PSAC Men's Soccer Athlete of the Year Greg Shertzer of Lock Haven (left) and PSAC Freshman of the Year Robbie Bennett of Gannon (right).
2011 All-PSAC Men's Soccer Teams (pdf)
Lock Haven, Pa. – Greg Shertzer of Lock Haven has been named the PSAC Men’s Soccer Athlete of the Year while Gannon freshman forward Robbie Bennett has been selected the PSAC Freshman of the Year as that duo highlights the 2011 All-PSAC men’s soccer teams. Lock Haven head coach Doug Moore, who guided the Bald Eagles to the PSAC regular season championship, was tabbed the Coach of the Year.
Shertzer, who was formerly the PSAC West Freshman of the Year in 2008, is the first Athlete of the Year from the Bald Eagles since Dustin Bixler in 2004. He was the top scorer on the Bald Eagles this season and as of the latest NCAA statistics report, he ranks third in the PSAC in both points (25) and points per game (1.47). He is also third in goals (10) and fourth in goals per game (0.59) and is also in the top 10 in assists. Shertzer also earns his first career first team recognition as he was a second team selection twice previously.
Bennett is the second Gannon newcomer to be named the Freshman of the Year in the last three seasons, as his teammate Sean Washek was tabbed the PSAC West Freshman of the Year in 2009. His honor also marks the third straight season that a Golden Knight has garnered a PSAC major postseason award following Washek’s honor in 2009 and former teammate Afrim Latifi being named the Athlete of the Year last season. He currently leads the PSAC in points (29), points per game (1.61) and goals (12) and is tied for first in goals per game (0.67) and tied for third in assists.
Moore is the Coach of the Year for the second time in his career and for the first time since 2004. He guided the Bald Eagles to their first PSAC tournament appearance since 2007 this season and their first PSAC regular season championship since 1997. Lock Haven finished with a 7-2 mark in the PSAC to tie with Millersville for first place. The Eagles also received the top seed in the conference tournament after winning the tiebreaker with the Marauders.
PSAC tournament champion Millersville led the way with three selections on the first team. Sophomore forward Andrew Dukes, who was last year’s PSAC Freshman of the Year, senior midfielder Eric Pepper and senior back John Claffey were all on the first team. They were joined by teammates Aaron Roland and Pat Buffuto, both seniors. California, which finished in third place and qualified for both the PSAC and NCAA tournaments, also had five All-PSAC selections with Nemanja Visekruna and Charlie Dagnal on the first team and Paul Silvestrone, Scott Campbell and Edin Sabic on the second team.
A pair of Mercyhurst players each earned their third career first team selections. Senior midfielder Arash Fahandezh is on the first team for the third straight season while senior forward Billy Colton, who redshirted last year, is on the first team for the third time in the last four seasons. In total, nine of the 13 honorees on the first team has previously been recognized as all-conference performers while the second team featured all first-time honorees with the exception of Washek from Gannon, who earns his second career all-conference honor.
2011 All-PSAC Men’s Soccer Team
First Team
Forward
Robbie Bennett Gannon Fr. Durban, South Africa/St. Benedict School
Billy Colton** Mercyhurst Sr. Pitsea, England/Chalvedon
Andrew Dukes^ Millersville So. Glenmoore, Pa./Downingtown East
Martin Pletz^ Lock Haven Sr. Pittsburgh, Pa./Carlynton
Midfielder
Arash Fahandezh** Mercyhurst Sr. Richmond Hill, Ontario/St. Robert Catholic
Nick Fischer East Stroudsburg Jr. Rockaway, N.J./Morris Catholic
Eric Pepper Millersville Sr. Reading, Pa./Exeter Township
Greg Shertzer^^ Lock Haven Sr. Lebanon, Pa./Cedar Crest
Back
John Claffey* Millersville Sr. Glen Mills, Pa./Garnet Valley
Austin Hill^ Shippensburg Jr. Wilmington, Del./Concord
Nem anja Visekruna^ California Jr. Hamilton, Ontario/St. Thomas More
Khriswayne Wallace* East Stroudsburg So. Westmoreland, Jamaica/Munro College
Goalkeeper
Charlie Dagnal California Sr. Carnegie, Pa./Carlynton
Second Team
Forward
Nemanja Nikolic East Stroudsburg Jr. Kragujevac, Serbia/HS of Internal Affairs
Aaron Roland Millersville Sr. Fleetwood, Pa./Oley Valley
Bryce Shaffer Bloomsburg Jr. Gettysburg, Pa./Gettysburg
Paul Silvestrone California Jr. Vaughan, Ontario/Cardinal Center
Midfielder
Pat Baffuto Millersville Sr. Metuchen, N.Y./Metuchen
Scott Campbell California So. Erie, Pa./Harbor Creek
Edin Sabic California Sr. Erie, Pa./Cathedral Prep
Sean Washek* Gannon Jr. Fairview, Pa./Cathedral Prep
Back
Ryan Lund Mercyhurst Fr. South Euclid, Ohio/Notre Dame Cathedral Latin
Suane McLeish East Stroudsburg Jr. St. Elizabeth, Jamaica/Munro College
David Qaisi Lock Haven Jr. Lancaster, Pa./Conestoga Valley
Alex Swartz Slippery Rock Sr. Chambersburg, Pa./Chambersburg
Goalkeeper
Bernie Roell Bloomsburg So. Douglassville, Pa./Daniel Boone
PSAC Athlete of the Year
Greg Shertzer Lock Haven Sr. Lebanon, Pa./Cedar Crest
PSAC Freshman of the Year
Robbie Bennett Gannon Fr. Durban, South Africa/St. Benedict School
PSAC Coach of the Year
Doug Moore Lock Haven
* Indicates previous All-PSAC first team selection
^ Indicates previous All-PSAC second team selection