HPU’s Bukoski named PacWest Player of Year; CBU’s Salazar, GCU’s Robinson earn awards

PHOENIX, AZ – Hawai‘i Pacific senior forward Chance Bukoski (Kapaa, HI/Kapaa) has been named the 2011 Pacific West Conference Men’s Soccer Player of the Year.

The PacWest announced the honor on Wednesday, Nov. 16, along with its four other major awards and the 2011 All-PacWest Men’s Soccer Team. The head coaches of the PacWest vote on the All-PacWest Team, selecting a First Team, Second Team and Honorable Mention squad for forwards, midfielders, defenders and goalkeepers.

Bukoski helped lead the Sea Warriors to a share of their first PacWest Championship by recording 44 points on 18 goals and eight assists this season. He was 2 for 2 on penalty kick attempts and was responsible for seven game-winning goals.

California Baptist, the PacWest’s other co-champion, and Grand Canyon split up the remaining four major awards. GCU’s Petar Draksin was named the PacWest Coach of the Year after leading the Antelopes to a 9-2-1 conference mark and a 13-4-1 overall record.

The Newcomer of the Year honor belonged to Grand Canyon junior forward Saeed Robinson (Portmore, Jamaica), while Freshman of the Year accolades went to California Baptist rookie forward Michael Salazar (Moreno Valley, CA/Canyon Springs).

Robinson totaled 36 points on 16 goals and four assists while recording five game-winning scores and converting his lone penalty kick attempt. Salazar amassed 23 points on nine goals and five assists to go along with three game-winning goals. Robinson was named All-PacWest First Team for his efforts, while Salazar claimed All-PacWest Second Team accolades.

California Baptist sophomore Joey Pacheco (Riverside, CA/Martin Luther King) earned the 2011 PacWest Goalkeeper of the Year award and All-PacWest First Team honors after a stellar campaign that produced a 12-5-0 record, five shutouts, a 0.83 goals against average, and an .811 save percentage in 17 starts and 1517:07 of action. He helped lead the Lancers to a share of the PacWest Championship during their inaugural season in the conference.

Dixie State sophomore Tyler Walters (Ogden, UT/Ben Lomond) and Grand Canyon senior Adam Garcia (Avondale, AZ/Westview) were named All-PacWest Second Team and Honorable Mention, respectively.

Walters finished the year 7-7-0 with five shutouts, a 1.14 goals against average, an .820 save percentage, and 82 saves in 1415:52 of action. Garcia was 13-4-1 with six shutouts, a 0.61 goals against average, and an .804 save percentage in 18 starts and 1613:00 in net.

In addition to Bukoski and Robinson earning All-PacWest First Team honors as forwards, California Baptist senior Osvaldo Bastida (Anaheim, CA/Katella) and Notre Dame de Namur senior Cristobal Montes (Tijuana, Mexico/John F. Kennedy) were named to the First Team squad.

Bastida scored 11 goals, registered three assists, totaled 25 points and turned in four game-winning goals this season for the Lancers.

Montes, the 2008 PacWest Player and Newcomer of the Year, earned his fourth straight All-PacWest First Team selection this season by scoring 14 goals, adding two assists and amassing 30 points. He had two game-winning goals and made 1 of 2 penalty kick attempts.

In addition to Salazar, the Second Team forwards included NDNU sophomore Armando Garcia (Redwood City, CA/Sequoia), Dominican (CA) sophomore David Mendez (Windsor, CA/Windsor) and Dixie State junior Jordan Roylance (Smithfield, UT/Sky View).

Garcia – a 2010 All-PacWest Second Team choice who also was the 2010 Freshman of the Year – finished the season with 16 points on six goals and four assists. He also had two game-winning scores.

Mendez totaled 13 points on five goals and three assists. He also had three game-winning goals and was 1 for 1 on penalty kicks.

Roylance earned his third All-PacWest selection this year after claiming First Team honors in 2009 and making the Second Team last year. He had seven goals, one assist and 15 points in 18 games this year. He also was credited with two game-winning goals.

The All-PacWest Honorable Mention forwards featured Hawai‘i Pacific senior Heimana Chene (Honolulu, HI/Lycee La Mennais), Academy of Art junior Grimur Grimsson (Seltjarnarnes, Iceland), BYU-Hawaii sophomore Bent Jenson (Beaverton, OR/Westview) and Dominican (CA) freshman Kolby Mitnick (Newcastle, CA/Del Oro).

Chene posed 15 points on seven goals and one assist with two game-winners, while Grimsson tallied seven goals, amassed 14 points, and finished with two game-winners. Mitnick had 10 points on four goals and two assists with one game-decider, while Jenson scored four times for eight points with a pair of game-winners.

The All-PacWest First Team Midfield featured some familiar names in HPU sophomore George Fochive (Washington, DC/Lycee Godefroy de Bouillon), Grand Canyon seniors Mitchell Garcia (Avondale, AZ/Agua Fria) and Cordero Young (Orlando, FL/Central Florida Christian Academy), and NDNU seniors Christian Rosales (Redwood City, CA/St. Francis) and Oscar Yniguez (Redwood City, CA/Woodside).

An All-PacWest Second Team choice last year, Fochive scored a goal and had three assists for five points this season. He was credited with one game-winning score.

Garcia was a Second Team choice last year, while Young took First Team honors in 2010. Garcia totaled 15 points on five goals and five assists, complementing Young who had 18 points on seven goals and four assists. Both players recorded a trio of game-winning goals.

Rosales earned his fourth All-PacWest selection in 2011 after taking Honorable Mention in 2008, Second Team in 2009 and First Team last season. This year he had seven points on five assists and a goal. Yniguez made his presence felt in the PacWest by accruing 21 points on 11 assists and five goals over 17 starts. He was 1 for 2 on penalty kicks.

All-PacWest Second Team Midfield team included a pair of California Baptist sophomores in Alex Anderson (Palmdale, CA/Palmdale) and Marc Hope (Honolulu, HI/Hawaii Baptist Academy). Anderson posted 11 points on three goals and five assists with two game-winners, while Hope had 14 points on four goals and six assists.

Dixie State senior Nyle Ortiz (Layton, UT/Layton) – a Second Team Midfield choice in 2010 – earned another Second Team accolade this year after emerging with 13 points on five goals and three assists. He was 1 for 1 on penalty kicks and scored two game-winning goals.

Ortiz’s teammate, junior Tyler Albretsen (Pleasant View, UT/Weber), was named All-PacWest Honorable Mention for his solid 2011 campaign. He had two goals, six assists and 10 points on the year to go along with two game-winning scores.

Dominican (CA) rookie Nuri Bon-Acosta (San Rafael, CA/Marin Catholic) was named Honorable Mention as well after collecting 11 points on four goals and three assists, while Academy of Art senior Andrew Cruz (2-10F) (Pleasanton, CA/Foothill) joined him on the squad after compiling eight points on three goals and two assists. Cruz, who also had a game-winner and was 1 for 1 on penalty kicks, was an All-PacWest Second Team choice in 2010 at the forward position.

NDNU senior Arturo Gomez (San Diego, CA/Castle Park) finished his career by earning his third straight All-PacWest honor. In addition to this season’s Honorable Mention, Gomez was a First Team choice in 2009 and a Second Team selection last year. He finished the 2011 campaign with four goals, seven assists, 15 points and one game-winning goal.

The All-PacWest First Team Defense featured Dixie State senior Clayton Alexander (Issaquah, WA/Issaquah), HPU junior Kainoa Kahui (Kona, HI/Kamehameha School-Kapalama), and Grand Canyon senior Nick Sykes (Boise, ID/Mountain View).

Kahui was a First Team choice in 2010, while Sykes is a four-time All-PacWest award winner after taking Honorable Mention in 2008, First Team in 2009 and Second Team in 2010.

Kahui contributed two goals and four points with one game-winner this year, while Sykes had two goals, one assist, five points, one game-winner and was 1 for 2 in penalty kick attempts. Alexander also had five points on two goals and one assists.

The Second Team featured NDNU junior Manny Cardenas (Galt, CA/Galt), Grand Canyon junior Alex Connally (Warrington, England), California Baptist senior Willie Rupert (Fountain Hills, AZ/Fountain Hills), and Academy of Art senior Vilmunder Sveinsson (Reykjavik, Iceland).

Connally turned in nine points on three goals and three assists, while Rupert finished with eight points on three goals and two assists. All three of his goals came on penalty kicks and he was credited with one game-winner.

California Baptist junior Tyler Aagard (San Jose, CA/The King’s Academy) and HPU sophomore Truls Lystad (Snaroya, Norway) earned Honorable Mention accolades. Aagard totaled four points on two goals with one game-winner, while Lystad had nine points on five assists and two goals.