Ortiz, Boekeloo headline men's soccer All-NAC awards
Benedictine's Jesse Ortiz was named the Northern Athletics Conference Offensive Player of the Year, and Dominican's Kyle Boekeloo was named Defensive Player of the Year to lead the 2011 All-Northern Athletics Conference Men's Soccer Awards.
The awards, voted on by the league's head coaches, include first and second All-NAC Teams, honorable mention selections, All-Freshman Team, All-Sportsmanship Team, and the major awards of Offensive Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, Freshman of the Year and Coach of the Year.
The All-Sportsmanship Team included one member from each school and was chosen based on the principles of sportsmanship as promoted by the NAC and NCAA.
In just 16 games for the Eagles (8-9-2, 5-4-2 NAC), Ortiz (Aurora, Ill.) tallied four goals, including a game winner, and six assists, which was sixth best in the conference. The sophomore midfielder, also named to the First Team All-NAC, was moved from the forward position midfield after an on-going injury restricted his play.
Boekeloo (Woodridge, Ill.), also a first team selection, started in all 20 games for the Stars' defense that allowed just 14 goals (0.69 GAA) and recorded 11 shutouts. The senior defender also assisted on five goals.
Dominican teammate Ryan Ybarra (Des Plaines, Ill.) was named Freshman of the Year. The rookie forward tallied 23 points this season on nine goals and five assists, good for fifth and eighth best in the conference. Ybarra was also a first team and All-Freshman team selection.
The Stars' Erick Baumann was honored as Coach of the Year, as voted by his peers. This is Baumann's fourth NAC honor. The Stars captured their sixth-straight NAC regular season and tournament titles and 10th-stright trip to the NCAA Championship Tournament with an 18-2 overall record and a perfect 11-0 record in conference play. Dominican will host the first and second round of the NCAA III Championship this weekend.