Senior defensive midfielder Arni Gunnarsson (Kopavogur, Iceland) was named a first team CoSIDA Academic All-American for the second year in a row in a vote from a panel of sports information directors, it was announced today.

Gunnarsson, who carries a 3.86 GPA in engineering, was chosen to the CoSIDA University Division Men's Soccer first team in both 2002 and 2003. A year ago, he became the first Hofstra Men's Soccer player to ever receive Academic All-America honors.

Gunnarsson has also been named first-team All-Colonial Athletic Association in each of the last two seasons, the only member of the Pride to earn that distinction in either season. This fall, he led Hofstra in assists (six) and also scored two goals, both of which have come in 1-0 Pride victories (against Delaware and Columbia).

A four-year starter for the Pride, Gunnarsson has been close to a permanent fixture in the Hofstra line-up. Since the start of his sophomore season, he has played 5077 out of a possible 5137 minutes, including every minute of the entire 2002 campaign. He had a streak of 26 straight games without a substitution snapped when he came out with six minutes left of a 3-0 win over Stony Brook on Sept. 20.  This year, he was on the bench for a total of 53 minutes, a span in which Hofstra gave up six goals.

Gunnarsson finished his Hofstra career with seven goals and 15 assists. Four of his last five goals were game-winners in 1-0 Pride victories. He played in 71 of 73 games in his four seasons, missing only two games as a freshman to play for Iceland's junior national team.

Hofstra finished the 2003 season with a 7-9-2 record.