The Drake men’s soccer team was honored as the College Team of the Year at the first annual Central Iowa Sports Awards presented by the Des Moines Area Sports Commission last month.
The Bulldogs completed a record-setting campaign in 2009 that saw Drake capture its first-ever Missouri Valley Conference Tournament title en route to a run to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament posting a 16-7-2 mark and a school-record best No. 8 national ranking by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America.
Accepting the award for Drake were seniors Kevin Shrout (Lee’s Summit, Mo.), Garrett Webb (Prairie Village, Kan.), Julien Edwards (Ottawa, Ont.), Luke Gorczyca (Overland Park, Kan.), Brian Wurst (Kansas City, Mo.), Tom Spiess (Roseville, Minn.), Calvin Clark (Overland Park, Kan.) and redshirt junior Michael Drozd (Harwood Heights, Ill.).
The Bulldogs were also nominated for University/College Player of the Year (Garrett Webb), Play of the Year (Luke Gorczyca for his overtime goal in 1-0 win at Ohio State in NCAA Tournament) and for Game of the Year (Drake’s 6-4 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 victory at Boston College).
Nominees needed to compete within 75 miles of downtown Des Moines during the 2009 calendar year to be eligible for the award. Winners were announced during a banquet at The Meadows in Altoona.
The Central Iowa Sports Awards committee is made up of members of The Des Moines Register, KCCI (TV8), WHO (TV-13), WOI (TV-5), KXNO (AM-1460), the Iowa Sports Connection and the Des Moines Area Sports Commission. The awards banquet will air on Mediacom Connections (Channel 22) at a later date.