Dobish, Sloan Headline All-NCAC Gators

Nov 15, 2006

All-NCAC Team (.pdf)

MEADVILLE, Pa. – Five members of the Allegheny College men’s soccer team were tabbed All-North Coast Athletic Conference as voted on by the coaches and announced by the league office on Wednesday, November 15, including first-team selections Mark Dobish (New Wilmington, Pa./Wilmington Area) and Eric Sloan (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mt. Lebanon). Joining the duo with all-league recognition was second-team honoree Nathaniel Yates (Cleveland Hts., Ohio/Cleveland Heights), while Daniel Carik (Pittsburgh, Pa./Chartiers Valley) and Chris Fedele (Williamsville, N.Y./Williamsville) earned honorable mention.

Dobish, along with Carik and Fedele, represented a strong senior class which helped the Gators to the NCAC Tournament Championship game for the third consecutive year. Dobish saved his best season for last, tallying a team-best 13 points on five goals and three assists en route to his first postseason distinction. The Allegheny forward lit the lamp twice against The College of Wooster in a key 3-1 victory around mid-season. For his career, Dobish accumulated 30 points on 12 goals and six assists.

Sloan earns his third-straight All-NCAC selection after earning second-team honors each of the past two falls. A junior co-captain, he was instrumental on both sides of the field, starting all 19 games and helping the Gators post a 0.80 goals against average as well as chipping in offensively with three goals and one assist. Sloan, who was the 2004 NCAC Newcomer of the Year, helped boost Allegheny into the postseason with a game-winning goal in the 104th minute against Wittenberg in the final game of the regular season. The Gator junior now has an evenly distributed five goals and five assists for his career.

Picking up his second consecutive postseason honor to start his career is Yates, who moved up from the honorable mention squad. Patrolling the midfield, the Allegheny sophomore was a catalyst for the offense, registering three goals (all game-winners) and two assists this fall. Yates was also a key part of the defensive unit which limited opponents to a miniscule 8.9 shots per game. Through two seasons on the hill, he has racked up 18 points on six goals and six assists.

The 6-5 Carik helped the Allegheny backfield finish as one of the top units in the NCAC. The Gators allowed two or more goals only three times in 19 contests this season, recording eight shutouts in the process. Because of his height, Carik was a major factor on corner kicks and picked up a career-high three goals, all via headers. He started all 19 games this season and finished his career with six goals and three assists.

No Gator spent more time on the soccer pitch than Fedele, who tied a school-record by appearing in 69 contests over his four-year career. As a midfielder, he played a key role on both sides of the ball, chipping in with a career-high four goals and helping Allegheny limit opponents to just 16 goals. Fedele scored both the first and last goals on the season for the Gators as well as picking up the game-winner in a 2-1 decision against Mount Union College. Noteworthy, the Allegheny senior is just one of 19 players in school history to post a hat trick, accomplishing the feat against Kenyon in 2004. For his career, Fedele finished with 22 points on 10 goals and two assists.

The Gators finished 2006 with an 11-5-3 overall mark, including 5-4 in NCAC play. Allegheny maintained a steady regional ranking throughout the season, moving has high as No. 3 several times, while nationally, the team was slotted as high as No. 15. The Gators closed the year in strong fashion, defeating Wittenberg to clinch a spot in the NCAC Tournament, before ousting top-seed and nationally-ranked Ohio Wesleyan University in the semifinals via penalty kicks. The run came to a close in the finals, however, as Denison University staved off a Gator comeback and walked away with a 3-2 overtime win.

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