North Country Seeded #2 in Region III Tournament,

Saints Earn All-Conference Honors

November 7, 2009

DRYDEN, NEW YORK  - The North Country Community College Men's Soccer team defeated Mohawk Valley CC today 4-2, to advance to the Region III Men's Soccer Championship.  Earnest Afful and  Sahal Ismail added the first two goals for the Saints, while Rhys Calvano tallied two more for the Saints. 

The Championship is scheduled for Sunday, November 8 at 1:00.  The Saints who are currently ranked #3 in the Nation will take on Herkimer Country CC, ranked #1 in the country.  The winner will advance to the NJCAA National Championship Tournament next weekend at Herkimer County CC. 

On Tuesday, October 27, NJCAA’s Region III, put out their seedings for the 2009 Men’s Soccer Regional Tournament.  North Country Community College Men’s Soccer Team received the #2 seed and will host a Region III Quarterfinal game Tuesday, November 3 on the NCCC campus in Saranac Lake.  The Saints will take on Hudson Valley CC, who beat Genesee CC 3-0 in a Sub-Regional game this past Saturday.  North Country is seeded #2 in the Region with an overall record of 13-2-1. 

The Saints also recently had five players named to the Mountain Valley Athletic Conference Men’s Soccer All-Conference Team.   Freshman Defender Harley Hollinshead (Derby, Eng/Littleover Community), sophomore midfielders Chris Stephenson (Boroughbridge, Eng/Boroughbridge) and Liam Gilbert (Southampton, Eng/Toynebee School), and freshmen forwards Randy Danso (Toronto, ON/Don Mills) and Ernest Afful (Columbus, OH/Northland) each received the honor.  It is Gilbert’s 2^nd appearance after being named All-Conference in 2008. 

Afful was also honored as the Conference Player of the Year.  Afful finished with 18 goals and 8 assists for the Saints.  Coach Adam Parker was also the recipient of the Conference’s Coach of the Year Award. 

The Saints were Mountain Valley Athletic Conference Co-Champions in 2009.  Please visitwww.nccc.edu/athletics.aspx orwww.region3athletics.org to learn more about this year’s Men’s Soccer NJCAA Regional Tournament.  

Saints’ Cox Named to All-Conference and All-Region Second Team

Saints’ freshman Stephanie Cox (Parishville, NY/Parishville-Hopkinton HS) was voted to the Mountain Valley Athletic Conference Women’s Soccer All-Conference Team, and Region III’s All-Region Second Team, as a forward.  Cox tallied 3 goals and 1 assist in 5 conference games this fall, and led the team in overall scoring with 11 goals and 11 assists for the season.  For the Women's Soccer Team, Cox is the first player to earn All- Conference honors, in only the second season the team has competed in the tough Mountain Valley Athletic Conference.

Coach Conger commented, "These are great honors for Stephanie and it validates all the hard work she put in all season long in every game and every practice.  She definitely made an impact in every game for us.  I am proud of Stephanie, and expect her to continue to be a leader for our team next season."

The Lady Saints finished the season 5-10-0.  For more information on their 2009 season, please visit the Saints Women’s Soccer website atwww.nccc.edu/womens_soccer.aspx.

Stephenson Named NJCAA Leader for Life

On September 16, 2009, the NJCAA debuted their new online broadcast called the NJCAA 360. The official weekly web-show of the National Junior College Athletic Association takes a comprehensive look at the schools and student-athletes of the NJCAA. Each Wednesday, the in-season sports take center stage as the show breaks down weekly rankings and highlights the players of the week. The web-show also recognizes two Leaders for Life, showcasing the NJCAA student-athletes’ leadership and community involvement, in addition to their athletic and academic achievements.  In their second edition of the NJCAA, the Saints Chris Stephenson, a sophomore and captain midfielder was selected as the NJCAA’s second Leader for Life.  Please visit http://njcaa.org/njcaa360.cfm to watch last week’s edition of NJCAA 360. 

Do not forget to tune in every Wednesday to this site for a comprehensive look at the schools and student-athletes of the NJCAA.

Congratulations Chris!

2009 Mountain Valley Conference Co-Champions

2009 NJCAA Region 3 Finalists

North Country Community College Men’s Soccer Team established itself as one of the emerging programs in the nation in 2009. Following a breakthrough year in 2008 in which the Saints finished 12-4-1, the 2009 NCCC Men’s Soccer Team finished 15-3-1, along with a number of awards and accolades.

North Country advanced to its 2nd Regional Final in the schools 42 year soccer history.  NCCC finished as the 6th ranked team in the nation in the NJCAA’s final poll of the season. North Country’s attack was the highest scoring team in NJCAA Region 3 scoring 4.05 Goals per Game for the 2nd year in a row. The Saints also were 2nd in defense giving up .95 goals a game.

The Saints also had a number of players receiving individual honors:

• 2 All Americans
• 6 All Region Players
• 5 All Conference Players
• 3 National Players of the Week
• Region 3 Player of the Year
• Conference Player of the Year

Perhaps just as important to the Saints success on the field, is where the program advanced players to. The program prides itself on promoting players to higher levels of College Soccer. In the past 2 years, 5 players have gone on to 4 Year Universities. 3 have received full or partial scholarships and 2 have played in the NCAA Division 2 National Tournament.

“Our program has made great strides over the past 2 seasons,” said Head Coach Adam Parker.  "We have several holes we need to fill to try and improve once again next season." 

If you think you would like to be a part of the Saints Men’s Soccer Program next fall, you can contact Coach Parker directly at aparker@nccc.edu or fill out a Prospect Form.

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