Men's soccer hosts awards banquet at Kingston's Institute for International Sport

03/05/09 - The University of Rhode Island men's soccer team held its annual team banquet at the Institute for International Sport in Kingston, with several players earning a variety of awards and honors."The awards are voted by the players," head coach John O'Connor said. "The coaches could easily give out the awards, but we feel it's better that the players decide."

The ceremonies were kicked off by Director of Soccer Operations Frank Bergren when he presented the Bob Butler Sportsmanship Award to senior James Quiah. The award is named after URI's first men's soccer coach and is awarded to the player who best exemplifies fair play and good spirits in athletic competition.

"James has really come a long way," O'Connor said. "He puts the team ahead of his personal life, and really strives to make the team better. Even if he was not traveling with the team, I would receive texts from him asking how everything went."

The next award presented was the Ram Academic Achievement Award, which is bestowed upon the team-member who best defines the term "student-athlete." Sophomore Matt Preyss, a [International Business] student with a 3.42 GPA, received the award from assistant coach Mitch Stone.

"Matt is a great student," O'Connor said. "He does a great job of balancing his schoolwork and work on the field."

O'Connor presented sophomore defender Dwayne Williams with the Kevin Murphy Defender of the Year Award. Williams' play for the Rams last season was crucial to the success of the team, as he started 18 of the 19 games and recorded three game-winning goals. At season's end, Williams was voted to the All-Atlantic 10 second team.

"Dwayne was playing behind a lot of talented players last season," O'Connor said. "He has really found his game. We had no opponents last year who were better than him at getting balls in the air."

Freshman Erkko "The Finnish Flash" Puranen received two awards from coach O'Connor: the Len Mercurio Offensive Player of the Year and the Geza Henni Most Valuable Player Award. Puranen led the Rams as a first-year forward with nine goals. Not only was he named to the All-Atlantic 10 second team and the Atlantic 10 All-Rookie Team, but he was also placed on the National Soccer Coaches Association of America All-Region team.

"There are a lot of guys who have played here and went on to play international or MLS [Major League Soccer] who did not accomplish what he did his freshman year," O'Connor said. "He has a great future and we expect great things from him. He will only improve as he continues to get more comfortable in the program."

The final presentation of the afternoon was the third annual Ed Bradley Alumni Service Award, which is named after the team's head coach from 1988-2005. The award was accepted by Terry Casey.

"Terry's a local guy whose family is very involved in the program," O'Connor said. "He is one of the first guys I met when I came here, and he has always been there when we have needed him. He leads the way for [alumni] that support us as well."

At the end of the awards presentation, O'Connor named the three captains for the 2009 season: juniors goalkeeper Chris Pennock, defender Domenic Petrarca and transfer Kevin Shaw.

The naming of the captains was followed up by a tribute to the senior class of Kedan Crosby, Kevin Hamill, Andres Perdomo and Quiah. The afternoon came to a close with a season recap video presented by assistant coach Rob Czlonka.

The Rams will open their 2009 non-traditional spring season on Saturday March 28 when they travel to Boston to face Division II Bentley College and Division I Northeastern University.

"The schedule's competitive and will provide the guys with time to play together," O'Connor said. "Hopefully the weather's good, the guys are dying to get outside.