BEREA, OHIO -- Five members of the Baldwin-Wallace College men's soccer team were named to the 2009 All-Ohio Athletic Conference men's soccer team announced on Wednesday, November 11. Senior goalkeeper Russ Mika (Medina/ Senior) also was tabbed as the OAC's Goalkeeper of the Year.
B-W's first-team selections were sophomore forward Carlin Vandendriessche (Medina/ Senior), junior midfielder Jeff Grater (Stow/ Stow-Munroe Falls), Mika, and senior defender Nate Smith (Ashland /Senior). Second-team honors went to senior MF Andy Synk (Strongsville).
Mika had his best season as a Yellow Jacket, posting a 13-6-1 record with 84 saves and seven shutouts. He started all 21 games for B-W and allowed 0.95 goals per game while recording a .816 save percentage. Mika, also a team captain, was named first-team ESPN THE MAGAZINE Academic All-District IV and has advanced to Academic All-America voting.
Vandendriessche, a second-team selection a year ago,led the Yellow Jackets in scoring with 30 points on a team-high 13 goals and four assists in 2009. He also was named OAC Player of the Week on September 21 after scoring four goals during B-Ws first two wins of the season.
Smith, a two-year captain, was an at-large selection to the OAC's first-team. He helped lead the Jacket defense to 10 shutouts and a 0.96 goals against average. He also totaled three assists, two of which aided game-winners.
Synk, also a 2008 second-team All-OAC and NSCAA All-Great Lakes Region selection , started all 21 games and helped the defense to 10 shutouts.
The Yellow Jackets finished the season at 13-7-1 overall with a 13-2-1 mark in their final 16 games. B-W also advanced to the semifinal round of the OAC Tournament and tied for second place during the conference's regular season.
FOR MORE B-W Sports Information, please contact Sports Information Director Kevin Ruple by telephone at 440-826-2327 and e-mail at kruple@bw.edu. or Assistant SID Jeff Miller by phone at 440-826-2780 and email at jefmille@bw.edu Fans can access the latest B-W athletics information at www.bw.edu/athletics and we invite you to join us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/bwyellowjackets and Twitter at http://twitter.com/bwathletics
