MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Following an outstanding season that saw the Evergreen Geoducks just a goal away from a conference title, juniors Mitch Treend (Vancouver, Wash./Prairie HS) and Kevin Flavin (Oak Harbor, Wash./Shoreline CC) have been named Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athletes, as announced on Friday morning.

The pair, who were earlier named Bank of The Cascades Academic All-Conference, were two of ten men’s soccer players from the Cascade Conference who were honored by the NAIA.

A total of 315 men’s soccer players were honored with the award. In order to be nominated by an institution’s head coach or sports information director, a student-athlete must maintain a minimum grade point average of 3.5 on a 4.0 scale and must have achieved a junior academic status to qualify for this honor.

LA GRANDE, Ore. – Following a record-breaking season that saw them just shy of a conference title, the Evergreen Geoducks picked up several individual awards, as well as being well represented  on the All-Cascade Conference men’s soccer teams, as announced by the conference office on Tuesday morning.

Junior Brady Espinoza (Pasco, Wash./Walla Walla CC) was named Cascade Conference Defensive Player of the Year after anchoring the Geoduck defense that led the CCC with nine shutouts on the year.  He also was dangerous on free kicks, scoring four times and assisting on another.

Freshman Willie Spurr (Seattle, Wash./Roosevelt HS) earned Newcomer of the Year honors after having a breakout season with 10 goals and 23 points in 17 games played.  His 23 points was second-best in the conference, trailing only Septi Danciu of Concordia, who was named CCC Player of the Year.

The final individual award also went to Evergreen as head coach John Purtteman was named Coach of the Year by his peers.  Under his leadership, the Geoducks with 13-6 overall and 12-2 in conference play.  Having completed his seventh season leading his alma mater, his 44 career wins tie him for second all-time in school history with Tom Boatright.

In addition to the individual awards, both Espinoza and Spurr were named First Team All-CCC.  The Geoducks also placed four on the Second Team All-CCC. Senior forward Mirza Memic (Bellevue, Wash./Whatcom CC), senior midfielder George Bundy (Enumclaw, Wash./Enumclaw HS), junior midfielder Jeff Roland (Tacoma, Wash./South Puget Sound CC) and junior goalkeeper Mauricio Sanchez (Wenatchee, Wash./Wenatchee Valley CC) all earned honors as they helped lead Evergreen this season.

Senior defender Brandon Wood (Coeur d’Alene, Idaho/North Idaho College) wrapped up the Geoducks recognized, earning Honorable Mention honors in his final collegiate season.  The seven players honored is the most ever recognized by the conference in school history.

2012 Men’s Soccer All-CCC Teams

PORTLAND, Ore. – With both teams giving it everything they had, the Concordia Cavaliers repeated as Cascade Conference champions, defeating the Evergreen Geoducks, 2-1, in the 2012 CCC Men’s Soccer Championship final on Saturday night at Tuominen Yard in Portland, Ore.

After pressuring the Geoducks early, it was the Cavaliers who go on the board first as Matt Eronemo sent in a cross in the 33rd minute to the head of Michael Chamberlain, who guided it just under the bar and over the outstretched hands of junior keeper Mauricio Sanchez (Wenatchee, Wash./Wenatchee Valley CC) for the 1-0 lead.

The Cavaliers made it 2-0 shortly after the break as Septi Danciu was taken down in the box and coverted on a penalty kick in the 49th minute.  Both teams went down a man in the 53rd minute as Sanchez and Concordia’s Danny Morato were shown red cards for fighting following a tough foul near midfield.

The physical match continued to keep the referee busy as Concordia’s Sam Carmichael was shown a red card in the 72nd minute following a hard foul on Evergreen keeper Collin Harlow (Kirkland, Wash./Shoreline CC) to give the Geoducks a one-man advantage for the remaining 18 minutes.

The Geoducks got on the board in the 88th minute as Ben Joselyn (North Bend, Wash./Mount Si HS) got on the end of a pair of passes from Kyle Wiese (Battle Ground, Wash./Prairie HS) and Kevin Flavin (Oak Harbor, Wash./Shoreline CC) to pull the green and white within one goal at 2-1 but there wasn’t enough time for Evergreen to pull ahead as Concordia earned the championship trophy.

Concordia held a 19-12 advantage on shots.  Sanchez finished with four saves before leaving the game while Scott Gross made three saves to collect the win for the Cavaliers.

Evergreen concludes the season with a record of 13-5-0.  Concordia moves to 15-3-2 on the year and will learn their NAIA tournament fate on Monday when the release of the sixteen national championship opening round pairings and the official bracket for the 54th annual NAIA Men’s Soccer National Championship is made.

LACEY, Wash. – Playing their first playoff match since 2005, the Evergreen Geoducks kept a magical season alive, defeating the Warner Pacific Knights, 4-1, in a Cascade Conference Men’s Soccer Championship Semifinal on Tuesday afternoon at the Regional Athletic Complex in Lacey, Wash.

The Geoducks (13-5-0) first got on the board in the 24th minute as senior Kevin Flavin (Oak Harbor, Wash./Shoreline CC) fed in a cross from the far side of the field and freshman Willie Spurr (Seattle, Wash./Roosevelt HS) got a head on it, pushing it past Drew Bonifacio for the 1-0 advantage.

The Knights (9-9-1) evened it up in the 30th minute as Alberto Casas sent in a shot that was cleared off the line but a Geoduck defender but Jameson Jones was there to collect the loose ball and put it in an open net to tie the game at 1-1.

Things would stay tied heading into the half and through the first 15 minutes of the second period but Flavin gave Evergreen the lead again in the 60th minute, dribbling around a WPC defender and Bonifacio before finishing from point blank for the 2-1 advantage.

Evergreen collected their first insurance goal in the 67th minute as Spurr took a page out of Flavin’s book, dribbling around the WPC keeper and firing it in for his second goal of the game.  The final goal for the Geoducks came in the 80th minute as senior Kyle Wiese (Battle Ground, Wash./Prairie HS) gathered a ball following a collision between WPC defenders and fired in on an open net for 20 yards out for the 4-1 win.

The Geoducks outshot the Knights, 13-11, on the night.  Bonifacio finished with four saves for Warner Pacific while Mauricio Sanchez (Wenatchee, Wash./Wenatchee Valley CC) made five saves to earn the win for Evergreen.

The win was the first postseason win for the Geoducks since Nov. 18, 2004 when Evergreen earned a 2-1 win over Rio Grande in the second round of the NAIA National Championship in Olathe, Kan.

Evergreen now advances to the 2012 Cascade Conference Men’s Soccer Championship Match on Saturday evening against Concordia.  Kick with the Cavs is set for 6 p.m. at Tuominen Yard in Portland, Ore.

Box Score

OLYMPIA, Wash. – In a potential playoff preview, the Evergreen Geoducks used a goal from junior Brady Espinoza (Pasco, Wash./Walla Walla CC) to get past the Northwest Eagles, 1-0, in a Cascade Conference men’s soccer match on Saturday afternoon on Field #3 in Olympia, Wash.

The first half was scoreless as neither team managed many opportunities.  Evergreen held a 4-1 advantage on shots prior to the break but it wasn’t enough to open the scoring.

In the second half, the Geoducks took advantage of a hard foul just outside the box that gave Espinoza the opportunity to bend the free kick around the defense and into the upper corner of the net for the game’s lone goal.

Evergreen finished the match with a 10-7 advantage on shots and both teams managed six opportunities in the second half.  Mauricio Sanchez (Wenatchee, Wash./Wenatchee Valley CC) made two saves to collect the shutout while Joe Gailbraith and Scott Lane combined for three saves for the Eagles.

The Geoducks will play their first playoff game since 2005, and their first home playoff game in school history, on Tuesday.  The opponent will be announced Saturday evening for the match which will be played at 4 p.m. at the Regional Athletic Complex in Lacey, Wash.

Box Score