Horizon League Announces Men's Soccer All-League Teams and Specialty Award Winners

Nov. 3, 2005

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INDIANAPOLIS -- Junior forward Andrew Ornoch of the University of Detroit Mercy received the Horizon League's 2005 men's soccer Player of the Year honor in voting by the League's eight head coaches Thursday (Nov. 3).

Ornoch also earned the League's Offensive Player of the Year honor as the Titans claimed five of the six individual specialty awards. The Toronto, Ontario, native leads the League with nine goals and 23 points this season. Four of his nine goals came in seven League matches as Detroit won the regular-season championship with a 6-1-0 ledger as part of a 10-5-2 overall ledger.

Junior defender Jason Massoglia of Detroit garnered Defensive Player of the Year honors, bolstering the UDM back line which allowed only six goals in seven loop contests. Massoglia also ranks third on the team with six goals and 12 points this season. Sophomore Sasha Boskovic received Goalkeeper of the Year recognition, anchoring the Titans' defensive efforts with a League-leading six shutouts this season. Boskovic owns a 1.43 goals-against average with 77 saves.

Detroit's Morris Lupenec earned Coach of the Year honors for the third time in his career. Lupenec---who was also named the League's top mentor in 1995 and 1996---directed the Titans to the regular-season League championship after being picked third in the coaches' preseason poll. His brother Mike Lupenec captured the League's women's soccer Coach of the Year honors this fall.

Detroit began the year at 0-1-2 but posted eight consecutive victories between Sept. 25 and Oct. 21, including a 2-1 triumph at UW-Milwaukee on Oct. 2. Detroit is currently ranked ninth in the Great Lakes Region by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America.

Loyola University Chicago midfielder Keum Sung Kim won the final specialty honor, receiving Newcomer of the Year status after collecting six goals and five assists during the regular season. The Arlington Heights, Ill., native sat out the 2004 campaign but is currently tied for sixth in the League with 17 points, helping the Ramblers to a fifth-place finish in the League standings.

Detroit and the University of Illinois at Chicago each placed three players on the First-Team All-Horizon League squad, with Ornoch, Massoglia and Boskovic representing the Titans while sophomore midfielder Pavle Dundjer, junior forward Tonci Skroce and sophomore midfielder Cesar Zambrano provide the UIC presence. Dundjer ranks second in the League with eight assists and 22 points. Skroce shares third place in the League with his eight goals and stands fourth with 19 points while Zambrano added four goals and four assists for 12 points.

Dundjer and University of Wisconsin-Green Bay junior Joshua Okoampa were the only repeat selections on the First-Team All-League squad. Okoampa collected eight goals and 18 points during the regular season, and is joined on the top honor roll by Kim, Wright State University junior midfielder Tony Labudovski and a pair of University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee representatives in senior midfielder Neil Dombrowski plus sophomore defender Steve Bode.

Labudovski helped pace the Raiders to a fourth-place finish, scoring goals in five consecutive matches late in the regular season to finish tied for third at eight markers among his 17 points (tied for sixth in that category). Dombrowski tied Ornoch atop the League charts with nine goals, including his four-goal effort versus Loyola on Oct. 23. He is also tied for second in the League with 22 points (including four assists) while Bode played a key role on the Panther defense which posted five consecutive shutouts in early October.

The Second-Team All-League unit includes Butler University teammates John DeVae and Roberto Gallo, along with UW-Green Bay's Bati Tola and David Chin. UW-Milwaukee also had two Second-Team honorees in Craig Mallace and Billy Meier, while each of the League's five other teams had one player win Second-Team status. UIC's Pawel Otachel was a Second-Team choice for the second consecutive year while Wright State's Jamaar McLeggon, Loyola's Iradj Farahmand, Detroit's Aaron Smith and Cleveland State University netminder Anthony DeMarco rounded out the group.

The 2005 Horizon League Men's Soccer Championship begins Saturday (Nov. 5) at campus sites, with top-seeded Detroit hosting eighth seed Cleveland State at 1 p.m. (EST). Second-seeded UW-Milwaukee hosts No. 7 seed Butler at noon (CST / 1 p.m. EST), while sixth-seeded UW-Green Bay travels to third-seeded UIC for a 1 p.m. (CST / 2 p.m. EST) match. The opening round concludes with fifth-seeded Loyola at No. 4 seed Wright State in a 7 p.m. (EST) contest.

The highest seed remaining after Saturday's action earns the right to host the remainder of the tournament, with semifinals set for Friday, Nov. 11. An automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament is on the line when the Horizon League champion is crowned on Sunday, Nov. 13.

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2005 Horizon League Men's Soccer Award Winners

All-League First Team:
Name-- School-- Yr.-- Pos.-- Hometown
Andrew Ornoch-#-- Detroit -- Jr.-- F-- Toronto, Ontario
Joshua Okoampa-*-- UW-Green Bay-- Jr.-- F-- Brooklyn Park, Minn.
Tonci Skroce-- UIC-- Jr.-- F-- Zadar, Croatia
Pavle Dundjer-*-- UIC-- So.-- M-- Becmen, Belgrade
Keum Sung Kim-- Loyola-- So.-- M-- Arlington Heights, Ill.
Tony Labudovski-#-- Wright State-- Jr.-- M-- Reynoldsburg, Ohio
Cesar Zambrano-- UIC-- So.-- M-- Chicago, Ill.
Neil Dombrowski-- UW-Milwaukee-- Sr.-- M-- West Allis, Wis.
Steve Bode-- UW-Milwaukee-- So.-- D-M-- Milwaukee, Wis.
Jason Massoglia-#-- Detroit-- Jr.-- D-- Troy, Mich.
Sasha Boskovic-- Detroit-- So.-- GK-- Oakville, Ontario

All-League Second Team:
Name-- School-- Yr.-- Pos.-- Hometown
John DeVae-- Butler-- Jr.-- F-- Elmhurst, Ill.
Roberto Gallo-- Butler-- Sr.-- M-- Roselle, Ill.
Jamaar McLeggon-- Wright State-- So.-- M-- Pickering, Ontario
Pawel Otachel-#-- UIC-- Jr.-- M-- Franklin Park, Ill.
Bati Tola-- UW-Green Bay-- Sr.-- M-- Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Craig Mallace-- UW-Milwaukee-- Jr.-- D-M-- Torphichen, Scotland
David Chin-- UW-Green Bay-- Sr.-- D-- Milwaukee, Wis.
Iradj Farahmand-- Loyola-- So.-- D-- Northbrook, Ill.
Billy Meier-- UW-Milwaukee-- Jr.-- D-- Racine, Wis.
Aaron Smith-- Detroit-- Sr.-- D-- Kalamazoo, Mich.
Anthony DeMarco-- Cleveland State-- Fr.-- GK-- Dearborn Heights, Mich.

Player of the Year:Andrew Ornoch, Detroit
Offensive Player of the Year:Andrew Ornoch, Detroit
Defensive Player of the Year: Jason Massoglia, Detroit
Goalkeeper of the Year:Sasha Boskovic, Detroit
Newcomer of the Year:Keum Sung Kim, Loyola
Coach of the Year:Morris Lupenec, Detroit

* - First-Team All-League in 2004 / # - Second-Team All-League in 2004