Stars headline NAC men's soccer awards
WAUKESHA, Wis. -- The Dominican Stars claimed both the defensive and offensive player of the year awards as well as a share of the coach of the year award to headline the Northern Athletics Conference awards for the 2010 men's soccer season. The awards were voted on by the conference's head coaches.
Junior defender Mariusz Napiorkowski was name NAC Defensive Player of the Year while teammate Mike Kapusta, a senior midfielder, was named NAC Offensive Player of the Year fronting the All-NAC First Team.
Benedictine rookie forward Jesse Ortiz was named NAC Freshman of the Year to lead the NAC All-Freshman Team.
Erick Baumann of Dominican and Pete Watkins of Aurora were voted NAC Co-Coaches of the Year by their peers as their teams finished first and second in the standings for the third time in five years.
Napiorkowski, also on the first team for the second-straight season, led the Stars' defense that allowed a mere six goals in 20 games for the top defense in the conference and third best in the nation. The defense had 16 shutouts in the regular season, allowing only four opponents to score.
Kapusta is making his third appearance on the all-conference first team. He leads the league in points (37), assists (11) and game-winning goals (5), and is second in goals with 13. Kapusta also becomes the first player in NAC history to receive both the offensive and defensive player of the year awards in his career, as he claimed the defensive honor in 2008 as a sophomore defender.
Oritz, also a second team member, tallied 10 goals in 15 games for a league-leading 0.67 per game average in his rookie campaign for the Eagles (9-9-1, 5-5-1 NAC).
Watkins led his Spartans to a 13-7-1 overall finish and a 10-1 NAC record, which included a runner-up finish in the NAC tournament. It is his second NAC Coach of the Year award.
Baumann was honored with his third award in the NAC leading the Stars (18-1-1, 10-0-1) to their fifth-consecutive NAC championship and fifth-straight season going undefeated versus conference opponents. Dominican will play Thomas More in the first round of the NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Championship this Friday in Grand Rapids, Mich.
2010 Men's Soccer All-Northern Athletics Conference Awards
| Defensive Player of the Year: | Mariusz Napiorkowski, Dominican |
| Offensive Player of the Year: | Mike Kapusta, Dominican |
| Freshmanof the Year: | Jesse Ortiz, Benedictine |
| Co-Coaches of the Year: | Erick Baumann, Dominican & Pete Watkins, Aurora |
| First Team All-Northern Athletics Conference | ||||
| Maxwell Gutbrod | Dominican | GK | Jr. | Slinger, Wis. |
| Zach Miller | Edgewood | D | Sr. | Ixonia, Wis. (Oconomowoc) |
| Mariusz Napiorkowski | Dominican | D | Jr. | Norridge, Ill. (Ridgewood) |
| Jacob Pope | Concordia Wisconsin | D | Fr. | Muskego, Wis. |
| Joe Westrich | MSOE | D | Sr. | Racine, Wis. (St. Catherine's) |
| Enzo Berrini | Concordia Wisconsin | M | Fr. | Bolingbrook, Ill. (Lockport East) |
| Jim Chavez | Marian | M | Sr. | Platteville, Wis. |
| Dan Hosko | MSOE | M | Jr. | Pittsburgh, Pa. (Keystone Oaks) |
| Matt Houghtaylen | Aurora | M | Jr. | Somonauk, Ill. |
| Mike Kapusta | Dominican | M | Sr. | Bartlett, Ill. |
| Greg Dezell | Edgewood | F | Sr. | Oconomowoc, Wis. |
| Nick Helmer | Aurora | F | Sr. | Geneva, Ill. |
| Kyle Sytsma | Concordia Wisconsin | F | So. | Antioch, Ill. |
| Lionel Tovar | Dominican | F | Jr. | Cicero, Ill. (Morton East) |
| Second Team All-Northern Athletics Conference | ||||
| Bart Loos | Concordia Chicago | GK | Sr. | Evans, N.Y. (St. Francis) |
| Alex Piekarski | Lakeland | GK | So. | Menasha, Wis. |
| Kyle Boekeloo | Dominican | D | Jr. | Woodridge, Ill. (Downers Grove North) |
| Kyle Haumersen | Aurora | D | Sr. | St. Joseph, Mich. |
| Jason Rogers | Concordia Wisconsin | D | So. | Glendale, Wis. (Nicolet) |
| Bobby Rublee | Lakeland | D | Jr. | Sheboygan, Wis. (South) |
| Bryan Samuel | Concordia Wisconsin | D | Jr. | Brookfield, Wis. (Catholic Memorial) |
| Anthony Amedei | Aurora | M | Sr. | Naperville, Ill. (Neuqua Valley) |
| Alex Board | Maranatha | M | Sr. | McDonough, Ga. (Bible Baptist) |
| Leo Elizalde | Dominican | M | So. | Wheeling, Ill. |
| Trevor Schwartz | Wisconsin Lutheran | M | Jr. | Lake Geneva, Wis. (Shoreland Luth.) |
| Rafael Arndt | MSOE | F | Sr. | Bad Oldesloe, Germany (Theodor-Mommsen) |
| Bob Gonnella | Aurora | F | Sr. | South Elgin, Ill. (St. Charles North) |
| Jesse Ortiz | Benedictine | F | Fr. | Aurora, Ill. (West) |
| Honorable Mention | ||||
| Jim Hanley | Benedictine | GK | Jr. | Plainfield, Ill. |
| Sam Ische | Concordia Wisconsin | GK | Jr. | Menomonee Falls, Wis. |
| A.J. Fameree | Edgewood | D | Jr. | De Pere, Wis. |
| Ricky Gonzalez | Rockford | D | Sr. | Rockford, Ill. (Polo) |
| Rob Ogden | Marian | D | Jr. | Gurnee, Ill. (Warren Township) |
| James Burns | MSOE | M | Sr. | Appleton, Wis. (Xavier) |
| Chris Jahns | Concordia Chicago | M | Jr. | Roselle, Ill. (Lake Park) |
| Franco Merenda | Benedictine | M | Jr. | Oak Forest, Ill. |
| Matt Pampuch | Edgewood | M | Jr. | Oconomowoc, Wis. |
| Tim Solarek | Maranatha | M | Sr. | Greenwood, Ind. (Suburban Christian) |
| Brian Lundquist | Maranatha | F | Fr. | Reading, Mass. (Open Bible) |
| All-Freshman Team (true freshman only) | ||||
| Justin Blauert | Lakeland | D | Fr. | De Pere, Wis. (Wrightstown) |
| Christian Casanova | Aurora | D | Fr. | Chicago, Ill. (Mount Carmel) |
| Trent Miller | Dominican | D | Fr. | Rockford, Ill. (Guilford) |
| Robert Nogle | MSOE | D | Fr. | Antioch, Ill. (Community) |
| Corey Notvony | Aurora | D | Fr. | St. Charles, Ill. (East) |
| Jacob Pope | Concordia Wisconsin | D | Fr. | Muskego, Wis. |
| Enzo Berrini | Concordia Wisconsin | M | Fr. | Bolingbrook, Ill. (Lockport East) |
| Patrick Gathof | MSOE | M | Fr. | Beloit, Wis. (Memorial) |
| Mario Grana | Concordia Chicago | M | Fr. | Elmhurst, Ill. (York Community) |
| Andrew Aurit | Edgewood | F | Fr. | Monroe, Wis. |
| Brian Lundquist | Maranatha | F | Fr. | Reading, Mass. (Open Bible) |
| Oscar Ortega | Rockford | F | Fr. | Beloit, Wis. (Hononegah) |
| Jesse Ortiz | Benedictine | F | Fr. | Aurora, Ill. (West) |
| Mario Pinto | Marian | F | Fr. | Sheboygan, Wis. (South) |
| All-Sportsmanship Team | ||||
| Jim Kelly | Aurora | F | Jr. | Shorewood, Ill. (Minooka) |
| Ryan Ponomar | Benedictine | D | So. | Hampshire, Ill. |
| Bart Loos | Concordia Chicago | GK | Sr. | Evans, N.Y. (St. Francis) |
| Tim Thomack | Concordia Wisconsin | F | Sr. | Litchfield, Ill. |
| Leo Elizalde | Dominican | M | So. | Wheeling, Ill. |
| Kyle Glynn | Edgewood | D | Sr. | Prairie du Sac, Wis. (Sauk Prairie) |
| Ben Koepsell | Lakeland | F | Jr. | Cedar Grove, Wis. (Cedar Grove-Belgium) |
| Ethan Childs | Maranatha | D | Jr. | Mayville, Mich. (Juniata Christian) |
| Denny Mudd | Marian | D | So. | Libertyville, Ill. |
| Jon Cerny | MSOE | GK | So. | Delavan, Wis. (Delavan-Darien) |
| Matt Nicholson | Rockford | M | Jr. | Stillman Valley, Ill. |
| Cameron Teske | Wisconsin Lutheran | F | Sr. | Crete, Ill. (Illinois Lutheran) |
