UT Tyler senior defender Jake Urbaniak was named the 2011 D3Soccer.com National Defender of the Year and, along with senior midfielder Victor Almendariz, was a First Team All-America Selection, the organization has announced.

Urbaniak and Almendariz guided the Patriots to the quarterfinals of the 2011 NCAA Men’s Soccer Championships where UT Tyler just missed the final four in a double-overtime loss to Calvin.

Pacing the defense, Urbaniak guided the Patriots to 12 shutouts on the season and UT Tyler out-scored opponents, 55-18, while allowing just 3.7 shots per game on average.  He also found the back of the net eight times and had five assists. Urbaniak was also the American Southwest Conference Defender of the Year for the second-straight season. 

Almendariz led the team in goals with 11 on the season, including two goals in the NCAA tournament. He added 11 assists for a total of 34 points, second in the ASC where he was a first team All-Conference honoree.

Urbaniak was also honored by the NSCAA, earning First Team All-Far West Region honors and Third Team All-American honors from that organization.  Almendariz was named to the All-Region second team along with sophomore midfielder Elijah Shipman.

Finishing with an 18-3-2 record, the Patriots were ranked seventh in the final NSCAA poll of the 2011 season.