Men's Soccer NJCAA National Championship 2023
NJCAA

Game Recap: Men's Soccer | | John Majerus

Men's Soccer Ends Season 8th in Nation

Palatine, IL: The Men's Soccer team finished their season at the NJCAA National Championships on Friday with a 0-0 draw against the #5 ranked team in the country & were presented with the NJCAA Sportsmanship award to end the season.

The Hawks were the NJCAA Region IV and NJCAA Midwest District Champions in
Coach Vlad Gacanovic's first season as head coach. He had this to say on the season:

"I said it all season long, this team makes me look good. They are the reason we got as far as we did & the reason we won titles along the way. I could not have asked for a better group of student-athletes in my first year! The season started August 1st & we played into November 10th , that is three & a half months of soccer. My players had to sacrifice their time this whole season & put in the work in order to achieve our success. That is not as easy as many people think & I thank each and every one of them for their dedication & commitment. I also wanted to take this opportunity to thank Chip Lemberg, my assistant coach & Head Women's Coach for all the guidance & support he has given me my first year, as well as Jason Altmann & Sherese Parker, who both believed in me & my ability to perform this job & without their support I would not be where I am! I am already looking forward to next season."


Athletes that earned honors from the NJCAA were as follows:

Ramon Orozco: NJCAA All-American, NJCAA All-Tournament team, NJCAA Region IV Player of the Year, NJCAA Region IV All-Region, NJCAA Region IV Tournament MVP, Team MVP

Arian Dizdarevic: All-Region
Francisco Hernandez: All-Region
Ricardo Orozco: All-Region

Coach Gacanovic also earned some hardware as he was awarded the Region IV
Coach of the Year and Midwest District Coach of the Year.

The team will be transitioning to Division II next season and will be offering tuition waivers for the first time in school history. He had this to say on the transition:

"I am beyond excited! The NJCAA National Championships was a great way to prepare our freshmen who are returning next season for the type of teams we will be playing come fall of 2024. The transition will take time & need adjustments along the way, but I am excited to build off of this success & get our team ready come August of next year."


Coach Gacanovic will look to continue his first year success as the team goes through this transition period.



 
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