Team rolls to historic season

Center Circle
Winter 2011
Vol 5. No. 2
Questions or comments?
Contact Mike Dreves
Office: (724) 458- 2151
E-mail: [email protected]
Inside ...
Players earn All-PAC 2
Team honors its own 2
The Wolverines notched the second best record in program history, scoring 51 goals and allowing only 20 along the way.
Players earn academic awards
3
Messiah grad helps out
4
Team gets nod for clean play
4
Team rolls to historic season
Wolverines give back
5
2010 by the numbers
6
Center Circle
Head Soccer Coach
Mike Dreves ’97
Design
Rebecca Miller ’04
Assistant Director of Communications
Printer
SCP Group
Sharon, Pa.
Center Circle is the official alumni
newsletter of the Grove City College
Men’s Soccer Team.
After a disappointing loss in the conference semifinal in 2009, the men’s soccer team
embarked on year-long preparation for the 2010
season. While the overall goal of an NCAA
playoff berth was not accomplished, the team
had a truly magical season.
With a veteran lineup infused with young
talent, the Wolverines put together one of the
most memorable seasons to date, finishing with
a record of 15-6-2, which was good for the
second-best record in program history. The team
also scored 51 goals and conceded only 20. Both
of those numbers were the best the program has
seen since 1996.
The team began August camp with 50 potential players and a new assistant coach (see article
on page 4). After a grueling preseason and a 3-1
victory in a scrimmage against LaRoche, the team
was finalized with 29 members.
Early in the season, the team bounced from
win to tie to loss to win. All that changed
with a come-from-behind 2-to-1 win at
Baldwin Wallace.
See SEASON, page 4
Witt earns national academic honors
Chuck Witt earned First Team
College Division Academic
All-America honors from the
College Sports Information
Directors of America (CoSIDA)
and ESPN.
A senior midfielder, Witt
helped lead Grove City to the
finals of the Eastern College
Athletic Conference Southern
Championship Tournament. He
scored a team-leading 11 goals
and also led the team with 22
total points. Witt also earned
First Team All-Presidents’
Athletic Conference from the
league’s head coaches. He
started all 23 matches this year
and earned his fourth letter.
Witt is majoring in mechanical engineering and is a Dean’s
List student. He has been
named to the PAC Academic
Honor Roll, and inducted into
Omicron Delta Kappa and
Mortar Board.
See WITT, page 3
Conference names players to All-PAC team
The Presidents’ Athletic Conference head
men’s coaches selected the All-PAC soccer
team at the annual coaches meeting in early
November.
Senior midfielder Chuck Witt, senior
forward Jake Kern and freshman goalkeeper
Chris Burgan all earned First Team All-PAC
in men’s soccer. Junior midfielder Adam
Brewer earned Second Team and senior Evan
Moore received Honorable Mention.
Witt led Grove City (15-6-2) with a
career-high 11 goals this year, helping the
Wolverines advance to the finals of the
ECAC Southern Championship Tournament.
It is Witt’s second straight All-PAC honor as
he earned Second Team recognition in 2009.
Kern posted six goals and six assists in 20
matches this year. He led the Wolverines in
assists and ranked second in total points with
Forward Jake Kern
’11 earned First Team
All-PAC recognition.
18. Kern earned First Team All-PAC in 2008
and Second Team All-PAC as a rookie in
2007. He missed 2009 due to injury.
Burgan led the conference with 10
shutouts and a .831 save percentage. He
ranked third in goals-against average, allowing
just 0.83 goals per match. He started all 23
matches for Grove City.
Brewer captured Second Team All-PAC
honors for the second consecutive season
this year. He moved from defender to
midfielder during the season and finished
the year with four goals. Moore co-captained
the team for the second straight year and
started all 23 matches. He finished second
on the squad with five assists and also scored
two goals.
Grove City’s 15 wins this year marked the
second-highest win total in program history.
Wolverines honor teammates with awards
At the end of each season, the
players vote for the recipients of
their team awards. Each year, the
team selects a Most Improved
Freshman (in honor of Phil
Procopio, attended in the ‘70s),
an Outstanding Junior (in honor
of Bill Buchanan ’67), a MVP (also
in honor of Buchanan) and the
David Henson Memorial Award.
The Henson Award is given to
the player who represents a high
standard of leadership, dedication
and inspiration. This year’s award
recipients are:
Chris Burgan ’14
Most Improved Freshman
Adam Brewer ’12
Outstanding Junior
Mark your calendar:
Homecoming
Sept. 23: Home vs. Penn State-New Kensington, 4 p.m.
Sept. 24: Hall of Fame Game, 10:30 a.m.
Center Circle
Page 2
Hall of Fame Luncheon, 12:30 p.m.
Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, 1:15 p.m.
Chuck Witt ’11
Most Valuable Player
Evan Moore ’11
David Henson
Memorial Award
Donations welcome
If you would like to support the
men’s soccer program, make checks
payable to Grove City College with
“Men’s Soccer” on the memo line.
Mail to: Advancement Office, Grove
City College, 100 Campus Dr.,
Grove City, PA 16127.
Two lauded for academics
Brian Eckenhoff ’12, pictured, and Chuck Witt ’11
were honored for their work in the classroom.
Two players earned College Sports
Information Directors of America
(CoSIDA)/ESPN College Division
Academic All-District II honors from the
region’s sports information directors.
Senior midfielder Chuck Witt and junior
forward Brian Eckenhoff both earned First
Team All-District recognition.
Witt started all 23 matches this year and
led the team with 11 goals. He owns four
letters at Grove City and made 65 starts
and 76 appearances during his career. He
earned Honorable Mention All-Presidents’
Athletic Conference in 2009.
In 2010, Witt helped Grove City to a
13-4-2 regular season record, which is the
program’s best mark since 1996.
He is a Dean’s List student while majoring in mechanical engineering. He has
been named to the PAC Academic Honor
Roll and inducted into Omicron Delta
Kappa and Mortar Board.
He also earned First Team All-District in
2009 and Third Team All-District in 2008
as a sophomore.
Eckenhoff has played in all 23 matches
for the Wolverines this year and has made
14 starts. He owns three goals and one
assist this year.
Eckenhoff earned Second Team
All-District as a sophomore in 2009. He is
business management major with Dean’s
List honors. Eckenhoff has also been
named to the PAC Academic Honor Roll
while earning induction into ODK and
the Operation Top Management business
honorary.
Eckenhoff is also president of Grove
City’s Fellowship of Christian Athletes
chapter.
Witt earns regional recognition
Grove City College senior
co-captain Chuck Witt earned
Third Team All-Great Lakes
honors from the National
Soccer Coaches Association of
America (NSCAA) in recognition of his performance during
the 2010 season.
A midfielder, Witt
helped lead Grove City to
the finals of the Eastern
College Athletic Conference
Southern Championship
Tournament.
He scored a team-leading 11
goals and also led the team with
22 total points. Witt earned
First Team All-Presidents’
Athletic Conference along
with Academic All-America
distinction from the College
Sports Information Directors of
America (CoSIDA) and ESPN.
He started all 23 matches this
year and earned his fourth letter.
Witt is Grove City’s first
men’s NSCAA All-Region
selection since forward Bob
McNees in 2006. A total of 18
Grove City men’s soccer players
have been honored as NSCAA
All-Region since 1972.
WITT from page 1
He also earned First Team Academic
All-District in 2009 and Third Team All-District in
2008 as a sophomore. Witt played in 79 career
matches and made 68 total starts.
Witt is the first Grove City men’s soccer player
Nominate for
Hall of Fame
If you played with an outstanding teammate, please
consider nominating him
for the Grove City College
Soccer Hall of Fame.
Chuck Witt ’11
signed off on a fouryear career with a
host of awards.
to earn ESPN/CoSIDA Academic All-America
honors since Jeff Hinebaugh in 1989.
Witt is Grove City’s 32nd all-time CoSIDA
Academic All-American. He is the College’s
15th Academic All-American since 2002. Those
15 have combined for 20 total Academic
All-America honors.
Nominations are easy! Go
to www.gcc.edu/sports,
navigate to the soccer
page and click on the “Hall
of Fame Information” link.
You can also send an
e-mail to [email protected],
fax to (724) 458-3855 or
mail your nomination to
Box 3074, 100 Campus
Dr., Grove City, PA 16127.
Center Circle
Page 3
Team adds former
champ to sidelines
Messiah grad lends hand
Each season is full of surprises. This
season was no different for the returning Wolverine players. On the first day of
preseason, the team was greeted by a new
volunteer assistant who would work with
them throughout the year.
Ryan Edwards, a chemistry teacher who
lives and teaches in Grove City, joined the
team in August
and made a great
impact right away.
Edwards, a 2008
Messiah graduate, had a playing
background that
gave him instant
credibility.
During his
college career,
Ryan Edwards
he was a
member of three
national championship teams and
had an additional semifinal appearance. Conversations about his playing
days don’t come easily, though. Coach
Edwards takes a humble approach,
choosing to focus on the present rather
than the past.
Although Edwards has a vast camp
experience to accompany his playing
pedigree, this was the first time he would
work with a team for an entire season.
Coach Edwards performed admirably.
His playing experience within the team’s
current 4-3-3 system proved vital. In
particular, as the Wolverines experienced
success, many teams created game plans to
try and stop certain aspects of the system.
Edwards’ experiences playing at Messiah
provided insight as he experienced some
of the same defensive schemes during his
playing days.
Overall, Coach Edwards was a great
addition to the program, and the team is
excited for his return for the 2011 season.
Center Circle
Page 4
SEASON from page 1
Beginning with that game, the
Wolverines went on a 10-2 run that
finished with a six-game win streak – five
wins being shutouts. After a tough 3-0
defeat at Fredonia State, the team won a
hard-fought 2-0 game at home against
conference foe Thomas More to seize the
No. 2 seed in the conference.
The semifinal pitted the team against
Bethany, who was looking for revenge
from a 4-0 defeat early in the year. The
Wolverines could not answer Bethany’s
two quick strikes in the first half and lost a
2-1 heartbreaker. While out of contention
for an NCAA berth, the team was awarded
the seventh seed to the Eastern College
Athletic Conference (ECAC) South
tournament.
In the first round, Grove City played
conference opponent Washington &
Jefferson and beat them 3-1. The overall
seedings for the tournament were a little
off, as the No. 1, 2 and 3 seeds all lost in
the first round. The highest remaining seed,
Stevenson University, hosted the semifinal and final. Bethany (the No. 8 seed)
was paired with Stevenson, while Grove
City was paired against Misericordia (No.
6 seed). Grove City won a hard-fought
game 1-0 and was set to face Stevenson,
6-0 winners over Bethany, in the final.
(Because the tournament was close to
Senior captains Chuck Witt, left, and Evan
Moore, right, receive the Eastern College Athletic
Conference runner-up plaque from Stevenson
President Dr. Kevin Manning.
Baltimore, the team took a quick visit to
Inner Harbor and did some sightseeing.)
In the final, the Wolverines lost 3-1
after trailing 1-0 at halftime. While enjoying much of the possession, the men were
unable to handle the fierce Stevenson
counterattack and conceded three goals for
just the second time all season.
It was quite a season for the team and a
great way to send off 10 seniors. Hopefully,
the 2011 team can build on this success
and reach these heights again. Hopes are
high as the 2011 team will return seven
players who started 15 games or more this
past season. Only time will tell what next
season has in store.
League awards team for clean play, again
For the third straight
season, the Grove City
College men’s soccer team
was honored with the the
PAC Team Sportsmanship
Award. The Award was
started in the 2008-09 sports
season, and is an effort
to recognize and encourage positive sportsmanship
among conference teams.
The award is sponsored by
the PAC Student-Athlete
Advisory Council, a committee
comprised of student athletes
from each member institution
that assembles to provide
insight on the student-athlete
experience.
This is the third year the
team sportsmanship awards
will be given out in each of
the 19 PAC sponsored varsity
sports. Each PAC team was
asked to vote for the conference team in its sport that
displayed the highest level of
sportsmanship. The awards
are handed out at the conclusion of the fall, winter and
spring seasons.
This season, the Wolverines
combined aggressive play
with sportsmanship as they
were whistled for the most
overall fouls (300) and the
second most fouls per game
(13.04) while only receiving
11 yellow cards.
Wolverines Scrapbook
Spreading some
Christmas cheer
The men’s soccer team and women’s
volleyball team combined forces to go
Christmas caroling just before finals. A
group of about 30 people spent time
caroling at Orchard Manor nursing
home adjacent to the College. While the
quality of the singing may have been
in question, no one would question the
heart and effort put forth by both teams.
Team helps local youth
The men’s soccer team took an evening this fall to put
on a free clinic for several U-6, U-8 and U-10 teams in
the Grove City Youth Soccer program. The young players
learned shooting, heading, dribbling and goalkeeping
during the 75-minute clinic. With a mixture of skills and
games, the team gave the near 100 players a lot of useful
information and showed them how much fun they can
have playing the game of soccer.
All dressed up
Field gets more upgrades
As discussed in the recent issue of Center Circle, the soccer complex
received additional upgrades this summer. In July and early August,
new box-style frames, expanded seating and a new flagpole area
were added. In total, almost $150,000 was spent on these projects.
Thanks to all alumni and friends who contributed to this portion of
the field renovation project.
Center Circle
Page 5
100 Campus Drive
Grove City, PA 16127
2010 Individual and Team Statistics
Overall Record: 15-6-2 Conference: 6-1-0 Home: 7-3-1 Away: 6-3-0 Neutral: 2-0-1
No. Name 5 8 17 10 22 19 9 24 31 28 15 4 7 23 32 GP-GS G A Pts Sh Shot%SOG SOG% GW PK-ATT
Chuck Witt 23-23 11 0
Jake Kern 20-20 6 6
Andrew Quinn 22-19 6 2
Adam Brewer 20-18 5 1
Alex Ayer
23-21 3 4
Brian Eckenhoff 23-14 4 1
Evan Moore 23-23 2 5
Zach Barzanty 23-22 2 1
Richie Kocur 20-0 2 0
Josh Kern
16-0 2 0
Austin Bernal 19-1 2 0
Ben Kuniholm 8-0 1 2
Alex Ford
23-7 1 1
Daniel Adams 22-22 0 3
Kyle Matherne 10-0 1 0
22 37 .297
18 50 .120
14 54 .111
11 24 .208
10 21 .143
9 22 .182
9 27 .074
5 7 .286
4 10 .200
4 8 .250
4 6 .333
4 5 .200
3 12 .083
3 6 .000
2 4 .250
19 32 31 16 13 14 11 4 8 5 5 1 8 5 1 .514
.640
.574
.667
.619
.636
.407
.571
.800
.625
.833
.200
.667
.833
.250
2
2
2
1
1
2
0
1
0
2
0
0
1
0
1
2-2
0-0
0-0
0-1
0-0
0-0
1-1
0-0
0-0
0-0
0-0
0-0
0-0
0-0
0-0
GOALS BY PERIOD Grove City
Opponents
1st 21 10 2nd 30 10 OT 0 0 OT2 0 0
Total
51
20
SHOTS BY PERIOD Grove City
Opponents 1st 131 94 2nd 180 125 OT 4 1 OT2
3 0 Total
318
220
SAVES BY PERIOD Grove City
Opponents
1st 51 -55 2nd 50 80 OT 0 2 OT2
0 1
Total
101
138
CORNER KICKS
Grove City
Opponents
1st 60 49 2nd 79 51 OT 2 0 OT2
0
0 Total
141
100
FOULS BY PERIOD Grove City
Opponents
1st 125 105 2nd 172 137 OT 2 5 OT2
1 1
Total
300
248
No. Name GP-GS G A Pts Sh Shot%SOG SOG% GW PK-ATT
Total
Opponents
23
23 21 18 12 20 14 2 16 33 13 11 6
3 Andrew Wiley 5-0 1
Daniel Bernal 10-0 1
Evan Bjorndal 6-0 1
Zach Juergens 11-0 0
Ben Wagner 7-0 0
Erich Beyer 22-1 0
Tim Boswell 8-2 0
Nick Finelli 11-2 0
Jesse Wilson 17-12 0
Mack Lloyd 2-0 0
Dave Larkin 23-23 0
Mark Leach 7-0 0
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
2
2
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2 2 1
4 3 6 3 2 2 0 0 0 .500 1 .500 1 1.000 1 .000 3 .000 1 .000 5 .000 2 .000 1 .000 1 .000 0 .000 0 .000 0 .500 0
.500 0
1.000 0
.750 0
.333 0
.833 0
.667 0
.500 0
.500 0
.000 0
.000 0
.000 0
0-0
0-0
0-0
0-0
0-0
0-0
0-0
0-0
0-0
0-0
0-0
0-0
51 28 130 318.160 189 .594 15 3-4
20 12 52 220 .091 121 .550 6 2-3
GOALKEEPERS
No. Name GP-GS Minutes GA Avg SavesPct W L T
13 Jesse Wilson 1-0 15:00 0 0.00 0
.000 0 0 0
1 Chris Burgan 23-23 2085:00 20 0.86 98 .831 15 6 2
Team
0:00 0 0.00 3 1.000 0 0 0
Total
23 2100:00 20 0.86 101 .835 15 6 2
Opponents
23 2100:00 51 2.19 138 .730 6 15 2
FINAL RECORD
9/3 Alfred N T 1-1 (2OT)
9/4 Sage N W
1-0
9/8 Heidelberg
HL
0-1
9/11Hilbert
HW
5-0
9/15 Penn St. Behrend H T 1-1 (2OT)
9/18Baldwin-Wallace AW
2-1
9/22 Mount Union
A W
2-1
9/25 Carnegie Mellon H L
2-1
9/28 Juniata H W
3-0
9/30 Penn. St.-N. Kensing. A W 8-1
10/2 Washington & Jeff. A L 2-1
10/5Westminster
10/8 Geneva 10/12 Thiel
10/16 Bethany
10/20 Waynesburg
10/22 Saint Vincent
10/27 Fredonia State
10/30 Thomas More 11/2 PAC, Bethany
11/10 ECAC, Wash. & Jeff.
11/13 ECAC,Misericordia
11/14 ECAC, Stevenson
HW
H W
H W
H W
A W
A W
A L
H W
H L
A W
N W
A L Sho
0
10
0
10
2
4-1
1-0
4-0
4-0
4-0
1-0
3-0
2-0
2-1
3-1
1-0
3-1