in 41 games.

“Joey has been a consistent threat in the opponents’ side in every game we have played this year,” said Kennedy. “He is such an exciting talent to watch and I just love to see him get on the ball and express himself in positive fashion. I think he is one if the best attacking weapons in the nation at the moment and we are looking for him to continue to be in the final games of the season.”

Twenty-six student-athletes from the Central Region were voted to the all-region first and second teams. The two teams consist of four forwards, four midfielders, four defenders, and one goalkeeper.

Fort Lewis led all teams with seven selections, including four on the first team.

The team is sponsored by Daktronics, Inc., an acknowledged world leader in scoring, timing, and programmable display systems for virtually every sport at every level of competition. Sports Information Directors from each school in the region nominated and voted for the Daktronics all-region teams.

First team all-region performers are eligible for the Daktronics All-America teams, which will be announced next month.

No. 3 Fort Lewis (21-1-0 overall) will host No. 17 California State-Los Angeles (Angeles (15-1-6) in the NCAA Division II quarterfinals at 1 p.m. Saturday at Dirks Field. Gates will open at noon.

Ticket prices are $10 for adults, $5 for students (with ID), senior citizens (age 65 and older), and children (ages 6-12). Children five and younger are admitted free of charge.

The winner of the quarterfinal game will advance to the NCAA Division II Final Four, to be held in Pensacola, Fla., from Thursday through Sunday, Dec. 1-3.

Fort Lewis has made four trips to the Final Four in school history. The Skyhawks won the NCAA Division II men’s soccer title in 2005 and 2009, and were national runners-up in 1999 and 2006. Fort Lewis is 4-0-0 all-time in quarterfinal games.