Monthly Archives: August 2009

AWARDS … Seven members of the 2009 Soccer America Men’s Preseason All-American team and five players on the Soccer America Women’s Preseason All-American team are among the 60 candidates for the 2009 Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award, given to a senior who has achieved notable accomplishments in four areas of excellence — classroom, character, community and competition.

Read more for the complete list of nominees.

MEN’S NEWS … Yavapai, the Arizona JC superpower, lost for the first time in its 21-year history in the state of California when it fell to Mount San Antonio, 2-1, in an exhibition match.

The trip to California will be the only action outside the state of Arizona until the postseason. There are now 11 teams in the Arizona Community College Athletics Conference, so all 20 games on Yavapai’s regular-season schedule are conference matches.

The Roughriders, who won the last two NJCAA Division I titles and hold a 33-game unbeaten streak in regular-season and postseason play, lost seven players to Division I programs but have brought in players from seven different states. The freshmen include Nomads product Rodolfo Godinez, a 2009 U.S. Soccer Development Academy Starting XI selection in the under-17/18 age group.

Yavapai ’08 players on the move:
Dirk Petersen, UC Irvine
Justin Meram, Michigan
Jeff Bendawald, Ohio State
Evan McNiel, UC Santa Barbara
Chris Hunter, UC Santa Barbara
Sam Hayden, UC Santa Barbara
Ivan Dizdar, Seattle

* Saint Louis University, who have won or shared a record 10 men’s national championships, is celebrating its 50th anniversary of men’s soccer, and fans have the chance to select a “Billiken Half-Century Team.”

Fans may select 22 players and two coaches. If you think that’s a lot of selections, consider the choices. Former Billikens include two National Soccer Hall of Famers, three Hermann Trophy winners and 20 U.S. internationals, plus Vedad Ibisevic, who plays for Bosnia, and Dipsy Selolwane, who represents Botswana.

The 24-member roster will be recognized Oct. 3, along with the more than 450 Billiken soccer alumni at that night’s game against Clemson at Robert R. Hermann Stadium.

Fans can vote here.

* Wednesday’s preseason highlights:

— Matt Schmitt set up freshman Latif Alashe and Mauro Fuzetti for goals to give Michigan, ranked No. 21 in the Soccer America Preseason Top 25, a 2-1 win over Xavier.

— J.J. Greer and Andreas Guentner scored first-half goals to give Memphis a 2-0 win over Saint Louis.

— Defender Patrick Hopkins‘ goal in the 79th minute gave DePaul a 1-1 tie at Northern Illinois.

WOMEN’S NEWS … It’s still early, but there are lots of positives Coach Jerry Smith saw from Santa Clara’s opening two games, wins San Jose State (4-0) over UC Santa Barbara (2-0).

The two wins put the Broncos within two wins of matching last year’s total. Their 4-12-4 record was their first sub-.500 season since 1983.

Injuries have decimated women’s powerhouse Santa Clara in recent years, so perhaps the most encouraging news was the return of Jordan Angeli, who missed the last two seasons with injuries and was granted a sixth year by the NCAA. She converted a penalty kick to seal the UCSB win.

“We missed her the past two years,” said Smith “and she brings a lot of things to our team with her ability to start an offensive attack out of the back and her leadership and organization.”

Freshmen Lauren Matheson, Amanda Webster and former U-17 national team midfielder Olivia Klei all got their first collegiate goals last weekend. “I’m pleased with how well this rookie class is playing,” Smith added.

Next up for the Broncos is a date Friday night at Utah, coached by former Santa Clara assistant coach Rich Manning.