Sports
Soccer Teams Lead Full Fall
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| HONORS: Ashley Van Vechten ’08 was named First Team All-American in soccer. |
National tournament–qualifying seasons by both the men’s and women’s soccer teams highlighted a strong showing last fall by the Yellowjackets.
Both soccer teams captured a UAA title on their way to the NCAA Division III playoffs. In addition, the field hockey team made its first-ever appearance in the Liberty League playoffs, women’s volleyball won the ECAC Upstate New York championship, and men’s cross-country had an individual qualifier for the NCAA championships.
Here’s an overview:
Men’s Soccer: The men parlayed a strong defense into a 16–0–0 regular season, setting a school record for wins in a year. That snaps the record of 15 wins set in 1986. Rochester was upended by St. Lawrence in the second round of the NCAA playoffs and finished 16–1. In 17 games, Rochester’s defense posted seven shutouts, held eight other teams to one goal, and allowed 14 goals overall.
Nate Micklos ’06 and Gary Stom ’06 were named All-Americans—Stom to the First Team, Micklos to the Third Team. It’s the third All-America honor for Micklos, the first for Stom. Micklos was named the ESPN The Magazine College Division Academic All-American of the Year and a First Team Academic All-American. Jeremy Goico ’06 was named a Second Team All-American. Micklos repeated as UAA Player of the Year. Head coach Chris Apple ’92 was named UAA Coach of the Year and the NSCAA/Adidas Northeast Region Coach of the Year.
Women’s Soccer: Cracking Rochester’s defense was a monumental task for opponents. Heading into the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Division III playoffs, Rochester had given up only four goals in 20 games. SUNY Oneonta stopped Rochester, 3–0, to give the Yellowjackets a record of 16–2–3.
The women opened the season with one of Division III’s toughest slates, playing four nationally ranked opponents in the first five games. After a 1–0 loss to William Smith in Geneva, New York, the Yellowjackets posted shutouts in 11 of the next 12 games—four of those versus UAA foes.
Mary Walsh ’07 led the team with 13 goals, including eight gamewinners. She was named the UAA Player of the Year. Ashley Van Vechten ’08 was named a First Team All-American. Head coach Terry Gurnett ’77 was named the UAA Coach of the Year, the New York State Coach of the Year, and the NSCAA/Adidas Northeast Regional Coach of the Year.
Men’s Cross-Country: As a team, Rochester finished fifth at the UAA championships, second at the New York State championships, and fourth overall at the NCAA Atlantic regionals, which were held in Genesee Valley Park. Mark Stevens ’08 qualified for the NCAA national championships by finishing fourth individually at the regional run. At nationals, he finished 43rd overall to finish in the top 25 percent of the competitors.
Women’s Cross-Country: Rochester turned in progressively stronger performances in the three major meets at the end of the season: sixth at the UAA championships, fifth at the New York State championships, and fourth at the NCAA Atlantic regional championships. Jessica Van Binsbergen ’06 was the first Rochester finisher at UAAs and States. Kellie Hasselwander ’08 was Rochester’s first through the tape at the Atlantic regionals.
Field Hockey: Prospects continue to be bright for Rochester with the top three individual award winners from 2005 returning in 2006.
The Yellowjackets were 10–9 overall, finishing third in the Liberty League and claiming a first-ever berth in the league’s playoffs (losing 3–2 to Skidmore). Celinda Fletcher ’07, Rachel Cahan ’08, and Heidi Davies ’07 were all named All–Liberty League, All–New York State, and All–Region by the National Field Hockey Coaches Association.
Football: Big seasons from Matt Bielecki ’08 and David Ferris ’06 made the gridiron an exciting place for the Yellowjackets. Bielecki rushed for 1,124 yards, the second highest total in a single season in school history. He ran for 90 yards or more eight times in 10 games and topped 100 yards six times. Ferris caught 38 passes for 508 yards and 10 TDs. He finished in the top 10 in career catches and yards at Rochester and tied for the career touchdown receptions title with 18. Defensive back Michael Dermody ’06 and linebacker Jeff Leslie ’06 earned First Team All–Liberty League plaudits.
Rochester was 4–6 overall (3–4 in league play) with five losses coming against teams that qualified for either NCAAs or ECACs. Nick Zappia ’07 was named an ESPN The Magazine College Division First Team Academic All-American.
Women’s Volleyball: Rochester finished with a flourish and won the ECAC Upstate New York championship with victories over Russell Sage College and SUNY New Paltz. Sam Carr ’07 was selected as the MVP of the ECAC playoffs. Susan Johnson ’07 was chosen as Honorable Mention All-American by the American Volleyball Coaches Association. She also was named All–UAA, All–New York State, and All–Region. Rochester’s final record was 26–14. The victory over Russell Sage in the ECAC semifinals was the 200th career coaching win for Linda Downey.
