INDIANAPOLIS – Rockhurst junior Mark Magee and head coach Tony Tocco, along with Quincy sophomore Chris Garavaglia and Indianapolis freshman Reid Strain have earned major postseason honors for the 2012 Great Lakes Valley Conference men’s soccer season, it was announced by the league office Friday. Magee was selected by the GLVC coaches as the Offensive Player of the Year, Garavaglia was named Defensive Player of the Year, Strain was chosen as the league’s Freshman of the Year, while Tocco was honored by his peers as Coach of the Year. In addition, a total of 33 standouts were named to the 2012 All-Conference Teams.
Despite having players honored as Defensive Player of the Year in 2008 and 2011, Rockhurst earns its first Offensive Player of the Year selection in school history with its talented scoring threat Magee. The Evesham, England, native, who came to the Hawks by way of Missouri State, led the conference in goals (14), goals per game (0.82), game-winning goals (6), points (36) and points per game (2.12) this season. He was also second in assists (8) and assists per game (0.47). Magee recently scored his 14th goal of the year in the Hawks’ 2-0 victory over Lewis in the 2012 GLVC Championship Tournament quarterfinal, which earned Rockhurst hosting rights of this weekend’s semifinal and championship rounds. A multiple first-team All-American last year, Magee also tacked on his second straight first-team All-Conference selection this season.
Garavaglia is the first Quincy defender to earn the conference’s top-defensive award and joins Drury sophomore Stephen Conner (2009) as the youngest player in conference history to be named Defensive Player of the Year. The St. Louis, Mo., native, who was also honored as a first-team All-GLVC back, anchored a QU defense that led the conference and ranked as high as fourth nationally with a goals-against average of just 0.56. Quincy, which finished 9-1-5 in conference play and is currently 12-1-5 overall, also ranked third in the country with a shutout percentage of 0.61.
In his first season with the Greyhounds, UIndy’s Strain made significant contributions to both the team and conference, ranking third overall in the GLVC in goals (12), goals per game (0.67), points (25), and shots (68), and fourth in shots per game (3.78) and points per game (1.39). The Fox River Grove, Ill., native is just the second UIndy newcomer to win the league’s Freshman of the Year honor and the first since Kevin Oram claimed the award in 1997. Strain was also voted as a first-team All-Conference selection at forward.
Rockhurst’s Tocco earns his second-straight Coach of the Year and third of his career, having also been recognized by his fellow coaches in 2008. Under Tocco’s watch, Rockhurst finished the regular season with a league-best 12-2-1 conference mark and is currently 15-2-2 overall. Tocco has been coaching on the Rockhurst campus for 42 years, having accumulated an impressive career record of 615-170-59.
Thirty other men’s soccer stars earned recognition from the GLVC coaches, as three 11-member All-Conference teams were also released on Friday.
Quincy led the conference with eight selections, followed by Rockhurst with seven, five of whom were named to the first team. In addition to Magee, midfielders Nick McDonald and Paolo Scoppola, as well as defender Dan Frohock and goalkeeper Ryan Bass were honored on the first team. Bellarmine’s Robert Bowling (MF) and Austin Chitwood (B), Quincy’s Jeff Vaninger (F), and Southern Indiana’s Jeffrey McClure (F) also earned first-team distinction.
A complete list of the three All-Conference Teams and major postseason award winners follow below.
GLVC men’s soccer action resumes Friday with top-seeded Rockhurst, No. 2 Quincy, No. 5 Southern Indiana and No. 6 Missouri-St. Louis competing in semifinal action of the 2012 GLVC Men’s Soccer Championship Tournament, hosted by Rockhurst in Kansas City, Mo.
2012 MEN’S SOCCER ALL-GLVC TEAMS & POSTSEASON HONORS
Offensive Player of the Year:
Mark Magee, Jr., Rockhurst
Defensive Player of the Year:
Chris Garavaglia, So., Quincy
Freshman of the Year:
Reid Strain, Indianapolis
Coach of the Year:
Tony Tocco, Rockhurst
ALL-GLVC FIRST TEAM
Forwards
Reid Strain, Indianapolis
Jeff Vaninger, Quincy
Mark Magee, Rockhurst
Jeffrey McClure, Southern Indiana
Midfielders
Robert Bowling, Bellarmine
Nick McDonald, Rockhurst
Paolo Scoppola, Rockhurst
Backs
Austin Chitwood, Bellarmine
Chris Garavaglia, Quincy
Dan Frohock, Rockhurst
Goalkeeper
Ryan Bass, Rockhurst
ALL-GLVC SECOND TEAM
Forwards
Shane Woods, Drury
Jordan Roberts, Quincy
Forrest McCurren, William Jewell
Matt McDevitt, William Jewell
Midfielders
Jack Mathis, Drury
Alex Risdale, McKendree
Lucas De Rossi, Rockhurst
Backs
Adam Heiligenstein, Drury
Jon Schreiber, Rockhurst
Spencer Brinkmeyer, Missouri S&T
Goalkeeper
D.J. Lampert, Quincy
ALL-GLVC THIRD TEAM
Forwards
Bobby Adkins, Indianapolis
Kavel Smith, McKendree
Ethan Venvertloh, Quincy
Midfielders
Matt Clarkin, Drury
Steve McAnany, Quincy
Austin Andrekus, Southern Indiana
Backs
Tony Auck, Missouri-St. Louis
Jake Bond, Quincy
Carl Hodges, Quincy
Lucas Woodford, Southern Indiana
Goalkeeper
Patrick Ream, Missouri-St. Louis