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Men's Soccer

2009 Men's Soccer: A Championship Season in Review

MACOMB, Ill. – A year after being eliminated by UMKC in the first round of The 2008 Summit League Tournament, the Western Illinois men's soccer team returned to the league title match, winning its fourth championship in the past six seasons in 2009.

The Fighting Leathernecks (8-10-2, 3-2-1 Summit League) began the season with a 4-0 loss to Graceland at home on Sept. 1 before heading to Milwaukee for the Middleton Sports and Invitational the following weekend.

A 1-0 loss to UW-Milwaukee on Sept. 4 dropped Western's record to 0-2 on the season before a 1-0 loss to Wisconsin two days later.

The Leathernecks traveled to Ohio the next weekend for the Adidas/Bearcats Invitational where the team lost its first match, 3-0, to tournament host Cincinnati. The team picked up its first win of the season with a 3-2 victory over High Point to cap off the tournament.

After a two-week break, Western returned home and picked up a 3-2 win over Central Arkansas on Sept. 27 to improve its record to 2-4 on the season. A 4-2 loss at Evansville two days later put the Leathernecks' record to 2-5 at the end of September.

The squad got off to another rocky start in October, dropping two matches to open the second month of the season. A 1-0 double-overtime loss to conference foe UMKC and a loss to then No. 22 Drake dropped Western to 2-7 overall and 0-1 in Summit League play.

The Leathernecks would begin a late-season turnaround on Oct. 10, picking up a 1-0 home victory over IUPUI to improve to 3-7 overall and 1-1 in conference play. The team hit a bump in the road, allowing two second-half goals in a 3-2 loss at then No. 16 Northwestern, on Oct. 14 before rebounding with a 2-1 conference win over Centenary on Oct. 17.

With just five regular-season matches remaining, the Leathernecks entered the tail end of the season with a 4-8 record overall and a 2-2 mark in league play. A scoreless tie in non-league action against UIC on Oct. 20 pushed the teams' record to 4-8-1 overall.

Western would fall to IPFW on Oct. 25, dropping to 4-9-1 overall and 2-2-0 in league play. The loss to IPFW would be the last of the season for the Leathernecks as the team rebounded for two wins in its final three matches.

A 1-0 non-league win against SIU-Edwardsville on Oct. 28 improved Western's record to 5-8-1 overall with two league matches remaining.

The Leathernecks would clinch a spot in the postseason with a 4-1 win at Oral Roberts on Oct. 31 and would clinch the No. 2 seed in The Summit League Tournament in a scoreless tie against Oakland on Nov. 7 to finish the season with an overall record of 6-9-2 and 3-2-1 in league play.

Western began the league tournament against IUPUI on Nov. 13. After a scoreless first half, the Leathernecks would take the lead on Arthur Paszkowski's goal in the 71st minute and held on for a 1-0 win to advance to the tournament championship match two days later.

The Leathernecks would meet UMKC in the league's championship match one year after being eliminated my the Kangaroos in the first round of the tournament. Western would take a 1-0 lead on Oskar Gasecki's goal in the 78th minute and held off UMKC to win The Summit League Championship and earn a spot in the NCAA College Cup for the fourth time in six seasons.

Western would wind up in yet another rematch as it was matched up against Drake in the first round of the College Cup in a rematch of the team's regular-season meeting.

The Leathernecks traveled to Des Moines, Iowa on Nov. 19 to face the then No. 24 Bulldogs with the winner earning a trip to the second round and a match against then No. 13 Ohio State.

Drake stormed out to a 2-0 lead in the first eight minutes of the match before Western closed the gap at 2-1 on Husref Jupic's penalty kick in the 79th minute. The Bulldogs would hold of the Leathernecks in the closing minutes, ending Western's season.

Despite a disappointing loss in the College Cup, Western Illinois' 2009 season was successful on several fronts. In addition to the teams' success, several individual players excelled on the field and in the classroom. The Leathernecks saw four players earn all-league honors.

Senior goalkeeper Stephen Paterson was named to the all-Summit League second team and earned Summit League Tournament MVP honors after making 13 saves and recording two shutouts to lead Western to the league title. Paterson was also named as the league's Defensive Player of the Week for the weeks of Oct. 12 and Nov. 9. The Thunder Bay, Ontario, native finished the season with a 6-9-2 record while posting a 1.32 goals against average and a .780 save percentage. He also recorded six shutouts on the season, placing him first in school history with 23 career clean sheets. Paterson was also named as the league's male athlete of the month for November.

Martin Browne, Jr. was also named as an all-Summit League second team selection after leading the Leathernecks in goals (6) and total points (12). The Brooklyn Park, Minn., native was named as the league's Offensive Player of the Week for the week of Nov. 2 and finished his time at Western with 64 career points, the ninth best mark in team history.

Diego Zamudio was named to the all-Summit League first team after recording one assist on the season and anchoring a defense that allowed just three goals in its final six matches, including four shutouts.

Oskar Gasecki was named to the league's all-newcomer team after tallying seven points on three goals and one assist during the regular season. The Gurnee, Ill., native scored the game-winning goal over UMKC in the league championship match and notched the game-winner against Central Arkansas on Sept. 27.

Jonathan Sandoval earned the league's Offensive Co-Player of the Week award for the week of Oct. 12 after scoring the first game-winning goal of his career in a 1-0 win over IUPUI on Oct. 10.

Off the field, Kevin Ross was named to the ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-District team, earning a perfect 4.0 GPA as a business major.

The Leathernecks had two players tally double-digits in points for the second-straight season. Browne, Jr. finished with a team high 12 points on six goals. Nathan Bruinsma finished second on the team with 10 points on three goals and a team-high four assists.

Western Illinois head coach Dr. Eric Johnson added eight more wins to his resume while improving to 112-124-19 in his time with the Leathernecks and 155-177-23 in his career. Johnson won his fourth Summit League title and saw his team finish third or better in the conference standings for the eighth time in 13 seasons.
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Players Mentioned

Martin Browne, Jr.

#11 Martin Browne, Jr.

M/F
6' 0"
Senior
Osseo
Jonathan Sandoval

#12 Jonathan Sandoval

M/F
5' 10"
Junior
United Township
Arthur Paszkowski

#14 Arthur Paszkowski

F
6' 2"
Sophomore
Lord Beaverbrook
Kevin Ross

#15 Kevin Ross

D
6' 1"
Junior
Hartwick College
Nathan Bruinsma

#17 Nathan Bruinsma

M/D
6' 3"
Redshirt
Muskegon Western Christian
Diego Zamudio

#7 Diego Zamudio

D
6' 0"
Senior
Waukegan/Lincoln College
Oskar Gasecki

#8 Oskar Gasecki

M/F
6' 1"
Freshman
Warren Township
Stephen Paterson

#0 Stephen Paterson

GK
6' 0"
Senior
Husref Jupic

#6 Husref Jupic

MF
5' 9"
Freshman
Des Moines-Hoover

Players Mentioned

Martin Browne, Jr.

#11 Martin Browne, Jr.

6' 0"
Senior
Osseo
M/F
Jonathan Sandoval

#12 Jonathan Sandoval

5' 10"
Junior
United Township
M/F
Arthur Paszkowski

#14 Arthur Paszkowski

6' 2"
Sophomore
Lord Beaverbrook
F
Kevin Ross

#15 Kevin Ross

6' 1"
Junior
Hartwick College
D
Nathan Bruinsma

#17 Nathan Bruinsma

6' 3"
Redshirt
Muskegon Western Christian
M/D
Diego Zamudio

#7 Diego Zamudio

6' 0"
Senior
Waukegan/Lincoln College
D
Oskar Gasecki

#8 Oskar Gasecki

6' 1"
Freshman
Warren Township
M/F
Stephen Paterson

#0 Stephen Paterson

6' 0"
Senior
GK
Husref Jupic

#6 Husref Jupic

5' 9"
Freshman
Des Moines-Hoover
MF