Hall of Fame
The 2009 men's soccer team was the second team to be inducted into the Dominican University Athletics Hall of Fame. It featured six All-NACC selections in Trinidad Correa, Mario Napiorkowski, JC Saldana, Mike Kapusta, Stan Micic and Ryan Roberts. Saldana and Roberts were named NACC Offensive Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year respectively, while Napiorkowski was named a second team All-American. Coach Baumann was also recognized as the NACC Coach of the Year and Division III Regional Coach of the Year.
"The guys on the team were always up to the challenge, and we kept each other honest while pushing each other whenever we needed a result.” said Saldan~a. “I can honestly say, those guys are still some of my best friends to this day."
On the year, the Stars went 19-2-3, winning the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) regular season (11-0) and tournament championships while finishing the season with the nation's 10th-best offense, averaging 2.92 goals per game, and the nation's fourth-best defense, posting a 0.41 goals against average with 14 shutouts in 24 total matches.
"Being a young team throughout the season, there was a lot of adversity. With the winning tradition that the men's soccer program has, we knew we had to elevate ourselves and compete day in and day out. Coach Baumann never let us waver from game to game, and we executed our game plans almost perfectly. At the start of the season, our main goal was to win the conference tournament, and make it to the NCAA tournament.
Dominican hosted the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament, beginning the tournament by coming from behind to defeat Elmhurst 2-1 in double overtime after Jonathan Hernandez’s 83rd minute goal forced overtime. “Opening up the tournament at home was a huge boost for us. When some teams thought we were done, we found a way to win.” added Saldan~a. The Stars would upend Wisconsin-Whitewater 1-0 the next day to advance to the Sweet 16.
The Sweet 16 matchup positioned Dominican for a rematch against host Loras College who eliminated the Stars in the second round the year prior. “I will never forget the game against Loras in OT, and the way we celebrated afterwards. My entire four years at Dominican, we always had a big rivalry with them, and we came out on top.” said Saldan~a.
After defeating Whitworth University 2-0 the following day, the 2009 version of the Stars was the first team in University history to advance to a national semifinal match (NCAA Final Four) before falling to Calvin in the national semifinals 1-0. Even though Dominican didn’t go all the way, Saldan~a looks back on that season fondly. “The final game, we came up short, but the memories and the relationships we built throughout the season, will last forever."
