Men's Soccer Travels to Stanford for First Round of NCAA Tournament
11/19/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
This Week in Men's Soccer:
The Saint Mary's men's soccer team will take part in their first NCAA Tournament on Thursday, November 19. The Gaels will travel to Palo Alto, CA to take on Stanford in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament. Kick-off is set for 7:00 p.m. from Cagan Stadium on the Stanford Campus.
Live Stats and Radio Coverage:
For fans unable to make the trip to Stanford on Thursday, live stats will be available through Stanford's website at www.gostanford.com.
SMC alum Alex Jensen and SMC women's soccer head coach Kai Edwards will be the radio announcer's for the game. Live radio coverage can be accessed through the "GaelVision" button on the homepage of the Saint Mary's athletic website, www.SMCGaels.com. The radio broadcast is a free service with coverage beginning at 7:00 p.m.
2009 Season Recap:
The Gaels finished the regular season with a 10-4-5 overall record, the best season in Saint Mary's history and the only team to get to 10 wins in a season. SMC finished second in the West Coast Conference with a 6-3-3 conference record, five points behind San Diego.
Junior Dylan Leslie leads the conference in assists with nine and holds a team-high 15 points. Ten Gaels have found the back of the net, with freshman Trevor Newquist leading the way with four goals. Defensively, the Gaels have held their opponents to 19 goals and a 0.93 goals against average. Goalkeeper Doug Herrick has had a stellar season between the pipes, playing in all 1841:20 minutes and recording 63 saves and seven shutouts.
Jordan Grider - WCC Defensive Player of the Year:
Jordan Grider earned the WCC Defensive Player of the Year award and becomes only the second player in Saint Mary's history to receive this honor. Grider has played and started in all but one game for the Gaels in his career and was an instrumental part of SMC's second place WCC finish this season. Grider played a key role in a defense that set a new Saint Mary's single-season record with seven shutouts and a 0.93 goals against average, which is second best in SMC history. Grider was also named to the All-WCC First Team.
Adam Cooper - WCC Coach of the Year:
Fourth-year head coach Adam Cooper was named the 2009 West Coast Conference Coach of the Year on Wednesday after leading his Gaels to the best record in school history (10-4-5) and finishing second in the conference.
Cooper was hired on December 29, 2005 after serving as an assistant coach for five seasons. In his first season (2006), the Gaels struggled, finishing with a 4-10-6 overall record, 2-7-3 in conference. Fast-forward to 2009 and Cooper's Gaels earned their first ever NCAA Appearance after finishing second in conference behind San Diego. Going into the 2009 season, the pre-season coaches poll projected them to finish last in conference after finishing fourth in 2008 (6-9-4, 5-4-3 WCC).
While Cooper has never gone to the NCAA Tournament as a coach, he is familiar with the tournament from a student-athlete's perspective. Cooper played four years at UCLA, where he helped the Bruins to a NCAA Championship in 1997 and a Final Four apperance in 1999.
Eight SMC Players Earn All-WCC Honors:
Saint Mary's dominated the All-West Coast Conference teams this season, as eight players and head coach Adam Cooper took home awards. Two players, Jordan Grider and Trevor Newquist, earned multiple honors as Grider was named WCC Defensive Player of the Year and First Team All-WCC, while Newquist was named to the WCC All-Freshman Team and the Honorable Mention Team.
Along with Grider, junior Dylan Leslie was named to the First Team All-WCC Team after a stellar season at midfielder. Leslie notched career-highs in assists (9) and points (15), while also contributing three goals.
Senior defender Jason Coehlo earned Second Team All-WCC honors after an outstanding season in which he pushed it forward on offense, notching his first points of his career (5) with one goal and three assists.
Trevor Newquist was named to the All-Freshman Team as well as the Honorable Mention Team in his first season with the Gaels. The midfielder leads the team with four goals, scoring his first collegiate goal in his first game as a Gael against Sacramento State in the 1-1 draw. Joining Newquist on the All-Freshman Team is Jose Cabeza from Antioch, CA. Cabeza played in 18 games at the forward position, starting 11.
Honorable Mention honors went to goalkeeper Doug Herrick, midfielder Yousef Samy, and forward Malcolm Alugas.
Between the Pipes:
Starting in all 19 games in goal for the Gaels has been sophomore Doug Herrick. Herrick's had a record-breaking season, shattering multiple SMC single-season records. He currently ranks first in minutes played (1,841), shutouts (7), and wins (10), while ranking second in goals against average (0.93).
Overtime Power Play:
The Gaels have played in nine overtime contests this season, tying a season-high record set by the 2006 team. SMC has faired well in overtime play, taking home the victory in four and remaining tied in five. The most recent overtime win came against Santa Clara on October 23 when Trevor Newquist found the back of the net for the game-winner in the final seconds of the first overtime period.
Record Breaking Season:
Currently, the Gaels are 10-4-5 going into the post-season, turning in the best record in school history since 1989 (9-6-5). It also marks the first time in school history that a team has reached 10 wins in a season.
This season, the Gaels posted their best conference record, and highest finish, in school history. With a 6-4-3 conference record, SMC finished five points behind San Diego to finish second in conference. The second place finish is the highest finish in school history for the Gaels after finishing no higher than fourth since they entered the conference in 1978.
In the pre-season coaches poll, the Gaels were projected to finish last, receiving only six votes. SMC proved the pre-season poll wrong, going into the final weekend in the hunt for first place. San Diego clinched the first place spot with the 0-0 tie with Saint Mary's, while SMC clinched second place with one game left.
Record Breaking Season Continues:
On Monday, the Gaels earned their first ever bid to the NCAA Tournament, taking on Stanford in the first round. Thursday night's game at Stanford will mark the first post-season game for the Gaels in men's soccer history.
MSOC | Saint Mary's vs. LMU Game Highlights
Monday, October 20
MSOC | Game Highlights vs. Santa Clara
Thursday, October 16
MSOC | Bentley PK save and Toelhoej penalty goal, 1-1 draw vs. Seattle U
Saturday, September 27
MSOC | Saint Mary's vs. UC Davis Game Highlights
Thursday, September 04
