| 2008 HONORS
Rodriguez
receives All-American soccer honors
Armando Rodriguez has received
honorable mention NAIA soccer All-American recognition for the third
straight year.
The 2006 graduate of Woodrow
Wilson High School in Dallas, Texas was previously named to the
All-KCAC first teams.
 Rodriguez
was named to the All-KCAC first team for the third straight
year as a forward.
“This is another significant
award for Armando,” said McPherson head coach Doug Quint. “Armando
continues to re-write the McPherson College record books. He's a
very gifted striker, who provides us with a game winning threat
up top. At any point during the match, he has the ability to just
take things over and finish an opponent off. This year often being
double-teamed or man marked, he's still produced for us.”
Armando led the KCAC in assist
average, distributing 0.57 per game, and his eight regular season
assists led McPherson and ranked third in the conference. Rodriguez
also ranked in the KCAC's regular season top ten in total points
(4th with 22), points average (4th at 1.57 per game), goals (9th
with seven), goals per game (7th at 0.50), shots (3rd with 62),
and shots per game (2nd at 4.43).
Armando was named the KCAC
Player of the Week following the Bulldogs' win over Ottawa .
Rodriguez is the McPherson
College career goal and scoring leader with 44 goals and 107 points
through the 2008 regular season. He is the first player in school
history to reach the 40-goal and 100-point levels. His eight assists
in 2008 is currently tied for second on the Bulldogs' single season
list, two short of the school record.
In 2007, Rodriguez was named
the KCAC Male “Offensive Player of the Year” and to the All-KCAC
first team. He later received NAIA honorable mention All-American
honors a second time. Armando was named the NAIA “National Player
of the Week” when he broke the McPherson career scoring record with
back-to-back three-goal matches in wins over Tabor (Kan.) and Ottawa
(Kan.), which followed a three-point effort against Manhattan Christian
(Kan.). For the award winning week, he totaled seven goals, two
assists, and 16 points.
For the 2007 season he had
16 goals and five assists in 16 games, totaling 37 points, and was
second in the KCAC in both goals and scoring. In conference play
only, he tied for KCAC seasonal lead with 11 goals and was second
with 25 points.
As a freshman in 2006, Armando
scored a school record 21 goals along with 6 assists for a school
single season record 48 points. Rodriguez was named the KCAC “Player
of the Week” when he scored six goals as McPherson men defeated
Bethel College, 2-0, Ottawa University 6-1, and Tabor College, 5-0.
A week earlier, Rodriguez and teammate John White set and equaled
a school record as each scored five goals in the Bulldogs' 17-1
win over Bethany . Following the season, he was named the KCAC “Freshman
of the Year”, first team All-KCAC and All-Region IV, and received
honorable mention NAIA All-American recognition.
*****
Box
named Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athlete
Nicholas Box, senior from
Linwood, Kan., and a 2004 graduate of Basehor-Linwood High School,
was recently named NAIA/Daktronics soccer Scholar-Athlete for the
2008 season.
 This
is Box's second time to earn the NAIA/Daktronics honor.
Box has been a three-year
starter as a defender for the Bulldogs, anchoring McPherson's defensive
back line.
“Nick's performance in the
classroom as well as on the field sets a standard for every athlete
in our program,” said Doug Quint, McPherson head coach. “Nick is
a great example of the true student-athlete.”
As a junior, Box scored five
goals on eight shots on goal.
Box is a business major
and is scheduled to graduate in May.
Recipients of the Daktronics-NAIA
Scholar-Athlete award must have a minimum grade point average of
3.50 on a 4.00 scale, be a junior or above in academic standings,
and been in attendance at the nominating institution a minimum of
one full school year.
*****
Six
Bulldogs receive All-KCAC soccer honors
McPherson College placed
two men on the 2008 All-KCAC soccer first team in a recent vote
of the conference's coaches.
Armando Rodriguez,
a junior, was named to the men's All-KCAC first team for the third
year in a row while freshman Tyler Tank made his
initial appearance the all-conference first team.
Earning second team All-KCAC
honors for the Bulldog men were sophomore Calin Strong,
junior Anthony Baldi, and senior Jose Rodriguez
. Chris Plooster was named to the men's
honorable mention squad.
“I was very pleased with
the number of honors received by our young men and women,” said
Doug Quint, McPherson College head men's soccer coach and director
of soccer operations. “Each was very deserving.”
Armando Rodriguez,
a 2006 graduate of Woodrow Wilson High School in Dallas, Texas,
was named to the All-KCAC first team for the third straight year
as a forward.
“Armando continues to
re-write the McPherson College record books. He's a very gifted
striker, who provides us with a game winning threat up top. At any
point during the match, he has the ability to just take things over
and finish an opponent off. This year often being double-teamed
or man marked, he's still produced for us.”
 Armando
led the KCAC in assist average, distributing 0.57 per game, and
his eight regular season assists led McPherson and ranked third
in the conference. Rodriguez also ranked in the KCAC's regular season
top ten in total points (4 th with 22), points average (4 th at
1.57 per game), goals (9 th with seven), goals per game (7 th at
0.50), shots (3 rd with 62), and shots per game (2 nd at 4.43).
Armando was named the KCAC
Player of the Week following the Bulldogs' win over Ottawa .
Rodriguez is the McPherson
College career goal and scoring leader with 44 goals and 107 points
through the 2008 regular season. He is the first player in school
history to reach the 40-goal and 100-point levels. His eight assists
in 2008 is currently tied for second on the Bulldogs' single season
list, two short of the school record.
In 2007, Rodriguez was named
the KCAC Male “Offensive Player of the Year” and to the All-KCAC
first team. He later received NAIA honorable mention All-American
honors a second time. Armando was named the NAIA “National Player
of the Week” when he broke the McPherson career scoring record with
back-to-back three-goal matches in wins over Tabor (Kan.) and Ottawa
(Kan.), which followed a three-point effort against Manhattan Christian
(Kan.). For the award winning week, he totaled seven goals, two
assists, and 16 points.
For the 2007 season he had
16 goals and five assists in 16 games, totaling 37 points, and was
second in the KCAC in both goals and scoring. In conference play
only, he tied for KCAC seasonal lead with 11 goals and was second
with 25 points.
As a freshman in 2006,
Armando scored a school record 21 goals along with 6 assists for
a school single season record 48 points. Rodriguez was named the
KCAC “Player of the Week” when he scored six goals as McPherson
men defeated Bethel College, 2-0, Ottawa University 6-1, and Tabor
College, 5-0. A week earlier, Rodriguez and teammate John White
set and equaled a school record as each scored five goals in the
Bulldogs' 17-1 win over Bethany . Following the season, he was named
the KCAC “Freshman of the Year”, first team All-KCAC and All-Region
IV, and received honorable mention NAIA All-American recognition.
 Tyler
Tank, a 2008 graduate of McNeil High School in Austin,
Texas, was named to the All-KCAC first team as a defender. Tyler
was a key factor in the Bulldogs' five-game, regular season ending
win streak as McPherson gave up only three goals in the final 600+
minutes of the season.
“
Tyler has been very solid for us in the back this year. Being a
freshman didn't stop him from stepping into a vital role in our
backline. He's been extremely consistent every day and very reliable
for us. I've been impressed with him since the moment he arrived!
He is very deserving of this honor!”
Tank was credited with
one regular season assist.
 Calin
Strong, a 2007 graduate of Manhattan ( Kan. ) High School,
scored two goals from his defender's position during the Bulldogs'
season ending five-game winning streak.
“Calin has played well
all season defensively and gives us an offensive threat coming out
of the back. He really stepped up his level of play this year and
the opposing coaches recognized this. He provides so much organization
for us in the back and keeps us connected. I've been really pleased
with his play as of late.”
Strong was a physical presence
in the Bulldogs' back line that gave up only three goals in the
final 600+ minutes of the regular season and posted a school record
three straight shut outs.
 Anthony
Baldi, a 2006 graduate of Northglenn (Colo.) High School,
was named to the All-KCAC second team as a defender after helping
key a Bulldog defense that posted a school record three straight
shut-out wins on its way to a season ending five-game winning streak.
“Anthony stepped into
the center-mid role for us about midway through the season to address
some issues we were having. He's done a great job and we no longer
have those issues. Anthony is a hard-nose player who is very technical
and quick. Defensively, he wins balls for us in the middle and does
a great job starting our attack. A lot of our success is due to
him now playing in the middle. I was very pleased to see the coaches
recognize this as well.”
Baldi transferred to McPherson
this fall after earning All Region IX honors at Laramie County Community
College in Cheyenne , Wyo.
 Jose
Rodriguez, a 2005 graduate of Woodrow Wilson High School
in Dallas, Texas, was named to the All-KCAC second team as a midfielder.
“Jose really came on for
us in the last seven conference matches of the year. He's given
us another very dangerous offensive threat on the ball and has created
a lot of goal scoring opportunities for us. I really felt he was
deserving of an honor his junior season, so it's nice to see him
recognized. He's had four goals and one assist in our last five
matches. These points were vital for us securing the #2 seed in
the (KCAC) tournament.”
Rodriguez was named the
KCAC Offensive Player of the Week for the final week of the regular
season after scoring three goals in the Bulldogs' wins over Sterling
and Bethany as McPherson closed out its regular season with a five-match
win streak.
Jose ranked third among
the Bulldogs in 2008 with four goals. As a junior, he scored 11
goals, fourth on the McPherson all-time single season list, and
six goals in 2006. Rodriguez currently ranks fourth on the McPherson
all-time career list with 23 goals scored.
 Chris
Plooster, a 2003 graduate of Hutchinson (Kan.) High School,
received honorable mention All-KCAC honors as a goal keeper. He
was credited with four shut outs in his 11 starts. Plooster led
McPherson with 48 saves and ranked fourth in the KCAC with a goal
against average of 1.49 per game.
“I really feel Chris was
deserving of a higher honor, but he missed some key games for us
this year. Chris is very valuable to our team. He keeps us organized
defensively, and we've stayed in games solely because of him! When
we need him to make a big save, he does! Technically, he's a very
gifted keeper with a lot of competitiveness.”
Plooster transferred to
McPherson after spending two season at Iowa Central Community College
where he received All-Region XI honors.
The 2008 Bulldogs finished
their regular season with a 6-2-1 KCAC record, good for second place
in the conference race, the highest regular season conference finish
in school history.
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