WEST DES MOINES, Iowa – Friday, Oct. 8, 2010 – As the college-soccer season reaches its midpoint, former Des Moines Menace players continue to rack up individual honors while helping their teams to success.

Just over a month into the season, seven alumni of the Menace Premier Development League team have been named conference player of the week and three have received all-tournament recognition. Former Menace PDL players are on the rosters of 13 teams that have appeared in the national Top-25 rankings this season.

You can follow Menace alumni at Twitter.com/MenaceSoccer, and here is an update on active college players who have worn the red, white and black as members of Iowa’s Premier Soccer Team:

NCAA Division I

Penn (7-2-0): Freshman Stephen Baker (2010 Menace) has burst onto the college scene, scoring seven goals to rank among the national leaders. Grand View’s Luis Piffer (see below, under NAIA) and Bellarmine’s Bradley Barraclough (NCAA Division II) are the only Menace alumni with more college goals in 2010.

Baker, featured here on MenaceSoccer.com, has twice been named the Ivy League Rookie of the Week, and he was named the league’s player of the week after collecting seven points in his first two college matches.

Drake (4-5-1): Thomas Ostrander (2009) and Jordan Kadlec (2008-09) are the reigning Missouri Valley Conference Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week.

Ostrander has scored a goal in each of the Bulldogs’ four home matches, including his game-winner in the final minute of the 3-2 “Menace Night” win over Western Illinois on Sept. 28 and the team’s lone score in a 1-1 double-overtime draw with UC-Irvine last Saturday (Oct. 2). Drake’s leader in goals (four) and points (eight) has twice been named the Valley’s Offensive Player of the Year, and he is the current MVC Scholar-Athlete of the Week.

Kadlec earned league laurels after his gutsy performance on Saturday, when he went all 110 minutes and allowed just one goal against the 12th-ranked Anteaters, who had outscored foes 25-3. An all-tournament pick at Notre Dame last month, Kadlec owns a 1.45 goals against average and leads the MVC with 6.20 saves per outing (seventh best in Division-I).

Drake’s roster is dotted with the names of 10 former Menace PDL players, including: Michael Noonan (2008 Menace; four points with Drake this season), Hunter Kennedy (2009-2010; four points), Kenan Malicevic (2010; one goal in just two games, sidelined by foot injury), Michael Thaden (2008-10; two assists, team-high 23 shots), Nick Foster (2009; a defensive starter every match), Jordan Stanley (2010; four appearances), Joe Lyons (2010; five appearances) and Matt Kuhn (redshirting this season with an ACL injury).

Akron (8-0-1): Matt Dagilis, a defensive staple for the Menace’s 2009 PDL Elite Eight team, has seen action in four matches for the top-ranked Zips.

Tulsa (7-2): Former Norwalk High School and Menace Academy standout Kyle Cumings (2008-09) has made five appearances for the Golden Hurricane, including the Sept. 24 nationally televised battle between the top two teams in the national polls; then-No. 2 Tulsa fell 4-0 at No. 1 Akron.

Western Illinois (2-5-4): Another graduate of the Menace Academy, Husref Jupic (2010), leads the Fighting Leathernecks in goals (two, tied), points (six) and shots (20). Jupic, the 2009 Iowa High School Player of the Year at Hoover, notched an assist in his 2010 homecoming – the Menace Night loss to Drake on Sept. 28.

Darryl Odom (2009) has started all 11 matches for WIU and collected four points.

Loyola Marymount (6-3-1): Logan McDaniel, an all-conference pick for the 2010 Menace, has started all seven matches he’s played in, notching an assist. Billy Thompson, a teammate in Des Moines this summer, has minded the net in one match, a 2-1 loss for the short-manned Lions at San Jose State on Sept. 19.

New Mexico (4-2-2): The Lobos’ leader in points (six) and shots (20), Lance Rozeboom has earned a spot on TopDrawerSoccer.com’s “Top 100” list. Rozeboom, a member of the Menace from 2007-09, was an all-tournament member for New Mexico’s September invite for the second-straight year.

Kentucky (4-5-1): Newcomer Sam Brooks has been the hero on a couple occasions, scoring the “golden goal” in a pair of overtime wins only 10 days apart – at Evansville on Sept. 26 (2 OT) and at Marshall on Wednesday (Oct. 6). The transfer from NAIA Cumberlands is second on the Wildcats with five points.

Indiana (5-4-1): Cameron Jordan (2009) has been a part of the Hoosiers’ midfield for all 10 matches, getting off four shots.

Florida Gulf Coast (6-2-2): Fresh off a sweep in their opening weekend of Atlantic-Sun Conference Play, the Eagles are in the Top-25 national poll (Soccer America) for the first time in the program’s four-year history.

FGCU has received contributions from a trio of 2009 Menace players: Cristian Raudales (two goals, 10 starts), Scott Harrison (three shots, eight games) and Jon Koshko (one assist in two games).

Dayton (4-4-1): A fixture in the Menace defense each of the last two seasons, Jack Pearson has started every match for the Flyers. He has two assists and was named to the all-tournament team after Dayton won the championship at last month’s Wisconsin Soccer Classic.

Oral Roberts (2-6-2): Sterling Copeland, a Menace fan favorite each of the last two summers, shares the team lead with three goals. He scored twice in the Golden Eagle’s 4-2 loss at UMKC on Oct. 1. Like Copeland, Kalen Ryden (2010) has started all 10 matches, picking up a goal and an assist.

Three Menace goalies from the last two seasons have combined for 22 starts at the Division-I level this season:

Eastern Illinois (3-6-0): Sean Molony (2009) has played every minute for the Panthers, who have been outscored 8-4 and dropped three straight 1-0 decisions. He was named the Missouri Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Week last month, during a stretch of three straight clean sheets. Ryan Child, also a member of the 2009 Menace, paces EIU with four points (one goal and two assists).

Hartwick (2-7-1): Jake Wright (2010) has started nine matches and posted a 2.29 GAA. He recorded a shutout in the Hawks’ 1-0 win over Hartford on Sept. 25.

Valparaiso (6-3-2): Kyle Zobeck (2009) has made four starts and leads the Crusaders with a 0.50 GAA. He made three saves in Wednesday’s 1-1 double-overtime draw with Western Illinois.

A couple local products have not seen playing time for their respective teams. Brandon Fricke, a Dallas Center-Grimes standout who played for the 2010 Menace, is a redshirt freshman for undefeated Butler (9-0-0), which has climbed into the Top 10. Ankeny High School and Menace Academy grad Ben Poppen is a sophomore for Hartford (3-5-0).


NCAA Division II

Bellarmine (6-3-1): Just 10 matches into the season, Bradley Barraclough (2009) has piled up 25 points, thanks to 10 goals and five assists. His 2.50 points per game rank sixth in D-II. Barraclough was named the Great Lakes Valley Conference Player of the Week after scoring three goals in the Knights’ first two games.

Drury (6-4-0): Barraclough will pay a visit to a couple former Menace teammates tonight (Oct. 8), when Bellarmine meets conference rival Drury in Springfield, Mo. Ben Taylor, the points leader for the 2009 Menace, has been limited to only five matches, due to an injury. An all-conference and all-region pick a year ago, Taylor has a goal and an assist after notching 19 points last season. Defender Grant Bowden, a graduate of Waukee High School and the Menace Academy, has played every match and scored a goal.

NAIA

Grand View (11-1-0): The Vikings have returned to the Top 25 for the first time since 2007, thanks in large part to Marshalltown Community College transfer Luis Piffer (2010). The Brazilian has a team-high nine goals. His most recent score, a golden goal in last Saturday’s (Oct. 2) double-OT win at Ashford, was his fourth game-winner this season. Piffer is the Midwest Collegiate Conference’s current offensive player of the week.

Lindsey Wilson (9-1-1): The defending NAIA champions have received nine points from a pair of former Menace players. Lebogang Moloto, one of the 2010 Menace’s top scorers, has five points in eight matches. His first two goals of the season came last Saturday (Oct. 2) in the Blue Raiders’ 7-0 win at Shawnee State. Samuel Asante (2009) has played all 11 matches and contributed a goal and a couple assists. In this week’s NAIA Top-25 coaches poll, Lindsey Wilson has bumped up to the No. 10 spot.

Mobile (7-1-3) Right on Lindsey Wilson’s heels, No. 11 Mobile is coming off a 1-1 double-OT draw against No. 9 Belhaven on Wednesday (Oct. 6). A trio of 2010 Menace teammates has appeared in all of the Rams’ matches this season. Goalkeeper Jason Williams, who earned the Southern States Athletic Conference’s top defensive honor a week ago, carried a 0.81 GAA. Midfielder Stephen Okai has four points and defender Jubril Lawal has 12 shots.

In the coming weeks, we will do similar stories with updates on former Menace Academy players on college teams and former Menace PDL players in professional soccer.