GNAC Men's Soccer

Pele, Connell Top Picks in GNAC


Pele	Connell

Western Washington midfielder Matt Pele has been selected the 2008 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Men's Soccer Player-of-the-Year.

Pele, who received four of five first-place votes, led the Vikings to a 11-5-3 record and to their first conference title since 2002. He was WWU's top playmaker from his midfield position, finishing third in the GNAC in assists with six and also scoring three goals.

Travis Connell. who guided the Vikings to six wins and a tie in their final seven games and to a 7-1 conference record, was selected the GNAC Coach-of-the-Year.

The 1996 Seattle Pacific graduate has a career record of 94-87-11 in 10 seasons with WWU. He has won three men's Coach-of-the-Year awards, also claiming the prize in 2002 and last year. He also won the women's GNAC Coach-of-the-Year award announced Tuesday.

In addition to Pele, two other players earned special awards. Midfielder Ruben Orozco of Saint Martin's and forward Alex Mangeac of Northwest Nazarene earned GNAC Newcomer and Freshman-of-the-Year honors, respectively.

Orozco, a sophomore from Des Moines, Wash., finished seventh in the conference in scoring with 17 points, scoring seven goals and earning three assists. Mangeac placed third in the conference scoring race with 28 points on 12 goals and four assists.

Pele and Orozco were among eight unanimous selections to the all-conference team. Also selected unanimously were forwards Sam Charles of Montana State Billings and Gibson Bardsley of Western Washington, midfielders Alec Nelson of Seattle Pacific and Alonso Avila of Northwest Nazarene and defenders Nick Saletto of Western Washington and Daniel Palermo of Saint Martin's

Five players – Pele, Charles, Bardsley, forward Samir Vejo of Western Washington and defender Justin Hoskins of MSUB – were first-team repeat selections from last year.

Western Washington dominated the selections with earning five first-team slots. Seattle Pacific, Saint Martin's and MSU Billings each placed two players on the first team and Northwest Nazarene had one.

Six Named to Daktronics West Region All-Star Team

Six Great Northwest Athletic Conference players have been selected to the Daktronics NCAA Division II West Region soccer first team all-star teams.

Named to the women's first team were forward Jill Jensen of Saint Martin's, midfielders Meredith Teague and Shannon Oakes of Seattle Pacific and defenders Claire Grubbs of Seattle Pacific and Katie Warner of Western Washington.

Teague, who was selected the GNAC Player-of-the-Year on Tuesday, also earned Daktronics West Region Player-of-theYear honors.

Sam Charles of Montana State Billings was the lone GNAC player named to the men's first team.

Earning second team women's honors were forwards Jocelyn Charette of Seattle Pacific and Claire Morgan of Western Washington, midfielder Kelly Irving of Western Washington and Viking goalkeeper Kyle Broadbent. WWU forward Samir Vejo was the lone GNAC player named to the men's second team.

WOMEN: First Team – Jill Jensen, Saint Martin's (F, 5-8, So., Puyallup, WA); Meredith Teague, Seattle Pacific (M, 5-4, Sr., Redmond, WA); Shannon Oakes, Seattle Pacific (M, 5-5, Sr., Boise, ID); Claire Grubbs, Seattle Pacific (D, 5-9, Sr., Sterling, VA); Katie Warner, Western Washington (D, 5-8, Sr., Burlington, WA). Second Team – Jocelyn Charette, Seattle Pacific (F, 5-10, Jr., Lakewood, WA); Claire Morgan, Western Washington (F, 5-8, So., Bellingham, WA); Kelly Irving, Western Washington (M, 5-6, Jr., Gig Harbor, WA); Kylie Broadbent, Western Washington (GK, 5-9, Sr., Spokane, WA). Player-of-the-Year – Meredith Teague, SPU. MEN: First Team – Sam Charles, Montana State Billings (F, Jr., Weymouth, England). Second Team – Samir Vejo, Western Washington (F, Sr., Trebinje, Bosnia).