Landmark Releases Men's Soccer All-Conference Teams
TOWSON, Md. – Landmark men's soccer coaches voted Scranton senior Bill McGuiness Landmark Conference Offensive Player of the Year and Catholic junior Kevin Romano the Defensive Player of the Year.
McGuiness leads the Royals this season with nine regular season goals and six assists for 24 points. Just in conference play he racked up three goals and three assists and for the season boasts a league-high five game-winning goals. McGuiness is a three-time All-Landmark selection after earning Second Team honors as a sophomore and First Team recognition the last two seasons.
Romano has earned First Team honors for the second straight season while competing on the Catholic back line. As an outside back, he is tough to get around and has shown great pace getting into the attack down the flank. He has tallied two goals this season, both of them game-winning against Scranton and Salisbury.
Rookie of the Year honors went to Scranton freshman Joel Potter. Potter is another outside back who can get forward and contribute offensively. He has added three assists for the Royals including two in conference play.
The 12 players named to the First Team represent five different institutions. Joining McGuiness as First Team forwards are Catholic senior Mike Brennan and Susquehanna junior Patrick Fry. Brennan was a First Team selection and Offensive Player of the Year a year ago. This season he came back to rack up seven goals and four assists to tie for the team lead. Fry has earned All-Conference recognition for the first time after serving as a crucial piece of the Crusaders' offense. He scored five goals, four of them Landmark game-winning goals.
The First Team midfielders represent each of the top three teams in the Landmark, similar to the forwards. Catholic's Hunter Horvath is a repeat selection after earning Second Team honors in 2011. He maintains possession for the Cardinals in the midfield while adding three goals and one assist during the regular season. The conference has recognized Scranton junior Colin McFadden and Susquehanna sophomore David Trank for the first time in their career. McFadden is a leader in the center midfield for Scranton and scored one goal with an assist. Trank holds down the left side with 14 points on five goals and four assists through the regular season.
Five defenders were named to the First Team including Romano. Susquehanna seniors Brandon Kates and Sean Raffetto have been an instrumental part of a defense that allowed just eight goals during the entire regular season. Both contributed offensively as well as Kates scored four goals and Raffetto added two assists. Scranton junior Stephen Kilty is a junior captain for the Royals and serves as a vocal leader of a defense that posted six shutouts during the regular season. The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy's Kurt Olsen has been recognized as the Landmark Defensive Player of the Year twice during his career, but played in just 12 games this season due to injury. Olsen still tallied two goals including an overtime winner against Juniata while leading the Mariners defense.
Juniata senior Ezra Cassel was chosen as the Landmark First Team goalkeeper. Cassel finished with a 1.63 goals against average with five shutouts. He is credited with much of Juniata's success this season on the way to earning eight wins and a .728 save percentage.
Scranton Head Coach Matt Pivirotto was voted Landmark Coach of the Year by his colleagues. In his 14th season at the helm of the Royals, Pivirotto took a team who missed the playoffs a year ago, all the way to the Landmark Championship game. Scranton went 6-8-3 last season and finished fifth in the Landmark with a 3-3-1 record. This season the team is 14-2-2 overall and tied for first in the league at 6-1. Just recently, the Royals earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament in recognition of a tremendous season.
Susquehanna led all teams with seven selections on the Landmark All-Conference teams. The Drew Rangers were recognized with five Second Team honorees while Catholic and Scranton finished with four apiece. Juniata had two players recognized, and USMMA and Moravian had one each.
|
|
|
|
Offensive Player
of the Year |
Defensive Player
of the Year |
Rookie of the Year
|
Coach of the Year |
| Bill McGuiness, Scranton |
Kevin Romano, Catholic |
Joel Potter, Scranton |
Matt Pivirotto, Scranton |
The 2012 Landmark Men's Soccer All-Conference Teams:
| First Team |
|
|
|
|
Second Team |
|
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|
| Forward |
|
|
|
|
Forward |
|
|
|
Mike Brennan
|
Catholic |
Sr. |
Feasterville, Pa. |
|
Dane Azeles
|
Juniata |
Jr. |
Duncansville, Pa. |
Patrick Fry
|
Susquehanna |
Jr. |
Denver, Colo. |
|
Daniel Sosa
|
Susquehanna |
Sr. |
Columbia, Pa. |
Bill McGuiness
|
Scranton |
Sr. |
Forty Fort, Pa. |
|
Tommy Tolve
|
Drew |
So. |
Nutley, N.J. |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Midfielder |
|
|
|
|
Midfielder |
|
|
|
Hunter Horvath
|
Catholic |
So. |
Southlake, Texas |
|
John Boylan
|
Susquehanna |
Jr. |
Hazlet, N.J. |
Colin McFadden
|
Scranton |
Jr. |
Ventnor City, N.J. |
|
Ricardo Castro
|
Drew |
Jr. |
Mexicali, Mexico |
David Trank
|
Susquehanna |
So. |
Mendham, N.J. |
|
Matthew Salvatore
|
Scranton |
Sr. |
Howell, N.J. |
|
|
|
|
|
Kevin Walpole
|
Drew |
Sr. |
Newark, Del. |
| Defender |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Brandon Kates
|
Susquehanna |
Sr. |
Cherry Hill, N.J. |
|
Defender |
|
|
|
Stephen Kilty
|
Scranton |
Jr. |
Downingtown, Pa. |
|
Jeffrey Algor
|
Moravian |
Jr. |
Spring Lake Hts, N.J. |
Kurt Olsen
|
USMMA |
Sr. |
Charlotte, N.C. |
|
Ben Fernandez
|
Catholic |
Jr. |
Bethesda, Md. |
Sean Raffetto
|
Susquehanna |
Sr. |
Manasquan, N.J. |
|
Michael Pezzuti
|
Drew |
So. |
Fairfield, N.J. |
Kevin Romano
|
Catholic |
Jr. |
Freehold, N.J. |
|
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| |
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Goalkeeper |
|
|
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| Goalkeeper |
|
|
|
|
Michael Reyes
|
Drew |
So. |
Delran, N.J. |
Ezra Cassel
|
Juniata |
Sr. |
Denver, Pa. |
|
Matt Salsman
|
Susquehanna |
Sr. |
Selinsgrove, Pa. |