Rutgers-Camden dominates All-NJAC honors, heads into NJAC semifinals

The Rutgers University-Camden Scarlet Raptors are reaping the rewards for the first regular-season New Jersey Athletic Conference men’s soccer crown in program history. Rutgers-Camden earned six of the seven major awards and placed seven players on the all-star teams when the NJAC announced its all-conference teams today.
The Scarlet Raptors, who won the regular-season title with a 6-0-2 mark, will take a 14-2-2 overall record into the conference semifinals when they host Rowan University. The Raptors topped the Profs, 3-0, during the regular season.

Rutgers-Camden is only the fourth team to go undefeated while winning the NJAC regular-season title since 1999. The last to do it was Montclair State, which went 9-0 during the 2008 regular season.

The Scarlet Raptors are led by NJAC Coach of the Year Tim Oswald. The NJAC Goalkeeper of the Year for the second consecutive season is Raptor senior Tim VanLiew (Deptford, NJ/Deptford), while junior back Matt Lanouette (Hopewell, NJ/Hopewell Valley Central) was named the NJAC Defensive Player of the Year and sophomore forward Mitch Grotti (Milmay, NJ/Millville) captured honors as the NJAC Offensive Player of the Year.

Raptor freshman midfielder Joe Auleta (Atco, NJ/Hammonton) was named the NJAC Rookie of the Year and senior midfielder Chris Edelschein (Medford Lakes, NJ/Shawnee) captured the conference’s annual Dave Logar Leadership Award, which is presented annually to the player who best displays the attributes of leadership and courage.

Auleta becomes only the second Rutgers-Camden player to win NJAC Rookie of the Year honors. The first was Mike Zeno in 1992. Grotti and Lanouette, meanwhile, were the first Raptors to win Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year honors. Only one other Raptor received a similar year-end NJAC honor, when Mike DeFeo was named the NJAC Co-Player of the Year in 1988 before the award was split into Offensive and Defensive honors.

The only non-Raptor among the seven major conference awards was William Paterson’s Anthony Ferrer, who earned honors as the Pat Baldiserra Midfielder of the Year. That honor is named after the late Rutgers-Camden All-American.

VanLiew, Lanouette and Grotti were named to the NJAC First Team, while Auleta, Edelschein and junior back Kevin Burke (Sewell, NJ/Clearview) captured NJAC Second Team honors.

Sophomore back Bobby Foster (Burlington, NJ/Burlington Township) completed the Raptor-dominated all-conference teams by earning NJAC Honorable Mention.

The eight All-NJAC awards were the most ever for the Scarlet Raptors, edging the mark of seven set in 2004.

In only his sixth season as Rutgers-Camden’s head coach, Oswald guided the Raptors to their first regular-season NJAC title. It continues an amazing string of success for Oswald, who earlier this season became the winningest coach in program history. He brings a 77-35-17 Raptor record into tonight’s NJAC semifinal contest, including a 12-game undefeated streak (10-0-2).

During his first five full years with Rutgers-Camden, Oswald led the Raptors to three ECAC championships and the first NCAA tournament berth in program history. That magical season came in 2008, when the Raptors posted a lofty 16-5-2 record to set the single-season program mark for wins.

A three-time Rutgers-Camden Coach of the Year (2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11 scholastic years), Oswald has his team currently ranked No. 10 in the NSCAA poll for the third consecutive week. The Raptors also moved up to No. 13 in this week’s d3soccer.com national poll.

Oswald becomes the first Rutgers-Camden men’s soccer coach to earn NJAC Coach of the Year honors since Greg Ogden in 2004. The only other Rutgers-Camden honoree was George Hobbins, who captured NJAC Coach of the Year honors in 1988.

Out of Oswald’s 77 Rutgers-Camden wins, 51 have come with VanLiew in goal. The senior co-captain, who has started all 83 games during his Raptor career, has posted a four-year mark of 51-24-8.

VanLiew, who led the Raptors to their NCAA tournament berth and set a single-season program goalie mark of 16 wins as a freshman, ranks as the program’s career leader for goalie minutes (7505:15), shots faced (1092) and shutouts (28), in addition to his 51 wins. He is second in career goals-against average (1.08), ties (eight) and saves (448) and his current 0.66 GAA is the lowest single-season mark in Rutgers-Camden history.

This season he was named to the All-Tournament Team at Swarthmore College’s Garnet Alumni Classic (Sept. 3-4). On Oct. 3 he earned honors as the NJAC Defensive Player of the Week and he added the ECAC Division III Metro Defensive Player of the Week the next day. He also was named the school’s Raptor of the Week on Oct. 17.

Overall, VanLiew has earned five NJAC and two ECAC Metro Defensive Player of the Week honors in his career, while also twice being named the NJAC Rookie of the Week as a freshman. He has been a member of four all-tournament teams in his four seasons. He also set the program record with 565:25 consecutive shutout minutes and tied the mark of five straight shutouts, both coming in 2008.

During his junior season, VanLiew captured his first NJAC Goalkeeper of the Year honor in the fall and added All-America honors in outdoor track (javelin) during the spring season, posting a program-record throw of 62.13 meters at the NCAA Div. III Championships to finish seventh overall. He was recognized on the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association All-Academic team, was a member of the Philadelphia Inquirer Men’s Track Academic All-Area squad and earned his second consecutive NJAC Academic Honorable Mention recognition.

VanLiew also serves as the co-chair of Rutgers-Camden’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and is a member of the NJAC SAAC.

A Psychology major at Rutgers-Camden, Tim is the son of Roger and Carol VanLiew of Deptford.

Lanouette joins VanLiew as the only current Raptors to have played on the 2008 NCAA tournament team. He played in all 23 games that season, starting 14, and adding two goals and two assists for six points. A junior back who returned to the program this season after missing the past two scholastic years, Lanouette has been a key cog as one of the Raptors’ rugged center backs.

Along with center back Foster and outside backs Burke and junior Brian Hill (Cinnaminson, NJ/Cinnaminson), Lanouette has helped Rutgers-Camden post a stellar 0.65 team goals-against average this season. The Raptors have notched eight shutouts and have allowed two goals in a game only twice all season.

Lanouette was named to the all-tournament team at the Raptors’ own Cialella Soccer Classic (Sept. 10-11). In addition to his outstanding play in the back, Lanouette has added two goals for four points, scoring in wins against powerhouse programs North Carolina Wesleyan (3-0, Sept. 11) and Stevenson (4-1, Oct. 5). His goal against North Carolina Wesleyan was the second game-winning goal of his career.

In his three seasons (2007, 2008 and 2011) at Rutgers-Camden, Lanouette has played in 47 games, making 31 starts. He owns four goals and two assists for 10 points.

A dual Finance and Accounting major at Rutgers-Camden, Matt is the son of Cathy and Roger Lanouette of Hopewell.

Grotti had a stellar collegiate debut in 2010 when he became one of only two freshmen to earn NJAC Second Team honors. He took his game to the next level this season, earning NJAC First Team and Offensive Player of the Year honors.

As a freshman, Grotti led the team with 10 goals and added three assists to tie for the club lead with 23 points. He notched four game-winning goals, tying the program’s single-season record which he blew away this season with an amazing eight game-winning goals. Late in his second season, he already has tied the program’s career mark of 12 game-winning goals.

Grotti also added NJAC Rookie of the Week honors on Sept. 27, 2010.

This season Grotti has been an offensive machine, collecting 16 goals and four assists for 36 points. He enters tonight’s NJAC semifinal game only two goals shy of the single-season Rutgers-Camden scoring record. His 36 points, meanwhile, are tied for third on the Raptors’ single-season list, six shy of the program mark.

Grotti captured three NJAC Offensive Player of the Week honors this season (Sept. 12, Sept. 26 and Oct. 17). He also was named the ECAC Division III Metro Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 27. He was a member of the all-tournament teams at both the Garnet Alumni Classic (Sept. 3-4) and the Cialella Soccer Classic (Sept. 10-11).

Grotti also captured two honors this fall as Rutgers-Camden’s Raptor of the Week (Sept. 12 and Sept. 26).

During his brief collegiate career, Grotti has played in 39 games, starting 27. He has scored 26 goals and seven assists for 59 points. He already ranks sixth in goals and seventh in points on the program’s career list.

A Business major at Rutgers-Camden, Mitch is the son of Marc and Mary Beth Grotti of Milmay.

A four-year letterman at Hammonton High School who was an Atlantic City Press First Team All-Area player as a senior, Joe Auleta displayed his talents on the collegiate level this season. A magician in the center midfield, he quickly became one of the Scarlet Raptors’ top weapons on his way to earning NJAC Rookie of the Year and NJAC Second Team honors.

Auleta has played in all 18 games for the Scarlet Raptors, starting 17. He is second on the team in scoring with 16 points, including five goals and a team-leading six assists. He has produced three game-winning goals and captured NJAC Rookie of the Week honors on both Sept. 19 and Oct. 10.
Auleta added honors on Oct. 10 as Rutgers-Camden’s Raptor of the Week.

A Biology major at Rutgers-Camden, Joe is the son of John and Paulette Auleta of Hammonton.

Edelschein has been a leader everywhere he has played, and the Scarlet Raptors’ senior co-captain continued his string of success in his second year at Rutgers-Camden. Teaming with Auleta in the center of the field, Edelschein has started all 18 games for the Raptors, adding one goal, while leading Rutgers-Camden to its first regular-season NJAC title in program history.

Titles are nothing new to Edelschein. In his first year at Rutgers-Camden, he played in 17 games, starting 16, as the Scarlet Raptors won the ECAC Division III Upstate/Metro championship. Edelschein contributed two goals and one assist to that cause.

Edelschein has been a member of the all-tournament team at the Cialella Soccer Classic during both of his seasons with the Scarlet Raptors.
Prior to Rutgers-Camden, Edelschein played a key role on a pair of NJAC championship teams at Montclair State University (2007 and 2008), where he scored 14 goals and added five assists for 33 points.

During his senior year at Shawnee High School in 2006, Edelschein led the Renegades to a perfect 27-0 record and the Group 3 state championship.

In 35 career games at Rutgers-Camden, Edelschein has made 34 starts and collected three goals and one assist for seven points.

A Mathematics major at Rutgers-Camden, Chris is the son of Michael and Patricia Edelschein of Medford Lakes.

Burke, who has had a shutdown season as the Scarlet Raptors’ left back, captured NJAC Second Team honors. He has started all 18 games this season and is a major factor in helping the Raptors rank 26th nationally in Division III in goals-against average (0.65).

Not only has Burke has started 34 of his 57 career games at Rutgers-Camden, but he is one of the outstanding student-athletes at the university. The treasurer of the Scarlet Raptors’ SAAC committee, Burke has garnered numerous academic honors during his collegiate career as an Accounting major.
As a sophomore, Burke was named to the ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District 2 Third Team, was honored on the NJAC Academic First Team and was named to the Philadelphia Inquirer Academic All-Area Men’s Soccer Team. He is eligible for all those honors again this season.

He also played a key role in helping the Raptors win the 2010 ECAC Div. III Upstate/Metro title.

A Dean’s List student every semester and a member of the Rutgers-Camden Honors College, Burke received the Ralph W. Newkirk Jr. Endowed Scholarship (awarded to undergraduate accounting students based on academic merit) and the Rutgers-Camden Academic Excellence Scholarship (for high-achieving undergraduate business students). He also is a member of the Accounting Society.

Kevin is the son of Kathleen and Gregory Burke of Sewell.

After playing in only two games as a freshman, Bobby Foster stepped into a starting role as one of the Scarlet Raptors’ center backs this season and captured NJAC Honorable Mention. He has started all 18 games and also contributed three goals and one assist for seven points. His goal in the season opener against Widener (Sept. 3) was the only tally in a 1-0 win, setting the tone for a banner year.

That season-opening goal helped Foster earn a berth on the all-tournament team at Swarthmore College’s Garnet Alumni Classic (Sept. 3-4). He also was named the school’s first Raptor of the Week this scholastic year, coming on Sept. 5.

Foster captured honors as the NJAC Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 10 and added ECAC Div. III Metro Defensive Player of the Week the next day.

Another outstanding student who is an Accounting major, Foster earned a Rutgers-Camden Academic Excellence Scholarship and a Dean’s School of Business Scholarship during the 2010-11 scholastic year. A Dean’s List student, Bobby is the son of Robert and Cheryl Foster of Burlington.

2011 All-NJAC Men’s Soccer Teams

See http://athletics.camden.rutgers.edu/sports/soccer/men/2011/news/110211.html for original story