Hoffman is NJCU’s super saver
For the fourth consecutive year, and while competing in perhaps the top women’s soccer conference in NCAA Division III, New Jersey City University junior goalkeeper Brittany Hoffman was voted to the All-New Jersey Athletic Conference team by the league’s 10 head coaches.
Hoffman, a McMurray native and Peters Township graduate, received honorable mention All-NJAC.
Considered the best goalkeeper in school history, Hoffman is only the second player from NJCU to earn All-NJAC honors in four seasons. Hoffman, a three-year team captain with a 3.85 GPA in Fire Science and on a full Presidential academic scholarship, started all 15 games in net for the Gothic Knights. She made 135 saves and posted a .776 saves percentage with one shutout, a 1-0 double overtime win Sept. 17 at Sarah Lawrence. She finished the year with a 2.79 goals against average.
Using an aggressive style of play that broke up numerous breakaways and crossing opportunities in her four years on the pitch, Hoffman reached double figures in saves in six games with a high of 20 stops in a loss to nationally ranked and eventual NJAC champion Montclair State. She also led the NJAC in saves for the third straight season.
Hoffman ended her collegiate career as NJCU’s all-time leader in games and starts, second in wins, saves, shutouts and goalie minutes played, and fourth in save percentage. In 67 career games (all starts) she made 587 saves with a .782 save percentage and a 23-38-3 record and 11 shutouts. She had double-figure saves in 26 games and recorded at least 20 stops in a game seven times in her career. As a junior, Hoffman was third in the country in saves per game.
Bowling Green’s Bryan Thomas, a redshirt senior defensive end from Washington, was named third team All-Mid-American Conference. A Washington graduate, Thomas made 36 tackles entering the Falcons’ appearance last night in the MAC championship game, with 13 of the stops being for losses. He leads the Falcons with six sacks and is sixth in the country with five forced fumbles.
Austin Hancock, a senior three-year linebacker at Fordham, was named first team All-Patriot League. A Venetia native and Peters Township graduate, Hancock has 87 total tackles (46 solo) including 3½ for losses and 2½ sacks. He also has three pass breakups and a forced fumble. Hancock was on the league’s second team last year.
Fordham will play New Hampshire today in the second round of the Football Championship Series playoffs. Hancock had eight tackles, including 1½ behind the line of scrimmage, in the Rams’ 42-22 win over Sacred Heart last week in the first round of the playoffs.
Damond Goggins, a senior linebacker at Muskingum, received honorable mention on the All-Ohio Athletic Conference team. Goggins, a Donora native and Ringgold graduate, was Muskingum’s second-leading tackler with 86 stops. He also had 2 1/2 tackles for loss, one interception and forced one fumble.
Corey Kehm, a sophomore from Venetia, is a member of the John Caroll men’s team. A Peters Township graduate and a four-year letterman for the Indians, Kehm is swimming freestyle and butterfly events for Johns Carroll. He won the 1,000 to help the Blue Streaks sweep the freestyle events in a meet against Defiance last month.
Kehm also has been part of winning relays teams, competing in the 200 and 400 freeystyle and 200 medley.
Freshman Veronica Latsko has helped Virginia to the NCAA College Cup.
Latsko, a forward from Venetia and a former standout for Peters Township, played in all 24 games for Virginia (22-2), which played Texas A&M in the national semifinals last night in Boca Raton, Fla. Latsko has scored three goals and assisted on two others. She has taken 12 shots on goals in played 957 minutes.
Shannon O’Connor, a senior defenseman, recently concluded her career at Long Island-Brooklyn. The Venetia native and Peters Township graduate started all 17 games and played more than 1,400 minutes this year for the Blackbirds. O’Connor was a second team All-Northeast Conference selection as a junior, and she helped LIU win the conference championship and advance to the NCAA tournament during her sophomore season.
Allegheny junior midfielder Niki Augustine received honorable mention on the All-North Coast Athletic Conference women’s team. A Waynesburg native and Waynesburg Central graduate, Augustine helped the Gators reach the NCAC tournament championship game and advance to the NCAA Division III tournament.
Augustine a valuable two-way player for the Gators. She produced two goals and one assist, and finished third on the team with 31 shots. She was also vital to the team’s conference-leading defense as the Gators allowed just three goals, and an average of 8.6 shots per contest, during the eight-game NCAC regular season.
Augustine has started 60 career games between the midfield and forward, with six goals, three assists, and 16 points.
Former Trinity standout Josh Urso placed 64th at the NCAA Division III Championships at Mason, Ohio. A junior at Oberlin, Urso improved his finish at the national meet by 75 places over his sophomore season and helped the Yoemen place seventh in the team standings. Urso’s time was 25:03.24.
“Josh attacked the race from beginning to end,” said Oberlin coach Ray Appenheimer.
Urso qualified for the national meet by placing 13th at the Great Lakes Regional. Urso ran 24:50.8 to earn his first career All-Region honor.
Matthew Lison, a freshman from Venetia, is the third-leading scorer for Bowdoin. In seven games for the Polar Brears, Lison has scored four goals and assisted on six others. Two of Lison’s goals have come on the power play, and three have been game-winners including two against Colby.
Zach McKown of Canonsburg is the third-leading scorer for Lebanon Valley. McKown has scored nine goals and has two assists for the Dutchmen (8-7). He scored two goals in a 6-2 victory over Drexel.
Josh Valentic, a 6-4 senior guard from Washington, is the second-leading scorer for Allegheny. Valentic, a Trinity graduate, is averaging 11.3 points per game. His began the season with a 19-point performance in the Gators’ win over Pitt-Titusville and scored 17 in victory Wednesday over Hiram in North Coast Athletic Conference competition.
Valentic has scored in double figures in 30 games for Allegheny after transferring from Wheeling Jesuit following his freshman season.
Fred Garcia, a redshirt senior at Lock Haven, won the 184-pound championship at the Mat Town Open Invitational.
A Ringgold graduate and Donora native, Garcia needed three wins to win the title. He opened the day with a pin of Columbia’s Matt Doggett in 1:29 and followed it up a 14-4 major decision over James Suvak of Virginia in the semifinals. Garcia was able to grind out an 8-5 decision over Tyler Askey of Virginia in the finals.
Garcia, who qualified for the NCAA Championships last year, is ranked No.24 in the nation in his weight class.
Two-time PIAA champion and four-time finalist Connor Schram is off to an undefeated start for Stanford. A redshirt freshman from Canon-McMillan, Schram has a 4-0 record at 133 pounds. Schram has one win in overtime and another sudden victory (3-1) over Northwestern’s Dominick Malone, who entered the bout ranked No. 19 in the nation.