ARKADELPHIA- As the saying goes, if you win, everything else has a way of taking care of itself. Well, the Ouachita Baptist men’s soccer team certainly won their fare share of matches in 2010, and the Tigers were rewarded for it on Wednesday, as sophomore Rizvan Ceka was named Gulf South Conference Player of the Year and Ouachita Head Coach Alex Denning was named GSC Coach of the Year, officials announced on Wednesday.
The Tigers earned five spots total on the All-GSC team, as senior defender Alex Tonrey and sophomore forward Sergiu Postolache were also First Team selections, while sophomore midfielder Payam Pourjavad and freshman keeper Grayson Townsend were both Second Team selections.
“I’m extremely proud of our guys,” Ouachita Head Coach Alex Denning said. “We’ve had an excellent showing this season. There have been guys who have stood out, but not put out stats that potentially could have made the team. All the way through, I’m just extremely impressed with my team in what they’ve come through this season and just in the past few seasons to turn the program into something that people take seriously.”
After earning just two spots total on the All-GSC team since joining the league in 2000, the Tigers (11-5, 3-2 GSC) led all GSC teams with five selections, as well as earning Player of the Year and Coach of the Year accolades. The 2010 season has marked a banner year for the men’s soccer program, as Ouachita makes their second-straight appearance in the GSC Tournament on Friday, as well as earning their highest seed at No. 3. The Tigers recorded three GSC victories for the first time in program history and finished above .500 in league action for the first time ever, as well.
Ceka earned the programs’ first-ever GSC Player of the Year honor, as the Coppell, Texas native was the lone player in double digit goal in the conference with 10. Ceka led the GSC in goals, points (23), points per match (1.53 ) and goals per match (.67). The sophomore earned GSC Freshman of the Year honors in 2009, as well as First Team All-GSC accolades. Ceka also earned a spot on the coveted GSC All-Decade Team as an Honorable Mention during the summer after playing just one season in the league.
“I’m really proud of Riz,” Denning said. “He did an excellent job so far this year, he helps push the rest of the guys hard in practice and that is why we have been able to do well in matches.”
Denning earns GSC Coach of the Year honors in just his third season as a collegiate coach. The Tigers program will finish above .500 on the season for just the second time since 2000, and the first time since 2007 (7-6-0). Denning led Ouachita to four shutouts on the season, including a debut at No. 6 in the NCAA South Region Rankings on Oct. 5.
“I was blown away with the award announcement for Coach of the Year,” said Denning. “Our conference has some amazing coaches, and really they’ve helped me since I came into coaching at OBU. Also a lot of it is a credit to the players buying into the system. When I first took over, we basically changed everything tactically and started by bringing in additional players that had a strong work ethic. I’m humbled by it, but it’s more of an award for our team as a whole.”
Tonrey earns a spot on the All-GSC First Team, after earning a spot on the All-GSC Second Team in 2008. The Plano, Texas native finished second in the GSC in assists with seven, while finishing first in assists per game with .44. The senior earned GSC Defender of the Week honors on Sept. 7, after earning a spot on the 2010 All-GSC Preseason squad.
“Alex came in as a captain from last season, he is one of my two seniors that were starting,” said Denning. “He stepped up in the back after playing midfield last season. Moving him to center back really changed the dynamic as he was hesitant at first, but him realizing that it was what was best for the team really helped establish a strong defense that gave up less goals than anybody in conference.”
Postolache was one of just five unanimous selections to the All-GSC First Team, as the sophomore finished second in the GSC in goals with eight, giving Ouachita the top two scorers in the conference. The Heath, Texas native finished second in the conference in goals per game (.53), third in points (17) and third in points per game (1.13). Postolache was a 2010 All-GSC preseason squad selection.
“Sergiu worked harder this season compared to last year and it showed in his numbers. It showed in the team’s performance, as well, because when Sergiu set his mind and his performance on the team first, he did an excellent job and was able to score goals that we needed. When Sergiu gives his all he is one of the best players on the field”
Pourjavad earns his first All-GSC selection, after being named GSC Player of the Week on Nov. 1. The Plano, Texas native finished fifth in the GSC in assists with four and sixth in assists per game (.25). Pourjavad has two game-winning goals on the season, after earning the first-ever GSC All-Tournament Team selection in 2009. The sophomore finished ninth in the GSC in points (10) and tenth in points per game (.62).
“Payam took over in center mid for Tonrey this season, after playing right mid a season ago. He’s taken over some games single handedly. He ended up doing well overall statistically, but probably deserved more. Payam was All-Tournament Team last season and hopefully that is the case this year as well.”
A large part to Ouachita’s success can also be found in the defensive play for the Tigers, as freshman keeper Grayson Townsend earns a spot on the All-GSC Second Team in his inaugural collegiate campaign. Townsend is among the best keepers in the GSC entering the GSC Tournament, as the freshman is tops in goals against average (1.06), goals against (15), save percentage (.805), shutouts (4) and shutouts per game (.27). The Wylie native is also fourth in both saves (42) and saves per game (62). The freshman earned GSC Defender of the Week honors on Nov. 1.
“Grayson has some big shoes to fill when he earned the starting spot at Goalkeeper as Freshmen and did so,” Denning said. “He worked really hard on his fitness training and was ready to play. You could see that his confidence grew throughout the season and it’s evident in the saves he’s been able to make this season.”
The Tigers continue their season for the opening round of the 2010 GSC Tournament as the No. 3 seed on Friday, Nov. 5 against No. 2 seed Christian Brothers at 4:30 p.m. in Pensacola, Fla. The GSC Tournament is a single-elimination format tournament, as the winner faces either No. 1 seed West Florida or No. 4 Alabama-Huntsville on Sunday at 4:30 p.m.
“It’s always good when your kids are rewarded for something, when they’re recognized for how much hard work they’ve put into it,” Denning said. “That’s the main thing that I want to take away is that I’m glad the people recognized how hard our kids have worked in the past few seasons to get to where we’re at. After the season we’ll probably celebrate the awards more, but right now we’re focused on Christian Brothers and the GSC Tournament ahead of us.”
