Pac West Conference Soccer Media Day: DSC Women Atop League, Men Picked 5th
2010 DSC Women's Soccer Team
Three Storm players earn preseason honors
John Potter, Assistant Sports Information
8/30/2010 5:26:00 PM
WOMEN'S
PHOENIX, AZ – Defending Pacific West Conference Champion Dixie State has been selected by the coaches of the league to retain its title in 2010 after collecting six of a possible nine first-place votes and totaling 77 points in the polling process.
But while the PacWest Championship may go to a team from the Mainland, BYU-Hawaii senior forward Emily Mearns (San Ramon, CA/California) has been named the PacWest Preseason Player of the Year and Hawai‘i Pacific junior netminder Carianne Makino (Honolulu, HI/Kaiser) has been chosen as the PacWest Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year.
The PacWest predicted order of finish and preseason all-conference team were revealed on Monday, Aug. 30, during the conference’s media day for women’s soccer. The head coaches of the conference voted upon the awards.
Dixie State, which gained the automatic berth to the NCAA II National Championship Tournament last year, posted a stellar 13-1-0 conference record in 2009 to finish with 39 points. This season the Red Storm has amassed 77 points in the preseason poll by collecting six first-place votes.
Last year’s runner-up – BYU-Hawaii – posted 67 points with one first-place vote to earn a second-place prediction, while Grand Canyon and Hawai‘i Pacific each had one first-place vote and tied for third place with 61 points.
Notre Dame de Namur totaled 39 to take fifth, while Dominican is predicted to finish sixth after garnering 36 points. Hawai‘i Hilo (35), Academy of Art (19) and Chaminade (10) round out seventh through ninth, respectively.
Mearns had a superior campaign in 2009, picking up her third All-PacWest First Team honor of her career. The 2006 Freshman of the Year previously was named to the First Team in 2006 and 2008.
In 18 games last season, Mearns amassed a league-leading 31 points on 13 goals and five assists. She topped the PacWest in putting the ball in the net, tied for fifth in helping others score, and shared the conference lead in game-winners with five. She also led the PacWest in points per game (1.72) and goals per game (0.72), and tied for ninth in assists per contest (0.28).
In addition to being named the Goalkeeper of the Year in 2009, Makino was named All-PacWest First Team in net for her outstanding season.
In 19 games last year she produced a 10-8-1 overall record with a 1.47 goals against average covering 1715:51 of action. She ranked fourth in the league in goals against average, seventh in save percentage (.708), sixth in total saves (68), and seventh in saves per game (3.58). She finished the season ranked third in total shutouts with five.
Both Makino and Mearns were named to this year’s Preseason All-Conference Team.
Joining Mearns from BYU-Hawaii is senior middie Natasha Aiono (South Jordan, UT/Bingham) who made her third straight All-PacWest squad last season. The 2008 Player of the Year now has two First Team selections (2008 and 2009) and an Honorble Mention (2007).
In 2009 Aiono saw action in 18 games, tying for fifth in the conference in goals scored (8), sharing eighth place in assists (5), and ranking fourth in total points (21). She also tied for fourth in game-winners (3), ranked fifth in points per game (1.17), tied for fifth in goals per game (0.44), and tied for ninth in assists per contest (0.28).
Hawai‘i Pacific sophomore sisters Meghan Fuller (Pearl City, HI/Pearl City) and Amber Fuller (Pearl City, HI/Kamehameha Schools) both were selected for the Preseason All-PacWest squad. Meghan Fuller landed on the forwards list, while Amber Fuller was named as a midfielder.
Last season Meghan Fuller claimed both the Newcomer and Freshman of the Year honors in the PacWest after racking up 20 points on nine goals and two assists. She ranked fifth in the conference in total points, and fourth in goals scored, points per game (1.25) and goals per game (0.56). She tied for fourth in the league with a trio of game-winning scores.
Amber Fuller joined her older sister on the preseason team thanks to a stellar 2009 campaign. In 18 games she scored eight goals and had one assist for 17 points, tying for fifth in the league in goals scored and seventh in total points. She also tied for seventh in points per game (0.94) and shared fifth place in goals per game (0.44). Two of her goals were game-winners while she drilled one penalty kick.
Dixie State earned a pair of All-PacWest Preseason selections in junior midfielder Camille Peterson (North Logan, UT/Sky View) and senior forward Wendy Stratford (Layton, UT/Layton).
An All-PacWest First Team choice in 2009, Peterson scored 17 points in 18 starts. She tallied her points on five goals and seven assists, ranking second in the PacWest in total assists, and tying for seventh in scoring. She also drilled two game-winners, tied for eighth in points per game (0.94), and ranked second in assists per contest (0.39).
Stratford – a First Team member in 2009 and an Honorable Mention in 2008 - amassed 16 points in 16 games on seven goals and two assists. She tied for eighth in the PacWest in total goals and tied for ninth in total points. She also ranked third in game-winning goals (4), shared sixth place in points per game (1.00), and ranked eighth in goals per contest (0.44).
Dominican (CA) earned a trio of All-PacWest Preseason picks in 2010 in junior defender Kaitlyn Brown (San Diego, CA/Academy of Our Lady of Peace), senior forward Bridget Folan (Pacifica, CA/Sacred Heart) and junior midfielder Shayna Elkins (Santa Rosa, CA/Montgomery).
A First Team All-PacWest choice last fall, Brown produced 10 points on a goal and eight assists in 18 starts last season, leading the PacWest in total assists and in assists per game (0.44).
Folan was a Second Team choice in 2009 after she posted 16 points on five goals and a half-dozen assists. She tied for third in total assists, ninth in total points and seventh in assists per game (0.32) in the PacWest. She scored a pair of game-winning goals last year as well.
Elkins contributed two goals, four points and one game-winner in 20 games and 19 starts in 2009.
Hawai‘i Hilo claimed one preseason pick in senior defender Vanessa Butin (Waipahu, HI/Moanalua) – an All-PacWest Second Team choice last season. Butin started all 20 games for the Vulcans, contributing a point on one assist.
Butin has a strong PacWest history. She was a 2007 Second Team choice and was named the Co-Newcomer of the Year that same season.
NDNU sophomore defender Kimberly Wilhite (Castro Valley, CA/Castro Valley) rounds out the preseason team for the PacWest. Wilhite, who was named First Team Defender in the league last season, contributed seven points on two goals and three assists in 2009 for the Argos.
PACWEST WOMEN'S SOCCER PRESEASON RELEASE
MEN'S
PHOENIX, AZ – Reigning Pacific West Conference Champion Grand Canyon University has been selected by the coaches of the league to defend its crown, while last season’s Player and Freshman of the Year – Antelope forward Kyle Ciliento (Phoenix, AZ/Pinnacle) – has been chosen as the PacWest Preseason Player of the Year for 2010.
In addition, Grand Canyon senior netminder Ben Paneccasio (Sydney, Australia/Roseban K College) – the 2009 PacWest Goalkeeper and Newcomer of the Year – has been named the 2010 Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year.
The PacWest predicted order of finish and preseason all-conference team were revealed on Monday, Aug. 30, during the conference’s media day for men’s soccer. The head coaches of the conference voted upon the awards.
Grand Canyon totaled 76 points, including five first-place votes, in the polling, while Hawai‘i Pacific was expected to take second place after receiving 67 points. Ironically, the Sea Warriors received no first place votes while three teams picked to finish below them did.
2010 DSC Men's Soccer Team
Notre Dame de Namur amassed 64 points with two first place votes to take third place in the ranking, while Hawai‘i Hilo garnered one top vote and stands fourth with 53. Dixie State is predicted to finish fifth with 40 points and BYU-Hawaii sixth with 39 points, including one first-place vote. Dominican (32 points), Academy of Art (21) and Chaminade (13) round out seventh through ninth, respectively.
Both Ciliento and Paneccasio were named to the Preseason All-PacWest Men’s Soccer Team after stellar seasons in 2009 that earned the Antelopes their third conference title in the four-year history of men’s soccer in the league.
Ciliento racked up staggering numbers in his rookie campaign in 2009. In 20 starts he exploded for 23 goals and 51 points to lead the PacWest in both categories. He also topped the league in game-winning goals (8), points per game (2.55) and goals per game (1.15). He tied for fourth in the conference in assists (5) and assists per game (0.25), and he was a perfect 4 for 4 in penalty kick attempts. He was named All-PacWest First Team in addition to his player of the year awards.
Paneccasio joined Ciliento on last year’s All-PacWest First Team after posting a 14-3-3 record in 20 starts. The Australian native led the PacWest in goals against average (0.48), shutouts (12), and in shutouts per game (0.60). He played 1878:15 and produced the second-best save percentage in the conference (.811) while repelling 43 shots on goal (9th). Panecassio ranked ninth in the league in saves per game (2.15).
In addition to Paneccasio and Ciliento, the Antelopes landed two other players on the preseason squad in junior back Nick Sykes (Boise, ID/Mountain View) and senior midfielder Joao Vieira (Amparo, Brazil/Barbosa). Sykes - a 2009 All-PacWest First Team Defender and an Honorable Mention in 2008 - scored three goals and finished with six points last season.
Vieira - an All-PacWest Honorable Mention midfielder last year - started 20 games for Grand Canyon in 2009, punching in two goals, adding an assist and totaling six points. He was credited with one game-winner last season.
Notre Dame de Namur claimed a trio of Preseason All-PacWest selections this year. Junior Cristobal Montes (Fremont, CA/John F. Kennedy) - an All-PacWest First Team choice the last two seasons and the 2008 Player and Newcomer of the Year - claimed a spot on the squad after his outstanding 2009 campaign. Last season he started 20 of his team’s 21 games, finishing the season ranked fourth in the PacWest in goals scored (10), tied for eighth in assists (4), and standing fifth in total points with 24. He also tied for third in game-winning goals with four, was a perfect 2 for 2 on penalty kicks, and finished the campaign fourth in the PacWest in points per game (1.14) and goals per game (0.48).
Junior midfielder Arturo Gomez (San Diego, CA/Castle Park) also landed on the PacWest preseason squad after picking up First Team honors in 2009. In the PacWest last season, Gomez tied for seventh in goals scored (7), tied for fourth in assists (5), and finished fifth in the league in total points (19). He also tied for fifth in game-winners (3), ranked eighth in assists per game (0.24), placed sixth in points per game (0.90), and tied for eighth in goals per contest (0.33).
Junior midfielder Christian Rosales (Redwood City, CA/St. Francis) – an All-PacWest Second Team selection in 2009 and an Honorable Mention in 2008 – joins Gomez and Montes on the Preseason All-PacWest Team after starting 20 games for the Argonauts in 2009. He had two goals, two assists and six points on the year.
Dominican (CA) gave the Bay Area teams four of the 12 slots on the preseason squad thanks to senior defender Alec Ziegler (Eureka, CA/Montgomery). An All-PacWest Second Team selection in 2009, Ziegler contributed seven points on a trio of goals and one assist over 18 starts. He also produced a game-winner.
Three-time All-PacWest selection Drew Geis (Kapolei, HI/Kapolei), who did not play in 2009 for Hawai‘i Hilo, was the Vulcans’ lone representative on the preseason team. Geis – a First Team choice in 2006 and 2008, and a Second Team selection in 2007 – recorded 18 points on eight goals and two assists in 2008. He also was responsible for a quartet of game-winning goals.
Hawai‘i Pacific earned two preseason picks in junior forward Chance Bukoski (Kapaa, HI/Kapaa) and sophomore defender Kainoa Kahui (Honolulu, HI/Kamehameha-Oahu).
Bukoski earned his second straight All-PacWest First Team honor last season after starting 17 games for the Sea Warriors and ranking second in the PacWest in goals scored (13), points (29) and game-winners (7). He also contributed three assists, made 1 of 2 penalty kick attempts, and tied for second in the league in both points per game (1.71) and goals per game (0.76).
Kahui saw action in 16 games with 11 starts in 2009. He contributed five goals, two assists and 12 points, including one game-winning score.
Dixie State sophomore forward Jordan Roylance (Smithfield, UT/Sky View) completes the All-PacWest Preseason squad. He earned First Team All-PacWest accolades in 2009 after posting 23 points on 11 goals and one assist in 16 starts. He finished the year ranked third in the league in goals, fourth in points, and tied for third in game-winning goals with three. He also ranked third in points per game (1.44) and in goals per game (0.69).
PACWEST MEN'S SOCCER PRESEASON RELEASE
|