Allegheny College Athletics

http://www.allegheny.edu

Pair of Gators Grab All-Region Accolades

December 4, 2006

MEADVILLE, Pa. – Junior Eric Sloan (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mt. Lebanon) and senior Mark Dobish (New Wilmington, Pa./Wilmington Area) added more hardware to their trophy cases as each were tabbed to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America/adidas® All-Great Lakes Region Third Team. The duo, who also earned first-team all-conference honors earlier this fall, are the first Gators to grab all-region recognition since 2003.

Sloan, a three-year starter on defense and a team captain, started all 19 games for Allegheny this fall, helping the backline hold opponents to a 0.80 goals against average as well as posting eight shutouts. The Gator defense allowed only two teams to score more than two goals in a game, in addition to limiting opposing offensives to a mere 8.9 shots per game. If it wasn’t for the Gator junior, Allegheny may have not made it to its third consecutive NCAC Tournament title game. Tied with Wittenberg University 1-1 through 100 minutes in the teams’ regular season finale, Sloan put the Gators back into the postseason with a game-winning goal in the 104th minute. It was one of a career-high three goals on the season for the multi-faceted junior. Sloan has appeared in 60 games through his three-year tenure, racking up an evenly distributed 15 points on five goals and five assists.

The 2006 season was a breakout campaign for Dobish, who started all 17 games he played in and led the team in scoring with 13 points on five goals and three assists. The Gator senior helped the Allegheny offense register nearly 16 shots per game (15.9) and 1.66 goals per outing. In his first full season as a starter, Dobish picked up most of his points in league play, posting three goals and two assists against conference competition. Two of those scores came at the expense of league-rival College of Wooster, setting a career-high for the senior. During his career, Dobish appeared in 74 games, logging 30 points on 12 goals and six assists.

Allegheny closed its season with an 11-5-3 overall mark, including 5-4 in the NCAC. The Gators made their third consecutive appearance in the conference tournament finals after knocking off regular season champion and then No. 4 Ohio Wesleyan University 4-3 in penalty kicks in the semifinals. Despite erasing a 2-0 deficit in the championship game, Allegheny fell short in its bid for its second NCAA Tournament appearance in the last three years, falling to Denison University 3-2 in overtime.