Coaches take on new roles in Lawrence Department of Athletics

Two coaches in the Lawrence University Department of Athletics are taking on new challenges. Director of Athletics Kim Tatro announced Thursday that Moira Ruhly and Blake Johnson have worked with her to restructure their duties. All changes are effective immediately.

Ruhly, who is the women’s soccer coach and assistant track and field coach, takes over as head coach of men’s and women’s cross country and men’s and women’s track and field. Johnson, who is the men’s soccer coach, will now coach both men’s and women’s soccer and take on the title of director of soccer.

In addition to the restructuring, Carl Gardner, who has been an assistant men’s soccer coach for four seasons, has been named associate head coach for both teams. Two assistant coaches will be added to help with the men’s and women’s soccer teams.

Ruhly has been the women’s soccer coach since 1999 and led the Vikings to the 2000 Midwest Conference (MWC) championship. Under her guidance, Lawrence won MWC Tournament titles and made NCAA Division III Tournament appearances in 2000 and 2001. Ruhly, who has a career record of 49-50-5, gave Lawrence its first NCAA Tournament win when the Vikings defeated Aurora University in 2001. Ruhly’s background as a runner is impressive, as she was a two-time All-American in track and an All-American in cross country while a student at Providence College.

Johnson takes over the women’s soccer team after leading the men’s squad to back-to-back appearances in the MWC Tournament in 2003 and 2004. Johnson took over the men’s soccer program in 2000 and faced a major rebuilding job. The last two seasons have seen the fruits of that rebuilding effort, as the Vikings have compiled a 16-13-5 mark, including a 10-5-3 record in conference play. Johnson believes the consolidation of the men’s and women’s soccer teams under one umbrella of coaches also will have benefits. (LU Sports Info)

Three St. Norbert College men's soccer players led the list of seven Midwest Conference student-athtletes selected to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) All-North Central Teams.

Green Knight junior forward Tyler Merkatoris and senior defender John George were first team selections following their MWC Championship season and NCAA second round victory.

The third St. Norbert player receiving the NSCAA post-season honor is Grant Markgraf, a senior midefielder. Markgraf was joined on the second team by MWC Player of the Year Tom Becker of Ripon, senior forward Aaron Whetstone from Beloit and Lake Forest's Sam Figueroa, a junior.

Carroll's Chris Schultz nabbed the other spot for the MWC as the junior defender was named to the third team.

Member coaches of the NSCAA are eligible to vote on all-region candidates. Click here for a listing of all NSCAA awards.

St. Norbert College jumped out to a 3-0 lead and held on to post a 3-2 win over Whitworth (Wash.) College in a NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Tournament second-round match at the Minahan Stadium Complex. The win for the Green Knights (17-0-2) was their first ever NCAA tournament play, and was also the first triumph in the post-season for a Midwest Conference school. The MWC was 0-7 in seven previous NCAA appearances.

St. Norbert jumped ahead before a school-record crowd of 327 had a chance to settle into their seats. Nick Bonifas scored just 36 seconds into the match after a cross from A.J. Herrman following a throw-in by Peter Bernardy. Bonifas tallied his ninth goal of the year at 24:58 when he took a pass from Grant Markgraf and knocked home a 20-yard shot to the far upper corner of the goal for a 2-0 advantage, a lead the Green Knights would carry into halftime.

St. Norbert pushed ahead 3-0 after Bernardy knocked home a pass from Mike Fisher to a wide-open far post at 49:37. Whitworth (16-3-1) would not go quietly however, answering nearly five minutes later. Following a Todd Sabrowski free kick, Jonathan Carlson headed the ball to Austin Washington, who finished off a solid play at 54:30.

The Pirates made things interesting in the final 10 minutes, with Skye Henderson scoring unassisted at 82:06. Whitworth would get the ball in the St. Norbert end again late in the match for a quality scoring chance, but the Pirates could not convert.

Whitworth outshot St. Norbert 19-10, including 14-6 in the second half. The Pirates also had an 8-3 advantage in corner kicks.

Yuri Petrasz, who improved to 15-0-1 on the year, made seven saves between the posts for St. Norbert. Kevin Bostock turned away just one shot for Whitworth.

A berth in the NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Tournament is on the line this weekend at the Midwest Conference Tournament at the Dr. John R. Minahan Stadium Complex in De Pere, Wisconsin. Three-time regular-season champion St. Norbert College, along with Beloit College, Carroll College and Lawrence University, will battle for the national tournament berth awarded to the MWC's post-season titleist.

St. Norbert, which has posted a 23-2-2 record in MWC play over the last three years, captured its third straight conference crown. The Green Knights, 14-0-2 overall and 8-0-1 in the MWC, are averaging 3.75 goals per game and have scored 40 markers over their last eight matches. The Green Knights, who have won 15-straight home matches and are 8-0 on friendly turf this season, had a scoreless tie with Loras College on Sept. 26 and tied 1-1 at Carroll College on Oct. 15.

St. Norbert has gotten off to quick starts in matches this year, outscoring opponents 33-3 in the first half. Juniors Peter Bernardy and Tyler Merkatoris lead St. Norbert in goals, each tallying eight this season. Bernardy has eight assists and a team-high 24 points, while Merkatoris has six helpers to give him 22 points. Sophomore Nick Bonifas has seven goals and four assists for 18 points to also rank among the league's scoring leaders. Senior goaltender Yuri Petrasz has made 15 starts this season, fashioning a 12-0-1 record with a 0.87 goals against average and a .766 save percentage.

Carroll has used a stingy defense this season to forge a run at the MWC championship and finish second on the league's goal-differential tie-breaker, despite finishing with the same 8-0-1 record as St. Norbert. The Pioneers have allowed just four goals in nine league games, and have eight shutouts en route to a 9-4-3 overall record. Junior Michael Katzenberg leads Carroll in scoring with five goals and four assists for 14 points, and four of his goals have gone for game-winners. Sophomore Joey Shoemaker has four goals and three assists for 11 points, and freshman defender J.J. Guttman ranks third on the team with six points, getting two goals and two assists. Senior goaltender Andy Smith has all of the Pioneers' decisions this year, seeing all but 54 minutes of action. Smith has a 0.81 goals against average and an .873 save percentage.

Beloit enters the tournament's No. 3 seed following a year that saw the Buccaneers post a 10-4-2 overall record and a 5-2-2 mark in the Midwest Conference. The Buccaneers and veteran coach Tim Schmiechen went 6-1-1 in the second half of the season, with the loss coming 1-0 to Carroll on Oct. 20 and a 1-1 tie with Lawrence on Oct. 30. Sophomore Michael Findley is among the conference leaders in scoring with 13 goals and three assists for 29 points, with senior captain Aaron Whetstone not too much behind with six goals and 14 assists for 26 points. Junior Bubba Schultz is also a scorer with seven goals and five assists for 19 points. Junior goaltender Chip Schumacher has seen most of the action between the posts for Beloit, tailoring a 0.71 goals against average and a .900 save percentage.

Lawrence is making its second consecutive Midwest Conference tournament appearance after not making any since 1989. The Vikings went 7-6-3 overall and finished 5-2-2 in the MWC to claim the tournament's fourth seed. Lawrence went 2-0-1 in its last three games to earn the final tournament spot. Sophomore Rodrigo Gomes leads the Vikings in scoring with nine goals and six assists for 24 points. Freshman Ryan Pikna is the only other Lawrence player scoring in double figures, scoring five goals for 10 points. Junior goaltender Matt Wolin has seen every minute of action in the net for the Vikings, recording a 1.43 goals against average and a .798 save percentage. (Submitted by SNC Sports Info)

Chris Marx's goal inside nine minutes remaining pushed St. Norbert College to a rousing 3-2 win over perennial NCAA Division III power UW-Oshkosh Wednesday at the Minahan Stadium Complex in De Pere.

Marx's goal, his third career marker, gave the Green Knights their first win over the Titans since a 3-1 triumph in Oshkosh on Oct. 29, 1986 and snapped a 17-match losing streak in the series. UW-Oshkosh was a NCAA Division III Final Four qualifier in 2003.

St. Norbert scored the match's first two goals and a 2-0 halftime lead before Oshkosh answered with two goals of its own in the second half. Marx had just entered the game about two minutes before scoring the decisive goal. Marx's game winner came off a throw-in from Peter Bernardy, a deflection by Nick Bonifas and a side volley by Marx past Titans goaltender Ryan Dineen at 81:24 of the match.

St. Norbert (5-0) took control early on a goal by Travis King at 9:25 off a nice feed from Bernardy. The Green Knights cushioned their advantage when Bonifas was able to get behind Dineen while playing a pass from Andrew Winters and connected to the far post at 33:04. Oshkosh (1-2-2) answered in the second half on a goal nearly 11 minutes into the second half by Shaun Gallagher. The Titans tied the match at 73:52 when Ryan Stone knocked in a loose ball that squirted away from St. Norbert goaltender Yuri Petrasz. Petrasz made five saves for St. Norbert, as Oshkosh outshot the Green Knights 17-15. Dineen made two saves for Oshkosh. (submitted by SNC Sports Info

Receiving six of the ten first place votes from a recent poll of MWC coaches, the reigning league champion St. Norbert Green Knights were picked to retain the title in the 2004 season.Beloit, receiving one first-place vote of their own, was just shy of sharing the top honor with St. Norbert. Lawrence garnered two first place votes and finished just out of reach of the Bucs in third. Filling out the predictions for the four team post season tournament field is Lake Forest Forest, who picked up the last first place vote and finished just ahead of Grinnell who came in fifth.

Ripon was narrowly picked to finish sixth ahead of Monmouth who placed seventh in the selections by MWC coaches. Carroll, Illinois C. and Knox rounded out the 2004 poll. The MWC Champion is the winner of the regular-season schedule.

The MWC Tournament is a four team, single elimination event to determine the winner of the NCAA automatic bid. The 2004 MWC Tournament will be held Friday and Saturday, November 5 and 6, and will be hosted by the MWC Champion.

For the first press release of the season click here.