Coker’s Tirkkonen, Prendes Named to the All-Region Team

HARTSVILLE, S.C. – Coker College men's soccer players Niko Tirkkonen and Akeem Prendes have been named to the 2012 Daktronics NCAA Division II Men's Soccer All-Southeast Region Team.

Tirkkonen, a senior from Hollola, Finland, was named to the first team as a forward. Tirkkonen played in all 17 matches, scoring a team-high nine goals with two assists. He was named the 2012 Conference Carolinas Player of the Year and made first team all-conference. He was second in the league in goals, third in points and second in game-winning goals with five.

Tirkkonen is a business administration major at Coker. He is the son of Jari and Merja Tirkkonen.

Prendes, a junior from Brampton, Ontario, made the second team as a defender. He played in 14 matches, starting 13, and was a Conference Carolinas first team all-conference selection. Prendes scored two goals on the season including a game-winner against Limestone on Oct. 27 that secured Coker's second-straight Conference Carolinas regular-season championship.

Prendes is a business administration major at Coker.  He is the son of Clarence and Grace Prendes.

For more information, contact Chris Dougherty, manager of athletics media relations, at 843-383-8018 or cdougherty@coker.edu.

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Coker College readies undergraduates for personal and professional success through a distinctive four-year program that emphasizes a practical application of the liberal arts as well as hands-on and discussion-based learning within and beyond the classroom. Coker is ranked among the "Best Colleges" in the South by U.S. News & World Report as well as The Princeton Review. Located in Hartsville, S.C., Coker is within two hours of the cultural, financial and recreational resources of Charlotte, Columbia, Charleston and Myrtle Beach.