Soccer standouts Dombrowski, Oligney gain Scholar All-America honors from NSCAA

Dec. 20, 2005

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INDIANAPOLIS -- While many people celebrate Christmas with the traditional exchange of gifts, two Horizon League soccer players received one present five days early. University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee senior forward Neil Dombrowski and University of Wisconsin-Green Bay senior forward Sarah Oligney are among a group of student-athletes receiving Scholar All-America honors from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America. The awards are presented by adidas.

Second-Team Men's Scholar All-America choice Dombrowski adds the latest academic honor to a portfolio which also includes Second-Team Academic All-America acclaim from the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) plus Academic All-Horizon League notice.

The First-Team All-League performer helped the Panthers to a 14-4-5 overall record and the Horizon League championship this fall, finishing the season second on the loop charts with 23 points (nine goals and five assists). Three of those nine markers were match-winners for the Panthers, who advanced to the second round of the NCAA Championship before being eliminated in a penalty-kick shootout by eventual national runner-up University of New Mexico.

In the classroom, Dombrowski carries a 3.52 grade-point average as a marketing major.

On the women's side, Oligney picked up similar Second-Team Scholar All-America notice. Oligney earned Horizon League Player of the Year honors for the second time in her career this fall after posting six goals and a League-best ten assists for 22 points, helping pace UW-Green Bay to a 9-9-1 overall mark which included a 5-2-1 League ledger. The senior midfielder became only the third player in League history to win Player of the Year honors twice and tied the school record with 29 helpers in her career.

Oligney also drew Third-Team All-Great Lakes Region recognition from the association for her work on the field as well as a spot on the Academic All-Horizon League squad. She carries a 3.34 grade-point average as a human biology major and becomes the first player in Phoenix history to garner Scholar All-America status.

The Scholar All-America honorees will be recognized at the NSCAA's 59th annual convention, receiving their awards at the All-America luncheon on Saturday, Jan. 21.

The NSCAA awards are considered among the most prestigious in the sport. The organization is unique in its selection process, historically putting all colleges and universities (NCAA Divisions I, II and III plus NAIA) into one group rather than recognizing separate teams for each level. For the first time this season, the women's teams were divided into two divisions---University Division (NCAA Division I) and College Division (all other levels). To be eligible for NSCAA Scholar All-Region honors, student-athletes must maintain a grade-point average of 3.30 (on a 4.00 scale) or higher with junior or higher status academically, and start more than 50 percent of the team's matches and be a significant contributor.

New Mexico and Whitworth College each placed three players on the men's Scholar All-America squads, while women's national champion University of Portland garnered five spots on the women's Scholar All-America teams. Ten of the 11 players on the Men's First-Team unit and five of the women's First-Team selections are also members of the 2005 NSCAA/adidas All-America Teams.

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NOTE: The NSCAA/adidas Scholar All-America teams can be found in the PDF version of this release.