Red Men Soccer
Newsletter Hello, important supporters, alumni, prospective players, and friends and family of the Carthage College Soccer program!
We hope and trust this edition of the 2017 Carthage Soccer Newsletter finds you and your family doing well. Every year it is our aim to provide the best possible experience for our past, present, and future student-athletes and those closest to our program. Please take a moment to stay up-to-date with Carthage and Carthage Soccer happenings this year:
current team The 2016 Carthage Men’s Soccer Team won the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin CCIW regular season championship, the CCIW Tournament championship and clinched a spot in the NCAA Division III Men’s Soccer National Tournament. High drama draped the overachieving Red Men involved in overtime walk-off wins, and a schedule flush with victories over nationally ranked opponents. Affectionately dubbed the “Cardiac Kids” in 2015, the team once again played one of the nation’s strongest schedules as evidenced by the NCAA strength criteria and weekly polling data. The season started with the annual preseason trip this past fall to Boston and surrounding areas. Carthage spent over a week training at Boston College, Boston University, Harvard, and M.I.T., and opened the year winning three straight
matches in three days versus New England’s best from Endicott and Gordon universities. Upon returning home, Carthage preceded to defeat Loras College (ranked No. 2 in America at the time) as well sandwiched victories over the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and Wabash College (both ranked foes.) The Team was also invited to play at the University of California-Santa Clara in a rare mid-season opportunity. Carthage defeated the powerful Banana Slugs, played a reserve match and squeezed in a team bonding trip to the world famous Alcatraz Island. The team visited some of America’s top academic institutions as well, including training and touring at Stanford University. A memory none will forget. The season culminated in an 11game win streak, with the team stamping out an inspiring 2-1 conference championship
victory over Wheaton College in front of 2,000plus streamed viewers (watch the match on demand) and nearly 700 in attendance at Carthage’s Art Keller Field. Carthage was rewarded with hosting NCAA first-and-second round championship matches — the first in program history. The College did a fantastic job in this effort. Everyone is proud!
gocarthage.com/soccer-men
awards
nscaa/ncaa
Carthage’s Austin Bitta was named to the 2016 NSCAA NCAA Division III Men’s AllAmerica Team. Additionally, the NSCAA announced the All-Central Region teams along with Bitta, Red Men Giles Phillips, Johnny Rimkus, and Jamie Tausend were honored. The All-Wisconsin state team featured Bitta, Phillips, Rimkus, Brayan Arce Justiniano, Adrian Herrera, Kevin Mahoney, and head coach Steve Domin and his staff. Senior captain Bitta, the 2016 College CCIW Player of the Year (joining former Red Men Mike Domin and Zak Khoshbin) becomes the first All-American in program history. He earned his place in record books with 14 goals, 13 assists and 41 points on the season, which put him among the career and single-season leaders in each category. It is his second regional honor after being named third-team in 2015. Also, Bitta was named All-Central Region First Team, All-
Wisconsin First Team and All-Wisconsin Player of the Year. Joining Bitta on the All-Central Region first team was All-CCIW first-teamer Phillips. A captain along with Bitta, Phillips was also named the All-Wisconsin Defensive Player of the Year for the second straight year and named to the All-Wisconsin first team. Phillips finished 2016 with four goals and three assists out of the Carthage back line. Rimkus, also an All-CCIW first-team member, was named to the 2016 All-Central Region and All-Wisconsin second teams. Rimkus finished 2016 second on the team in points with 14 and tied for second with five goals. Johnny was named All-Wisconsin third team in 2015. Rounding out the All-Central Region team was defender Jamie Tausend, who was named to the third team. A second-team All-CCIW selection, he earned the first award
is his career following a season in which he tallied two goals and five assists. Joining Rimkus on the All-Wisconsin second team were goalkeeper Arce Justiniano and midfielder Herrera. Arce Justiniano went 14-2 in 2016 and got an AllCCIW second- team nod with a 1.34 goals against average after taking over the job due to early-season injuries to Red Men keepers. Also in his first season with the Red Men, Herrera, the CCIW’s 2016 Newcomer of the Year, received all-state honors after being named all-conference first team. The final on-field award winner for the Red Men was sophomore captain Mahoney. Despite missing much of the final third of the season to injury, Mahoney tied with Rimkus for second on the team with five goals in his 15 games. He received all-state honorable mention. These players attribute their awards to the team’s success.
ncaa regionals Despite outshooting Benedictine University 32-7, as well as outcornering the Eagles, Carthage lost a heartbreaking 2-1 match in double overtime at home. Nearly 700 fans and thousands of those streaming witnessed a controversial penalty kick that doomed the Red Men in the final seconds of the contest. Soccer can be a cruel game! The team is confident in a similar run with off-season work and dedication.
regional & national rankings The Carthage men’s soccer team is no stranger to the NSCAA and NCAA regional and national polls with several appearances since their inception (1996, 1997, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015 and 2016). This past year is the second time in its short history that the team has been ranked for 10 straight weeks on the regional level (both 2015 and 2016). And it was featured several weeks in the national polls, highlighted with a final regular season ranking of No. 7 in the country.
events annual marathon preseason trip game As you are aware, each year the team takes annual preseason training and sight-seeing trips to top soccer destinations in the United States. This fall the team will be in Lone Star state of Texas. At a destination that has featured the Red Men before, the team will train and compete in Houston at Rice and the University of Houston, with stops at the Houston Dynamo of Major League Soccer (MLS), NASA Space Center and BBVA Compass Stadium, the site the NCAA Division I Soccer Final Four. The trips are a yearly entourage of families, past players, and friends, along with coaches, trainers and support folks. Contact Coach Steve for further details.
Because of the conference tournament and NCAA participation, the annual marathon soccer game has been rescheduled to a Bowl Off. The event will take place following the team banquet. Details will be released as soon as possible. We are having a wonderful year fundraising. However, we need a late push to meet some of our current and future goals. Please help support the team with a gift that goes directly to the program and current team experience. We, as you know well, are dependent on our loyal alumni and supporters in this way. Please contact Steve Domin directly, Bob Bonn, or our Office of Institutional Advancement for making much-needed contributions.
service
golf outing The 14th annual Soccer Golf Outing was another huge success. Thank you. More than 120 golfers enjoyed a wonderful day of weather, golf, food and spirits. We use the term “golfers” loosely, as we probably would do better kicking the golf ball around the course! The program prides itself in firstclass, radical hospitality at the event, and we trust we will see you next fall. Save the date for this Aug. 19, 2017. Learn more: carthage.edu/soccer/golf
alumni get together Special thank you to the Montemayor family, the Bachmanns, Former players Andrew Gamarra, Michael Dombrowski, and Edita Emini for spreading the word and hosting the tailgating events at the NCAA Regionals. Be on the lookout for the annual Texas Hold’em poker fundraising tournament always wrapped around March Madness.
Each year the team picks a handful of projects in support of the local community. Featured events included eight dates in the fall and eight in the spring of Big Brother mentoring through soccer as part of “Free Fridays.” Each men’s soccer player works with local youths in a leadership role on the field. The last regular scheduled event landed on Halloween weekend for an extra treat. Last spring the team added a Beach Clean Up date, covering a three-mile stretch from Carthage’s beaches toward the downtown area.
alumni game One day. One big difference. The first Carthage Giving Day was a huge success. Mark your calendars for Giving Day 2017: April 7. Learn more at carthage.edu/giving-day
The annual Carthage Soccer game was again a marquee event. Although we don’t run for as long as we used to, the game is the annual start to the Homecoming events. Carthage beat Silver Lake College in front of an enormous Alumni Game crowd, a great cap to a family and friends weekend!
recruits
contact steve domin ’93, ’95
For those interested in Carthage College and men’s soccer for next fall and beyond, make sure your admission application is complete. If you haven’t yet applied, don’t wait — use fee waiver voucher code 123-372 on the last step of the online application to waive the application fee. Learn more about your admissions status, scholarships and financial aid at carthage.edu/admissions. We are here to help; please contact us if you have any questions or stop by for a campus visit. The Carthage Office of Admissions can be reached at 800-351-4058 or admissions@carthage.edu.
Head Coach sdomin@carthage.edu Office: 262-551-5930 Cell: 262-945-8514
carthage athletics 2001 Alford Park Drive, Kenosha, WI 53140 262-551-5800 | gocarthage.com
2017 camp The Carthage Soccer Camp annually attracts more than 1,000 players of all ages and is flighted to serve players of all abilities, including our Competitive Edge Program for the high-end college-bound high school and academy-level players. Help us spread the word about our 100-plus staff of coaches and support personnel. Late June dates, program details, services and applications are available at: carthage.edu/soccercamp.
to learn more: gocarthage.com/soccer-men youtube.com/carthageathletics carthage.edu/soccercamp
follow the team As always, you can follow the team online on the Carthage Athletics website, along with Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat (carthagesports).
video links See our team in action — check out these reels highlighting the men’s soccer mission on our Carthage Athletics YouTube channel: youtube.com/carthageathletics
what’s next Our aim is to continually feature and stay connected with alumni of our program as part of our “Where are they now?” campaign. Be on the lookout for our next featured past player, Tim Burke. Tim, as a past coach and current alumni soccer president, is a loyal alumnus in time and monetary resources. He helps recruit players for the program and also assists in networking for recent soccer grads. Tim began his career in the food industry 16 years ago with The Nielsen Company and then the Kraft Heinz Company,
working out of the Chicagoland area. He is director of customer solutions for Miller Coors, based in Chicago. During his career, he has served in various leadership roles — including client management, capability specialist, category leadership, and customer solutions. In his current role, Burke is responsible for leading and advancing Miller Coors’ capabilities, customer strategies, and retail solutions to deliver business results — including the development of thought leadership materials, retail selling stories, leveraging
scale, and leading efforts to elevate the company’s capabilities, content and competencies. Tim and his wife, Tracey, live in Naperville, Illinois, and have two children. Tim majored in business administration and marketing and was a two-time captain and standout at Carthage. Tim is occasionally featured in the Carthage Soccer broadcast booth. For more info email Tim at timothyburke1116@gmail.com.