Wednesday, December 17, 2014

PORTLAND, Ore. - History was made, a few records were set and memorable careers started and ended for GNAC men’s soccer players in 2014.

Conference champions Seattle Pacific earned its fourth straight berth to the NCAA tournament after winning a school-record 13 games this year. The Falcons hosted the first four rounds of the tournament after garnering the No. 1 seed in the West region and reached the regions championship match.

Northwest Nazarene shocked the conference and improved by 10 games from last year. The Crusaders beat Seattle Pacific and Simon Fraser, two of the top teams in the West, while reaching its first ever NCAA ranking, NCAA tournament and winning their first tournament match.

After a slow start, Simon Fraser won eight of their last nine games and reached the tournament for the fifth straight year. Senior Jovan Blagojevic scored 18 goals this season, ranking seventh in the country and moved into fifth all-time in the GNAC’s all-time points list.

Thirteen GNAC players earned All-West Region honors from four different schools and five were named All-Americans, including Julio Castillo of Northwest Nazarene whose first team selection was the first in NNU sports history.

The following is a brief recap of the 2014 season for each team. Full-length analysis for each team can be found in the full report under the 'related links' section of this article.

SEATTLE PACIFIC falcons
Record: 16-2-2 overall, 12-1-1 conference
Pre-season Coaches Poll: 2nd (1 first-place vote)
Conference Finish: 1st (37 points)
Stat Leaders: Goals – Stephen MacDonald (9); Assists – Stephen MacDonald (8); Saves – Cody Lang (42)
All-Conference Selections: First – Stephen MacDonald, Danny Olivas, Davis Karaica, Bryson Pavel, Cody Lang; Second – Sean Russell, Chaz Jenkins; HM – Ian Adams, Jordan Kollars, Jeffrey Collings, Evan Robicheau; Mark Collings co-Coach of the Year
All-West Region Selections: Davis Karaica, Coday Lang, Stephen MacDonald, Danny Olivas, Bryson Pavel
All-Americans: Davis Karaica, Stephen MacDonald

NORTHWEST NAZARENE crusaders
Record: 15-4-1 overall, 11-2-1 conference
Pre-season Coaches Poll: 4th
Conference Finish: 2nd (34 points)
Stat Leaders: Goals – Fredy Razo (13); Assists – Julio Castillo (9); Saves – Alfredo E. Ontiveros (76)
All-Conference Selections: First – Fredy Razo, Julio Castillo (Newcomer of the Year), Yannick Petzschke (Freshman of the Year), Alfredo E. Ontiveros (Defensive Player of the Year); Second – Erik Anderson, Juan Perez; HM – Jaime Verdin; Coe Michaelson co-Coach of the Year
All-West Region Selections: Erik Anderson, Julio Castillo, Alfredo E. Ontiveros, Yannick Petzschke, Fredy Razo
All-Americans: Julio Castillo

SIMON FRASER clan
Record: 11-5-2 overall, 9-3-2 conference
Pre-season Coaches Poll: 1st (7 first-place votes)
Conference Finish: 3rd (29 points)
Stat Leaders: Goals – Jovan Blagojevic (18); Assists – Alex Rowley (9); Saves – Brandon Watson (33)
All-Conference Selections: First – Jovan Blagojevic (Player of the Year), Alex Kleefeldt; Second – Joel Malouf, Brandon Watson; HM – Robert Hyams
All-West Region Selections: Jovan Blagojevic, Alex Kleefeldt
All-Americans: Jovan Blagojevic

WESTERN WASHINGTON vikings
Record: 9-8-1 overall, 7-6-1 conference
Pre-season Coaches Poll: 3rd
Conference Finish: 4th (22 points)
Stat Leaders: Goals – Tye Hastings (7); Assists – Luke Olney (8); Saves – Keegan Rogers (60)
All-Conference Selections: First – none; Second – Tye Hastings, Kurtis Pederson, Luke Olney; HM – Uche Ugwoaba, Gabriele Zaccagnini, Troy McCarty, Keegan Rogers

MONTANA STATE BILLINGS yellowjackets
Record: 6-9-3 overall, 6-7-1 conference
Pre-season Coaches Poll: 5th
Conference Finish: 5th (19 points)
Stat Leaders: Goals –Thorge Jess (7); Assists – Sam Butterworth (6); Saves – Tom Lohmann (73)
All-Conference Selections: First – none; Second – Rhys Lambert; HM – Colin Ralston, Kyle Emerick, Sam Butterworth

MARY marauders
Record: 5-9-2 overall, 4-9-1 conference
Pre-season Coaches Poll: 7th
Conference Finish: 6th (13 points)
Stat Leaders: Goals – Christoffer Nogueira/Jordan Pearce (9); Assists – Christoffer Nogueira (6);  Saves – Michael Frenzel (39)
All-Conference Selections: First – none; Second – Jonathan Sellars; HM - Christoffer Nogueira, Adam Potter, Aaron Mc Elwee
All-West Region Selections: Jonathan Sellars

SAINT MARTIN’S saints
Record: 3-14-1 overall, 3-10-1 conference
Pre-season Coaches Poll: 6th
Conference Finish: 7th (10 points)
Stat Leaders: Goals – Tody Tolo (6); Assists – Jake Zimmer/Matt Beaulaurier (3); Saves – JJ Olson (67)
All-Conference Selections: First – none; Second – Kaleb Strawn; HM – Tody Tolo

SOUTH DAKOTA MINES hardrockers
Record: 1-17-0 overall, 0-14-0 conference
Pre-season Coaches Poll: 8th
Conference Finish: 8th (0 points)
Stat Leaders: Goals – Sean Tabbert (6); Assists – Andreas Skau (3); Saves – Braeden Federle (57)
All-Conference Selections: First –none; Second – none; HM – Michael McGraw, Sean Tabbert, Andreas Skau