College Soccer: Raptor of the Week: Brandon Bond Monday, November 8, 2004 By Mike Ballard RutgersCamden Sports Correspondent RAPTOR OF THE WEEK Brandon Bond (Cinnaminson, NJ/Cinnaminson) Junior back Brandon Bond completed a stellar season with the record-setting men’s soccer team, which closed the best campaign in school history with a 15-2-4 record. Bond, one of the team’s two center backs, helped Rutgers-Camden post program records for wins, the longest undefeated streak (17 games, with a 13-0-4 run) and its best goals-against average ever (0.64). The team also notched 11 shutouts, one shy of the school mark. Bond, who started all 21 games and added one assist, also collected a post-season honor when he was named to the Academic All-District II College Division Men’s Soccer Second Team on Nov. 4. In 59 career games, he owns four goals and three assists for 11 points. He will enter his senior season next fall within striking distance of the school record of 78 games played. MEN'S SOCCER (15-2-4/5-1-2 NJAC) NJAC Playoffs Tues., Nov. 2 Semifinal: Richard Stockton College 1, Rutgers-Camden 0 The greatest season in the history of the Rutgers-Camden men’s soccer program came to an end in the New Jersey Athletic Conference semifinals Nov. 2, but not before the Scarlet Raptors established several school records, including one for the most victories in a season (15). Richard Stockton College junior midfielder Dan Morse scored an unassisted goal with 11:46 remaining in the game to lift the second-seeded Ospreys to a 1-0 victory over third-seeded Rutgers-Camden in the NJAC semifinals. Stockton, ranked No. 22 in the country, won its fifth straight game to advance to the NJAC championship game at top-seeded Rowan University Nov. 5, then beat the Profs, 2-0, to claim the conference title and automatic NCAA berth. Rutgers-Camden closed its season with a 15-2-4 record. The season which started with a school-record 17-game undefeated string (13-0-4) included the program-record 15th win of the year against Kean University (1-0, Oct. 30) in the first round of the NJAC tournament. The previous school record for wins was set by the 14-6-4 team from 1981. After the teams battled through more than 78 scoreless minutes, Morse broke the tie with his second goal in two games. A loose ball in the penalty area was cleared and deflected out to Morse at the top of the box. He hit a low shot into the left corner for the game’s lone goal at 78:14. Richard Stockton outshot Rutgers-Camden, 14-5, and held an 8-1 advantage in corner kicks. Both teams had a few good scoring opportunities in the physical game, which featured 43 fouls, seven yellow cards and one red card. Rutgers-Camden sophomore goalie David Cunningham (Voorhees, NJ/Eastern) turned in another spectacular performance, making eight saves in the defeat. Stockton’s Tim McKenna had four saves. The game was the third NJAC tournament contest in school history for the Raptors, who lost their first game to Stockton in overtime, 2-1, on Oct. 31, 2000, before splitting two tourney games this year with Kean and Stockton. In addition to setting school records for most wins and the longest undefeated streak, the Raptors also broke the program record for their best team goals-against average. Cunningham, sophomore Tim Giacobbe (Stratford, NJ/Sterling) and freshman Chris Comuso (Turnersville, NJ/Washington Township) combined for a 0.64 GAA, breaking the mark of 0.90 set in 2001. Based on single-season requirements that a goalie must play at least half of his team’s minutes in goal, Cunningham (1,213:23 of the team’s 1,983:34 in goal) also set the program’s record with the lowest season goals-against average, recording a 0.74 GAA. The previous mark was 1.07 by Pete DeFeo in 1986. Cunningham finished with an 8-2-4 record, three shutouts and 78 saves. Giacobbe, in 701:48 of playing time, had a 7-0 record, five shutouts, 33 saves and a 0.51 GAA. Rutgers-Camden finished its season with 11 team shutouts, the second-highest total in school history behind the 12 in 1981. The Raptors also posted a 5-1-2 NJAC record during the regular season, their most conference wins since the 1989 club went 5-4. That sterling defense was anchored by the Raptors’ quartet of starting backs, juniors Tom Blumenstein (Audubon, NJ/Paul VI), Brett Mattei (Turnersville, NJ/Washington Township) and Brandon Bond (Cinnaminson, NJ/Cinnaminson) and sophomore Shawn Cunning (Collingswood, NJ/Collingswood). Rutgers-Camden’s record-setting year included a No. 20 national ranking (Oct. 19) and two weeks spent in the “Also Receiving Votes” section of the Top 25 (Sept. 7 and Oct. 5). Another highlight was coach Greg Ogden’s 50th victory with the program (the team’s first 1-0 win over Kean, Oct. 16). Ogden ended his fifth year as the Raptors’ coach with a 53-34-13 record. Coupled with his 15-8-1 record during two years as the Rutgers-Camden women’s coach (1998-99), he is 68-42-14 overall at the school. The Raptors played nine games this year against teams who were ranked in the national Top 25 at least once during the season – Stockton (which has peaked at No. 22), Arcadia (23), Rowan (22 during the season, No. 7 in pre-season), Elizabethtown (25), Montclair State (19), Kean (25) and The College of New Jersey (15). Rutgers-Camden went a combined 4-2-3 against that group. During the season, the Raptors saw four players receive weekly honors from the NJAC, including Cunningham twice. He was named the NJAC’s Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 6 and Oct. 4. Junior forward Kevin Ridgway (Cinnaminson, NJ/Cinnaminson) was named NJAC Offensive Player of the Week on Nov. 1, and freshman midfielder Pat Baldiserra (Milmay, NJ/Buena Regional) earned NJAC Rookie of the Week honors on Sept. 20. Bond collected Academic All-District II College Division Men’s Soccer Second Team honors Nov. 4. Ridgway finished as the team scoring leader with 18 points, and tied for the most goals (seven) with junior midfielder Devin Burgin (Pennsauken, NJ/Bishop Eustace). Burgin had 17 points. Baldiserra (four goals, five assists, 13 points) was the team assist leader and finished third in total points. He was followed closely in the scoring race by a trio of freshmen – Rodney Guishard (Mays Landing, NJ/Oakcrest), James Ono (Bridgeton, NJ/Cumberland Regional) and Ryan Evans (Medford, NJ/Shawnee) – and junior midfielder Mike Reed (Cherry Hill, NJ/Cherry Hill East). Guishard (4-4-12) finished fourth on the team in scoring, while Ono (5-1-11), Evans (4-3-11) and Reed (4-3-11) tied for fifth. The Raptors’ season was anchored by a pair of senior captains, midfielder Tom Magoffin (Sewell, NJ/The King’s Christian School) and Mike Hannings (Cinnaminson, NJ/Cinnaminson). Magoffin, a three-year letterman, collected four goals and one assist for nine points. He finished his career with 16 goals, nine assisted and 41 points in 56 games. Hannings notched three goals for six points, including game-winning goals in back-to-back games against William Paterson (Oct. 13) and Kean (Oct. 16), earning him the school’s Raptor of the Week award for Oct. 18. He completed his four-year Scarlet Raptor career with five goals, one assist and 11 points, playing everywhere from forward to back. He appeared in 73 games at Rutgers-Camden, seventh on the program’s career list. Hannings was one of six Scarlet Raptors recognized as the school’s Raptor of the Week this fall. Cunningham and Giacobbe shared the honor Oct. 11. Baldiserra won it Sept. 13, Cunning captured the honor Nov. 1 and Bond is the winner this week. VOLLEYBALL Rutgers University-Camden freshman outside hitter Julie Grochowski (Williamstown, NJ/Williamstown) captured the final honor of the season Monday as the Women’s Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Volleyball Rookie of the Week. Grochowski’s WIAC honor came after she closed her season with 33 kills, 50 digs, 12 blocks and seven aces in three matches from Oct. 26-30. Although the honor was Grochowski’s first WIAC weekly recognition during her freshman season, she received plenty of recognition from the New Jersey Athletic Conference, winning NJAC Rookie of the Week honors three times. She captured that award Sept. 20, Sept. 27 and Oct. 25. Grochowski also was named to the all-tournament team at the Gothic Knight Women’s Volleyball Invitational, which was held Oct. 16 at New Jersey City University. Grochowski ended her sterling freshman season with school records for matches played (26) , games played (89) , kills (274) , total attacks (1,120) and digs (375). She also added 52 service aces to tie sophomore teammate Katherine Maikoksoong (West Nyack, NY/Clarkstown South) for another single-season school record. CROSS COUNTRY Nov. 6 at ECAC Championships (Grafton, MA) MEN (8K): 1. Tufts University, 70; 2. Williams College, 82; 3. Vassar College, 128; 4. Keene State College, 143; 5. Middlebury College, 170; 6. Amherst College, 194; 7. Wesleyan University, 203; 8. Bates College, 205; 9. SUNY-Oneonta, 230; 10. Kean University, 271; 11. U.S. Coast Guard Academy, 305; 12. Springfield College, 345; 13. Conn College, 425; 14. U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, 448; 15. Colby College, 509; 16. Trinity College, 562; 17. SUNY-New Paltz, 585; 18. Hobart College, 611; 19. Ramapo College, 615; 20. Mass. Maritime Academy, 622; 21. Bard College and St. Joseph’s College of Maine, 637; 23. William Paterson University, 643; 24. Roger Williams University, 680; 25. Rhode Island College, 684; 26. Montclair State University, 690; 27. Castleton State College, 707; 28. Keystone College, 717; 29. Westfield State College, 733; 30. Johnson and Wales, 780; 31. St. Joseph’s College, 780; 32. Eastern Nazarene College, 786; 33. Suffolk University, 838; 34. Rutgers University-Camden, 952. Leading runner: Fabian Mejia (Salem State College), 26:27. Leading Rutgers-Camden runner: Chris McGowan, 30:17. WOMEN (6K): 1. Williams College, 24; 2. Middlebury College, 48; 3. Amherst College, 95; 4. Tufts University, 130; 5. U.S. Coast Guard Academy, 132; 6. Colby College, 138; 7. Keene State College, 173; 8. SUNY-Oneonta, 295; 9. Vassar College, 297; 10. SUNY-New Paltz, 338; 11. Bates College, 342; 12. Conn College, 354; 13. Ramapo College, 369; 14. Babson College, 450; 15. UMass-Boston and Wesleyan University, 470; 17. William Smith College, 491; 18. Montclair State University, 532; 19. Bard College, 536; 20. Rutgers University-Camden, 550; 21. Salve Regina University, 562; 22. St. Joseph’s College, 575; 23. Cazenovia College, 586; 24. St. Joseph’s College of Maine, 748. Leading runner: Joellen Arons (U.S. Coast Guard Academy), 22:50. Leading Rutgers-Camden runner: Joelle Diener, 24:58. UPCOMING SCHEDULE Nov. 13 at NCAA Division III Atlantic Cross Country Regional M: 11 a.m. (at St. Lawrence University, Canton, NY) W: 12 p.m. Junior Joelle Diener (Rickenbach, Switzerland/Kantonsschule, Olten) finished 50th overall out of 206 women at the 2004 ECAC Division III Cross Country Championships, held at the Tufts Farm Course Nov. 6 in Grafton, MA. Diener ran the 6K course in 24:58. The race was won by Joellen Arons of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, who recorded a 22:50. The Lady Raptors compiled a 550 score to finish 20th out of 24 teams in the race won by Williams College (24). The Rutgers-Camden men’s team finished last out of 34 teams, posting a 952 score in a race won by Tufts University (70). The leading male runner in the 8K race was Fabian Mejia of Salem State College, who ran a 26:27. Leading the way for Rutgers-Camden was junior captain Chris McGowan (Barington, NJ/Gloucester Catholic), who finished 123rd out of 243 runners in a time of 30:17. Senior captain Sarah Roberts (Pittsgrove, NJ/Schalick) finished second on the Lady Raptors and 125th overall with a time of 27:22. Junior Jackie Tursi (Sewell, NJ/Clearview Regional) was 140th overall (28:11). Sophomores Rachel McCormick (Blue Anchor, NJ/Winslow Township) and Erin Rajauski (Haddon Heights, NJ/Camden Catholic) were 162nd and 163rd, respectively, in times of 28:59 and 29:00. Finishing second for the Raptor men was freshman Stefon Coleman (Penns Grove, NJ/Penns Grove), who was 219th overall in a time of 34:44. He was followed in order by senior Matthew Weng (Lakehurst, NJ/Shawnee), freshman Steven Sooy (Millville, NJ/Millville) and junior Andrew Silipino (Hammonton, NJ/Hammonton). Weng finished 230th (36:25), while Sooy was 241st (40:48) and Silipino was 242nd (47:17). The Raptors close their season Saturday, Nov. 13, at the NCAA Division III Atlantic Cross Country Regional at St. Lawrence University in Canton, New York.