AUSTIN, Texas – UW-Superior senior forward Eric Watson (Thunder Bay, Ontario/Hammarskjold) has been named to the 2019 CoSIDA Academic All-America® men's soccer second team selected by the College Sports Information Directors Association announced Tuesday.
 
The award recognizes the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances on the field and in the classroom. The Academic All-America® program separately recognizes men's and women's soccer student-athletes in four divisions — NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and the NAIA.
 
Watson is just the fifth student-athlete and first men's soccer player in school history to earn the Academic All-America® distinction. Watson joins UWS women's basketball all-time leading scorer Sally Linzmeier (2015) as the Yellowjackets' only other second-team selection. Basketball and baseball standouts Eva Reinertsen and Braeden Barr each were third-team honorees last season.
 
Watson carries a 3.95 grade-point average in Exercise Science with a Sport Management minor and led UWS to the second round of the NCAA tournament for the second consecutive season as a two-year captain. He posted 15 goals and three assists as a senior in 2019 while becoming the 'Jackets' all-time leading goal scorer with 43 goals.
 
Watson posted five game-winning goals this season and enjoyed a five-match goal streak from Oct. 9 against North Central to Oct. 22 against Northwestern. 
 
The UMAC Offensive Player of the Year and first-team pick currently ranks third in NCAA Division III in penalty-kick goals (four), 24th in game-winning goals, 30th in goals and 47th in points (33).
 
Watson finished his career with 43 goals and 17 assists for 103 points in 90 career matches.
 
Twenty-five of the 66 student-athletes on the CoSIDA Academic All-America® men's and women's soccer teams boast 4.0 GPAs with 14 of those 25 coming on the women's side. The first teams for both the men and women both boast 3.97 team GPAs with the full women's team at 3.96 and the men's at 3.93.
 
UWS finished the 17-3-3 in 2019, topping 14th-ranked Central in the NCAA tournament, 3-2, before drawing with No. 16 Luther, 1-1.