Nine Horizon League players named to NSCAA's All-Great Lakes Region men's soccer teams
Dec. 14, 2007
Complete Release in PDF Format 
Indianapolis, Ind. -- With only two-and-a-half weeks remaining in 2007, year-end lists seem to appear everywhere these days. The National Soccer Coaches Association (NSCAA) started its annual series of year-end honor lists Thursday (Dec. 13), with nine Horizon League men's soccer players named to the association's All-Great Lakes Region teams, sponsored by adidas.
Horizon League champion University of Illinois at Chicago and regular-season titlist Loyola University Chicago led the way with three selections apiece, with the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay boasting two all-region performers and Butler University placing one player on the regional honor roll.
Sophomore goalkeeper Jovan Bubonja and senior midfielder Pavle Dundjer represented UIC on the First Team, joining Loyola sophomore forward Michael Ferguson among the region's top 11 players. Bubonja and Dundjer led the Flames to their first Horizon League championship since 2000 and powered UIC to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Championship.
Bubonja ranks ninth in the nation with a 0.56 goals-against average and set a UIC single-season record with 12 shutouts during the Flames' 13-6-6 campaign, while Dundjer---a Second-Team choice in 2006---became the circuit's first four-time, First-Team All-League honoree with five goals and three assists in 2007. Ferguson was named the League's Player of the Year this fall and shared the League lead with 15 goals while finishing second on the loop charts with 32 points.
Bubonja was one of four repeat selections on the First Team, joining Ohio State University senior defender Eric Brunner, Northwestern University senior midfielder David Roth and University of Notre Dame senior forward Joseph Lapira in that group. Bubonja and Ferguson were two of the three underclassmen among the top 11.
The rest of the First-Team unit includes Notre Dame senior Ryan Miller and University of Akron senior Corey Sipos on defense, along with Indiana University junior Brad Ring in the midfield. The front line also features Ohio State senior Xavier Balc and Akron freshman Steve Zakuani.
UIC and Loyola each placed one player on the Second Team, with senior midfielder Cesar Zambrano representing the Flames and senior midfielder Iradj Farahmand II wearing Loyola colors. Zambrano led the Flames with six goals and seven assists (19 points) to tie for third place on the League scoring charts, while Farahmand was tabbed as the League's Defensive Player of the Year after helping the Ramblers to the regular-season League title along with a school-record ten shutouts on the way to a 10-5-4 overall ledger. Both players also earned Second-Team all-region acclaim in 2006.
Green Bay junior forward Tosaint Ricketts was the League's third representative on the Second Team. Ricketts hit the net six times in 2007, including five match-winning goals to lead the Phoenix to an 11-5-6 record that featured a 12-match unbeaten streak in the middle of the year.
Butler junior forward Frank Patano joined senior midfielders Keum Sung Kim of Loyola and Dan O'Brien of Green Bay on the Third Team. Patano led the League with 33 points this fall, matching Ferguson's 15-goal campaign to rank third in the nation in that category. Nine of those goals came in a five-match run late in the year as the Bulldogs rallied to post a 9-7-4 final record. Kim posted four goals in 2007, with O'Brien collecting ten points off two goals and six assists for the Phoenix. Kim and O'Brien were both Second-Team picks last fall.
The three First-Team honorees are eligible for All-America consideration, joining the top players from the other seven regions on the NSCAA's national ballot. The coaches' association will announce its All-America selections next week.
Note: The NSCAA All-Great Lakes Region teams can be found in the PDF version of this release.
