Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference

Posted by WHAC SID - Tue, Nov 10, 2009 - [ Men's Soccer ] - Viewed 938 times

Jeovani Pantoja of Aquinas College and David Ujkic of Concordia University headline the 2009 Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) Men's Soccer All-Conference Team. Pantoja was named the Offensive Player of the Year while Ujkic took home Defensive Player of the Year honors. Indiana Institute of Technology head coach Martin Neuhoff was honored as Coach of the Year and Murali Nair, Concordia head coach, was named the Champions of Character Coach for his display of character.

Aquinas secured the regular season conference championship before the final week of play and finished the regular season at 9-2-1 in the WHAC. Pantoja led the league in scoring tallying 13 goals. The Saints' defense allowed just 15 goals during the season for a 0.79 average while recording 90 saves.

All-Conference teams are voted upon by head coaches in the league. Each coach is allowed to nominate their own players and all coaches vote for 20 players. The three teams are compiled from those votes.

Other honors released - All-Academic team members must have a cumulative GPA of 3.25 on a 4.0 scale and are nominated by head coaches. The Champions of Character team members best represent the NAIA's five core character values of Respect, Responsibility, Integrity, Sportsmanship and Servant Leadership.

The WHAC Tournament began Nov. 7 with the championship game Nov. 14. The winner of the tournament receives an automatic berth to the 51^st Annual NAIA Men's Soccer National Championship.

ALL-CONFERENCE FIRST TEAM SELECTIONS

Name	Institution	Pos.	Yr.	Hometown
Jeovani Pantoja	Aquinas College	F	Jr.	Grand Rapids, Mich.
Alex Boehm	Davenport University	F	Jr.	Stevensville, Mich.
Stu Thornton	Indiana Institute of Technology	MF	Sr.	Angola, Ind.
Mike Vaughn	Aquinas College	MF	Jr.	Jenison, Mich.
Jacob Rosiek	Madonna University	MF	Jr.	Oak Park, Mich.
Linden Ivezic	Siena Heights University	MF	Jr.	New Baltimore, Mich.
David Ujkic	Concordia University	D	Jr.	Novi, Mich
Chad DuRussel	Aquinas College	D	Jr.	Grand Rapids, Mich.
Jordan Wilson	Cornerstone University	D	Fr.	Mississauga, Ontario
Mark Baptist	Indiana Institute of Technology	D	So.	Westcliff-On-Sea, UK
Josh Verhulst	Indiana Institute of Technology	GK	Sr.	Grand Rapids, Mich.

Offensive Player of the Year - Jeovani Pantoja, Aquinas College
Defensive Player of the Year - David Ujkic, Concordia University

Coach of the Year - Martin Neuhoff, Indiana Institute of Technology

Click here to view the complete list of postseason honors.