GovState Men's Soccer Team Wins CCAC "Double" Takes Regular Season and Post Season Playoffs Championships
Record-Setting Men's Soccer Season Ends - GovState Loses 1-0 at NAIA Nationals Second Round Game
Season ends Saturday with a 1-0 NAIA Nationals second round loss in Iowa to host, top seed William Penn University.
The Jaguars had a shot go off the cross bar in the first half and the 11 seniors on the team & the 2024 "double championship" GovState team lost to a penalty kick by William Penn in the second half.
The Jaguars (16-3-4) earned the CCAC Regular Season and Playoff Tournament Championships and Coach Eggert's 6th-year program, a third NAIA Nationals appearance in 2024.
Coach Matt Eggert and team captains John Gonzalez and Alexander Judd met with the media following the game and Coach Eggert had high praise for his 2024 Jaguar team leaders and the 2024 team.
"These two players - (John Gonzalez and Alexander Judd) these two should be very proud of all we have accomplished this season. They have set the bar very high and our 11 seniors and all on the team winning the CCAC "double", it has been a great season of accomplishments."
"It's been a wonderful experience for our team and our soccer program. We congratulate William Penn University." said Coach Eggert.
Congratulations Jaguars for a memorable season and all the highlights and records set in 2024!
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GSU Wins First-Ever NAIA Nationals Game - Nov. 21, 2024 -
Men's Soccer Wins 3-1 At NAIA Nationals - Javier Losa Scores 2 Goals, Diego Camarena 1 Goal in Win - GSU vs. host and top seed William Penn University, 2 PM, Saturday, November 23.
GovState will take a 16-game unbeaten streak (14-0-2) and an overall record of 16-2-4 into the Saturday matchup vs. William Penn (16-2-3) and Heart of America Conference champions.
Camarena's header goal Thursday to tie the game at 1-1, was his first goal of the 2024 season - Camarena leads the NAIA national scoring stats with 12 assists this year and GSU is the 2nd highest scoring team in the NAIA ranks.
GSU'S ANDREA CROCE NAMED CCAC PLAYER OF YEAR - RAFAEL SILVERIO NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR - GovState Dominates First and Second Team Honors With Seven Players Selected All-CCAC
Besides boasting the most overall awardees, Governors State also had the highest number of first team all-conference selections - Croce, Alexander Judd, Javier Losa, Diego Camarena, and Raul Garcia were named first-team All-CCAC.
Silverio and goalie Marcal Salom Chandre were named second team All-CCAC.
Governors State University, sixth-year Head Soccer Coach Matt Eggert has led his teams into the CCAC playoffs every year of the six-year program and now 3 NAIA National appearances. He is so pleased with winning the double - championships in 20204 - (CCAC regular season and CCAC playoff tournament championship) -
On what wining "The Double" means to the program… "It is a fulfillment of a promise we made to all the former players that laid the foundation so that this group could have its day in the sun. Winning the double was a long time coming. The success the world sees is only the tip of the iceberg. We hope that every former player and their families feel a sense of pride and accomplishment. There would be no success without the entire Jaguar Soccer Family." said Coach Eggert.
On the 15 game winning streak…"In our first team meeting in August we set as our season goal to be relentlessly focused. Many teams have talent but it is that second by second focus that has allowed this group to stay consistent down the stretch when it's mattered most. Beyond that, what makes this group really special is its ability to adapt tactically. That comes down to the tremendous work assistants Juan Soto and Phibo Arriaga put in, " said Eggert.
GSU's Croce Tops Men's Soccer Postseason Honor Roll
CHICAGO --- An unbeaten league regular season resulting in the program's first-ever championship, followed by its tournament title on Thursday led Governors State University to bring home quite the haul of awards when the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference announced its 2024 men's soccer postseason honor roll on Friday afternoon. A total of ten honors were bestowed upon the Jaguars program, which was four more than the league's next-closest challenger.
In all, 38 awards were presented, broken up into a pair of 15-member all-conference teams, seven top individual honors and one team accolade. Of those named to the first team, Viterbo University's Nicolas Lopez (Valencia, Spain) was the only repeat selection.
Nine teams in all had at least one honoree with Viterbo claiming the second-most awards with its six. The V-Hawks were followed by regular-season runner-up Judson University and tournament second-place finisher Trinity Christian College with five.
The rest of the list had Olivet Nazarene University and Holy Cross College with four names each, Indiana University Northwest with two and Saint Xavier University with one.
Calumet College of St. Joseph gained the team award, being named the Karl Boeck Champions of Character.
Besides boasting the most overall awardees, Governors State also had the highest number of first team all-conference selections and three of the seven top individual honorees. Holy Cross posted the most second-team recipients with four.
Topping the honor roll was Governors State's Andrea Croce (Rome, Italy), who was recognized as both the overall CCAC Player of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year. The sophomore forward currently leads the league in goals (17), points (41) and game-winning goals (five), while ranking fifth in assists with seven.
On the national level, Croce is tied for sixth in game-winning goals, ninth in points and tied for 12th in goals scored.
Claiming the newly-created CCAC Midfielder of the Year distinction was Trinity Christian Ivan Perez (La Rioja, Spain). The junior also placed among the conference leaders in assists (2nd, 11) and points (6th, 21), while contributing five goals.
Defensive Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year were two other first-time honors at the league level. Viterbo's Ernesto Ascenzo (Lima, Peru) earned the former award and Governors State's Rafael Silverio (Belo Horizonte, Brazil) the latter.
Ascenzo garnered his recognition by finishing in a tie for the second-most shutouts (seven) and recording the second-best save percentage (.827) among league goalkeepers. The senior was also fourth in goals-against average (0.96) and saves (68).
Silverio registered six goals, six assists and 18 points from his forward position. That placed the senior in a tie for sixth in the league in assists, tied for seventh in points and tied for 13th in goals scored.