FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 15, 2006
Contact:  Dwayne Hanberry, SCAC Associate Commissioner

DePauw's Noel; Trinity's Altman Headline 2006 All-SCAC Men's Soccer Team

SUWANEE, Ga. - In exclusive voting by the league’s head coaches, Nick Noel of DePauw University was selected the SCAC Offensive Player-of-the-Year while Kyle Altman of Trinity University was voted SCAC Defensive Player-of-the-Year.

In that same balloting, Robert C’deBaca of Trinity earned SCAC Newcomer-of-the-Year honors, and for the eighth time in his career, Trinity head coach Paul McGinlay was selected as SCAC Coach-of-the-Year.

Nick Noel (pictured left), a senior forward from Zionsville, Ind., led the SCAC in scoring with 45 points in 18 matches for 2.50 points per game. His 17 goals tied for the league lead and is the fifth-highest single-season total in DePauw history. Noel’s 45 points are tied for the second-most in program history. No one in the SCAC has scored more the last two seasons than Noel, who has 73 points (28 goals, 17 assists) over that span. He is the second straight DePauw player to earn the league’s Offensive POTY award – Craig Lippincott won the award in 2005.

In being selected the league’s Offensive POTY, Noel received five votes from the coaches. Josh Peterson of Trinity received four votes while Stephen Carpenter of Austin College received the remaining vote.

Kyle Altman (pictured right), a junior defender from Albuquerque, N.M., was a major part of a Trinity defense that led the SCAC in goals against average (0.80) as well as shutouts (11). A three-time All-SCAC performer, Altman was also a key contributor offensively for the Tigers, scoring eight goals and assisting on three others for 19 points (fourth on the team). He finished the 2006 season with four game-winning goals which tied for the team lead.

Altman received five votes in the Defensive POTY voting, followed by David Horne of Centre College and David Mueller of Oglethorpe University with two votes each. Darryn Lewis of Southwestern University picked up the remaining vote.

Robert C’deBaca (pictured left), a junior forward from Albuquerque, N.M., transferred to Trinity from University of Maryland and made an immediate impact for the Tigers. He scored seven goals and assisted on two more to total 16 points in just 15 games, which included two game-winning goals. His two-goal game in a non-conference, 4-1, win over Southwestern warranted him a spot on the D3kicks.com national Team of the Week.

C’deBaca received five votes in the Newcomer-of-the-Year voting, followed closely by Oglethorpe’s Danner Marsden, who received four votes. Richard Hinton of Centre received the remaining coaches’ vote.

Coach Paul McGinlay (pictured right) guided the Trinity men to another SCAC title, the program’s 10th overall and ninth in the last 11 years. McGinlay, in his 16th season as the head coach of the Tigers, has amassed an overall record of 259-53-19 (.811) which ranks fourth in Division III in winning percentage among active coaches. Three years ago, McGinlay led Trinity to a 24-0-0 record and the NCAA Division III National Championship. McGinlay is an eight-time SCAC Coach of the Year honoree and has led his team to an undefeated and untied conference mark six times in his career.

McGinlay received five votes from his peers in the COTY voting while Don Gregory of Southwestern received four votes. Page Cotton of DePauw received the remaining vote.