NCAA Career in Sports Forum

Two Luther Soccer Players have been selected to attend an all-expenses paid trip to the NCAA Career in Sports Forum this summer in Indianapolis. Junior Midfielder Michael Kustra (Edinburgh, Scotland) and Sophomore Forward Oketekyie Dakwa-Agyekum (Accra, Ghana) will join 400 college athletes from all divisions for the four day conference in June. They will also be accompanied by Luther Cross Country junior standout Emma Spoon (Verona, WI) and senior volleyball setter Taylor Hjerleid (Waukon, Iowa).
These athletes will receive information about careers in athletics, with a focus on collegiate athletics. They will learn more about what life is like as a coach and administrator in the field of college athletics. The seminar will focus on communication, networking, recruiting, managing culture, transitioning and budgeting.

These students were nominated by their coaches and were selected based on academic performance, leadership qualities and athletic achievement. Luther Men's Soccer is proud to be so well represented at the conference, and the soccer program will surely reap the benefits as much as the individuals! Congratulations to Michael and Okete!
The full article on the Luther College Athletics website can be found here:http://sports.luther.edu/news/careerforum.htm

Spring Award Banquet

The Luther College Men's Soccer family gathered on April 30th to conclude the short spring season with a celebration at The Oaks Restaurant in Decorah. The players, their families and their dates put on their Sunday best and joined their coaches for a lovely evening full of delicious food, a highlight video, and team awards.
This year the Norse said goodbye to celebrated seniors Jason Lentz, Gui Castro, Alex Case and Andy Eisenberg, whose talent, personality, and commitment to Luther Soccer will be dearly missed. The Norse are excited to announce that Jason Lentz and Gui Castro will work with the Luther Coaching staff next year as assistants as they finish up their degree. The team will also say goodbye to the assistant coach Will Maddox. They look ahead to welcoming the new assistant coach, Dave Keller, a 2009 Luther graduate and former captain for the Norse who has worked as a part time assistant for the Norse and is the coach at Decorah High School.
The Luther men voted on team awards, and the award winners were as follows: Most Valuable Player: Steve O'Meara, Most Valuable Defender: Mike Olson, Most Valuable midfielder: Jason Lentz, Most Valuable Forward: Mark Fernandes, Breakout Player: Matt Hoffman, Newcomer: James Garcia-Prats Gordon Grima-Baldachino (the player that most represents what it means to be a part of Luther Soccer): Eric Johnson. Congratulations to all of the team award winners!

Post-Season Accolades

While the end of the season and subsequent increase in free time often leaves our players bewildered, disappointed, and idle, there has been some consolation in the post-season awards that have been earned by the Luther Men's Soccer Team.
Luther had three selections to the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) All-Conference team, which is voted upon by all the coaches in the conference. Junior captain Michael Kustra was named to the second team, while junior captain Mike Olson and sophomore forward Mark Fernandes were both named as honorable mentions. These players all worked hard and contributed to the much improved season of the Norse.
As a team, the Luther Men led the conference in the number of athletes who made the IIAC All-Academic Team. To be eligible for this award, the student athlete must compete at the varsity level, be a sophomore in academic standing, and have at least a 3.5 grade point average. Luther college led the conference with 54 members on the All-Academic team, and 7 of them were soccer players. Senior Andy Eisenberg, juniors Jason Block and Peter Graffy, and sophomores Oketekyie Dakwa-Agyekum, Micah Kust, Michael Osmera, and Mark Fernandes made up Luther Soccer's contribution to the IIAC All-Academic Team.
This is merely another great example of how the team embodies what it means to be a student athlete. These men work hard on and off the field with commitment and big picture perspective that 18-22 year olds rarely possess. The coaching staff is lucky to have such a talented and well-rounded team, and they look forward to future success on and off the field.