INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (January 15, 2012) – Centenary College was on hand Saturday to accept an Award of Merit as part of the Jostens/NADIIIAA Community Service Awards reception held at the NCAA National Convention.

Jostens and the National Association of Division III Athletic Administrators (NADIIIAA) honor institutions each year at the NCAA Convention for their excellence in community service. This year, Centenary College is a proud recipient of one of the two Award of Merit honorees. Director of Athletics, Billie Jo Blackwell, Associate Athletic Director Josh Huber, and Senior Woman Administrator, Iris Correa were presented the award by NADIIIAA President, Al Bean and Jostens’ representative Kelly McKenzie.

The Cyclones’ teams participated in many community service efforts in 2011, making them worthy of earning this distinction, however Centenary was chosen mainly in part for its efforts in helping a local child, Jacob Grimes, who suffers from A.L. Leukemia. Matthew Klank, Head Coach of the men’s lacrosse team observed a posting at a local grocery store about Jacob’s illness. The situation hit home for Klank who has a child of the same age, driving Klank to begin not only a fundraising effort for Jacob Grimes, but also a chance for Centenary teams to share their team camaraderie with the young boy. The men’s lacrosse, men’s soccer and women’s soccer teams all secured sponsors to donate an amount for each repetition of a lift-a-thon or similar event. The money raised was then donated to the Grimes family to assist in treatment costs. All in all, the teams raised over $8,000 and came away with an invaluable experience.

The Centenary College Athletic Department is honored to be recognized by Jostens and the NADIIIAA and looks forward to continuing its efforts to serve the community.

The Centenary College men’s soccer team finished the 2011 season just shy of earning a berth in the Colonial State Athletic Conference playoffs after a season of ups and downs in which the Cyclones finished with a record of 9-7-2 and 4-5 in CSAC play.

Centenary began the season in strong fashion, only suffering one loss in the first seven games of the season. In that time, the Cyclones went 4-1-2. From there, Centenary dropped a non-conference game to Eastern University. The Cyclones bounced back, winning four games in a row including wins over CSAC opponents Immaculata, Cabrini, and Baptist Bible. The Cyclones defeated Cabrini in a thrilling two-overtime game in which senior Alex Walters scored the game winning goal in the 104th giving Centenary the victory.

The Cyclones stumbled down the back end of their schedule however, falling in five of their final six games of the season. Centenary remained alive in playoff contention heading into the final game of the season against Rosemont College, needing either a win or a tie to make the playoffs. The game, scheduled as a home date was delayed and moved to a neutral location (Neumann University) after a rare October snowstorm left the Centenary campus under a foot of snow. When the Cyclones were able to take the field against the Rosemont Ravens, the late season offensive drought continued and the Cyclones fell 1-0, ending their season.

The 2011 season saw many individual accomplishments including five Cyclones earning postseason accolades. Senior forward Andrew Pinnella, freshman forward Quinn Khouri, and junior midfielder Patrick Bourland were Second Team All-Conference selections, while senior midfielder Matt Winkler was named to the Honorable Mention All-Conference team. Rounding out the post season awards, sophomore defender Reid Meeker was named to the CSAC All-Sportsmanship team.

The Cyclones were led in goal by senior Jason Rogers who became the school all time saves leader when he recorded his 274th save on Oct. 22 versus Keystone College.

Pinnella also became the all-time leader in several categories in 2011. On Sept. 15 he was credited with an assist pushing him into the all-time lead with 17 career assists. Four days later, in a game against Brooklyn College, Pinnella became the all-time leader in points with 79, passing Chris Hill. Pinnella would pass Hill one more time, becoming the all-time goals leader on Oct. 8 when he kicked in his second goal of the game at Baptist Bible College.

The Cyclones were led by Pinnella who tallied 15 goals and 34 points and Jason Rogers, who earned all decisions in goal including four shutouts.

ASTON, Pa. (October 30, 2011) – The Centenary College men’s soccer team dropped what could be the most important game of the season today as they fell to the Rosemont Ravens 1-0.

The Cyclones needed a win in order to push their way into the Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) Tournament, but their dreams were cut short by the Ravens. The game, originally scheduled to be held yesterday at home for the Cyclones, had to be rescheduled for today on the campus of Neumann University.

The game was dominated by the Rosemont offense from early on as they forced senior goalkeeper Jason Rogers (Washington, N.J./Warren Hills) to make three saves within the first 15 minutes to keep the game scoreless.

The Cyclones found an opportunity when Andrew Pinnella (Brielle, N.J./Manasquan) took a pass from fellow senior Matt Winkler (Great Meadows, N.J./Hackettstown) and knocked it around the goalie before a Raven defender was able to clear it out of the box.

Another opportunity for Pinnella came late in the first half when the Cyclones were awarded a free kick opportunity right outside the box. Pinnella was able to rip a ball past the Ravens wall, but was stopped as Rosemont goalkeeper Nick Hulayew was able to make the save off a bounce.

Despite an offensive attack by the Ravens, outshooting the Cyclones 15-4 and forcing Rogers to make nine saves in the first half alone, both teams entered the half scoreless. Coming out of the second half, the Ravens continued their attack when Ahmed Faik was able to take a loose ball off a corner kick and head it home to give Rosemont a 1-0 lead.

Unfortunately for the Cyclones, the lead turned out to be enough for Rosemont, giving the Ravens a 1-0 victory and pushing the Cyclones out of playoff contention. Rogers finished the day with 12 saves for the Cyclones.

Box Score

HACKETTSTOWN, N.J. (October 22, 2011) – The men’s soccer team was able to snap their three game losing streak today as they defeated the Keystone College Giants 2-1 and improve their record to 9-5-2, 4-3 in conference play.

The Cyclones were the first to jump on the board when senior Matt Winkler (Great Meadows, N.J./Hackettstown) knocked home a loose ball rebound off Keystone goalkeeper Dany O’Rourke to put Centenary up 1-0 in the 28th minute.

The Giants responded only three minutes later when James Bell was able to chip the ball past senior goalkeeper Jason Rogers (Washington, N.J./Warren Hills) to even the score at 1-1. Rogers would stand his ground for the rest of the game however, recording five saves in the Cyclone victory.

Coming out of the second half, the Cyclones picked up their intensity as freshman Quinn Khouri (Eldersburg, Md./Liberty) was able to head home the eventual winning goal off a Patrick Bourland (Vienna, N.J./Hackettstown) pass to give the Cyclones a 2-1 lead.

Despite a few opportunities to extend the lead when an Alex Walters (Sciota, Pa./Pleasant Valley) header tipped off the crossbar  and another went just over, the Cyclones were able to hold on for the remainder of the game and take home an important conference victory.

The Cyclones return to action on Tuesday as they travel to Gwynedd-Mercy to take on the Griffins at 7pm. The men’s soccer team will be hosting their senior day on Saturday before they host Rosemont University at 1pm.

Box Score