Four Conference USA soccer players, including the league’s 2003 Women’s Player of the Year, were tabbed for All-America honors by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America. DePaul’s Julianne Sitch was the only C-USA women’s soccer player to receive the recognition, while Vedad Ibisevic of Saint Louis and UAB’s Tony McManus and Leandro de Oliveira were the men’s honorees.

The second team All-America award caps a banner year for Sitch, who in addition to being the league’s top player, was also named the C-USA Tournament Offensive MVP after leading the Blue Demons to their first postseason crown and NCAA appearance. Sitch was a first team All-Conference USA selection as welI. In 23 games in 2003, the sophomore midfielder/forward led C-USA with 31 points on 12 goals and seven assists. She took a C-USA record 107 shots during the season with six game-winning goals. DePaul finished with the best record in program history with a 14-7-2 (6-3-1 C-USA).

Ibisevic, a forward, was the only Conference soccer player to be named an NSCAA First Team All-American. He was also a first team all-conference pick and the C-USA Freshman of the Year. Ibisevic finished the season as the league leader in points (40) and goals (18). His 40 points shattered the SLU school record for scoring by a freshman set by Brian McBride in 1990 with 29 points and 12 goals. He earned C-USA All-Tournament honors by scoring six goals in the Billikens’ two matches. In the NCAA Tournament, Ibisevic added three more goals, including a pair of game winners to help Saint Louis (15-4-3, 6-2-1 C-USA) advance to the NCAA Quarterfinals.

De Oliveira, a sophomore midfielder, earned NSCAA Second Team All-American accolades after finishing the season as UAB’s second leading scorer with five goals and 18 points, and led the squad with eight assists on the campaign. De Oliveira was one of three players to start all 20 games for UAB (10-5-5, 4-3-2 C-USA) and was named to the Conference USA first team for his efforts.

McManus, a senior defender, was a NSCAA Third Team All-American selection. Earlier, he was honored by the league coaches who voted him, along with Louisville’s Adrian Cann, as the Conference USA Co-Defensive Player of the Year and was named to the all-conference first team. He was one of only three Blazers to start all 20 contests this season. McManus was the anchor of a UAB defense, which was among the leaders throughout the season in goals allowed (19), goals against average (0.94) and shutouts (8).