BERKELEY – Cal men's soccer defender Simon Lekressner collected Pac-12 honors for his stellar performances on and off the field, the Conference announced Wednesday. The senior claimed the Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year award and was one of eight Golden Bears to earn All-Pac-12 status, with Lekressner and Taylor Davila on the conference's first team.
 
Lekressner is the third Bear to earn the Pac-12 Men's Soccer Scholar-Athlete of the Year award, joining Aravind Sivakumar (2017) and Omid Jalali (2014). Lekressner is an economics major and currently holds a 3.73 cumulative grade-point average at Cal. The Bellevue, Washington, native is a two-time member of the Pac-12 All-Academic Team, earning a spot on the first team in 2017 and 2018. He is on track to graduate at the end of the fall.
 
In order to be eligible for the Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year award, student-athletes must be a senior (in athletics eligibility) on track to receive a degree, have a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher, participate in at least 50 percent of the scheduled contests in the sport and have a minimum one year in residence at the institution.
 
On the field, Lekressner posted career highs in goals (5), points (12, to rank fourth on the team) and gamewinning goals (2). Davila, a sophomore, is one of the team's midfield generals and a calming presence in central midfield for the 8-6-3 Bears.
 
Cal had three players on the All-Pac-12 second team in senior goalkeeper Drake Callender, sophomore central defender JJ Foe Nuphaus and sophomore forward Tommy Williamson. Callender was a stalwart in goal, compiling six shutouts, a goals-against average of 1.00 and a save percentage of 0.766. This marks Callender's third All-Pac-12 honor during his standout Cal career, including a first-team nod in 2017 and a second-team berth in 2018.
 
Williamson notched career highs of nine goals, 18 points and three gamewinning goals to lead the Bears in all three categories. Nuphaus, along with Lekressner and junior defender Christopher Grey and sophomore defender Ian Lonergan – the latter two earned All-Pac-12 honorable mention – were members of a stingy backline that allowed 18 goals in 17 games.
 
Sophomore midfielder Francisco Perez, another Bear who claimed All-Pac-12 honorable mention, scored two goals along with a career-best six assists, and he ranked fifth on the squad with a career-high 10 points.
 
The Bears face No. 22 UC Santa Barbara in the first round of the NCAA Championship on Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Gauchos' Harder Stadium.