Radwanksi named Southeast Region Coach of the Year
KANSAS CITY, Kan. – UNCG women's soccer coach Eddie Radwanski has been named the National Soccer Coaches Association of America/Mondo Southeast Region Coach of the Year in a vote of his peers, the NSCAA announced Wednesday.
Radwanski will now be on the ballot for the NSCAA/Mondo National Coach of the Year award. The regional coaches of the year will be joined on the ballot by coaches from each of the four national championship semifinal teams. The winner of the national award will be announced at the annual NSCAA Awards Banquet, which will be held Jan. 14, 2011, at the Hilton Baltimore in conjunction with the 2011 NSCAA Convention.
A three-time Southern Conference Coach of the Year, the regional honor is the first of its kind for Radwanski and the first for a UNCG coach since Jack Poland took the award in 1996.
Radwanski guided the Spartans to the one of the best seasons in school history this year, leading UNCG to a 19-2-1 record and a top-10 national ranking at the end of the regular season.
The Spartans also went 11-0-0 in Southern Conference play, winning their fifth straight regular-season title with their fourth unbeaten league slate in the last five years. Radwanski coached UNCG to the seventh SoCon tournament title in school history and a spot in the NCAA Championship for the first time since 2007.
UNCG finished the season tied for the third-best winning percentage in NCAA Division I (.866), trailing only national runner-up Stanford (.923) and perennial power Portland (.909) and one spot ahead of national champion Notre Dame (.880). The Spartans' 19 wins were tied for fourth-most in the nation this year.
Radwanski coached UNCG to a school-record 16-match winning streak this season, with the streak bridging UNCG's only two losses of the year. After a 2-0 defeat at Cal State Fullerton on Sept. 5, the Spartans didn't lose again until falling to South Carolina in the first round of the NCAA tournament on Nov. 12.
In addition to its 16-game winning streak, UNCG knocked off then-No. 10 Wake Forest on Aug. 23, and played to a scoreless draw with 2007 national champion Southern Cal, which was in and out of the rankings all season.
UNCG's 19 wins matched the school record set in 1997, while the two losses were the fewest in school history. The Spartans also went undefeated at home for the first time in school history, going 9-0-0 at UNCG Soccer Stadium.
The honors and achievements rolled in for Radwanski's squad throughout the season.
Radwanski had UNCG ranked by the NSCAA in the final seven polls of the season, peaking at No. 10 in the Nov. 9 poll. The top-10 ranking was UNCG's first since November 1996. UNCG was ranked in the final poll of the season for the first time since 1997.
Midfielder Cat Barnekow finished the year third in NCAA Division I in assists with 14, while keeper Kelsey Kearney was 11th in goals against average with her 0.553 mark. Both marks led the SoCon, while Kearney shared the league lead in shutouts and freshman Kristen Schmidbauer shared the league lead in scoring. Schmidbauer and Tabitha Padgett shared the league lead in goals.
As a team, UNCG led the SoCon in virtually everything, including points, goals, assists, corner kicks, goals allowed, GAA and shutouts.
Barnekow, Kearney and Padgett were NSCAA/Performance Subaru second-team All-Southeast Region performers, while midfielder Jenn Partenheimer took third-team distinction.
Those four all earned first-team All-SoCon honors, while senior defender Katie Evans joined them on the first team and Schmidbauer was second-team selection. Schmidbauer, Morgan Kennedy and Stine Schoening were also SoCon All-Freshman selections.
Lauren Hein, Kennedy, Partenheimer and Kearney earned spots on the SoCon All-Tournament Team, with Kearney taking Most Outstanding Player honors.
Padgett and Kearney took SoCon Player of the Week honors during the season, while Hein was named one of CollegeSoccer360.com's Primetime Performers of the Week after recording a goal and an assist in the win over Wake Forest. Padgett, Barnekow and Kearney were also named to the Under Armour Invitational All-Tournament Team.
2010 NSCAA/Mondo Regional Coaches of the Year
NCAA Division I Men
Far West: Kevin Grimes, California
Midwest: Tim McClements, Southern Methodist
Great Lakes: Ken Lolla, Louisville
Middle Atlantic: Pat Farrell, LaSalle
Northeast: Brian Wiese, Georgetown
North Atlantic: Robert McCourt, Monmouth
South Atlantic: Chris Norris, William & Mary
South: Scott Calabrese, East Tennessee State
NCAA Division I Women
Central: Colin Carmichael, Oklahoma State
Great Lakes: Janet Rayfield, Illinois
Mid-Atlantic: Simon Riddiough, Hofstra
Northeast: Markus Roeders, Marquette
Pacific: Paul Ratcliffe, Stanford
South: Jeff Hooker, Denver
Southeast: Eddie Radwanski, UNCG
West: Scott Juniper, UC Irvine
- UNCG -