Lehigh’s Forrest named preseason All-Star
Mark Forrest was named to the preseason Patriot League men’s soccer All-Star team and the Lehigh junior proved that it was a good call in the first game of the season.
Forrest, from Douglassville (The Hill School), scored all three goals in a 3-2 season-opening victory over Rider in a nonleague contest on Aug. 25 in Bethlehem. That made it easy on whom to mark in the Mountain Hawks next two games — losses to George Washington (1-0) on Aug. 27 and Ohio State (2-0) on Sept. 1. The 6-foot-3 forward was limited to a total of three shots in the two games.
“Mark reported to camp fit and healthy and got off to a good start
as a result,” coach Dean Koski said. “He is a clinical finisher with size, strength and a great feel — a rare combination for a forward.”
Scoring goals is nothing new to Forrest. He led Lehigh with 11 goals with four game-winners and 26 total points as a freshman and led the Mountain Hawks in scoring with seven goals, four assists and 18 points with a game-winner last season.
“If Mark can continue with his current form and keep finding goals we will certainly win some games,” Koski said.
Lehigh is picked seventh in the league’s preseason poll.
GAB MAJOR (SPRING-FORD) » The senior forward continues to be a main cog for the nationally ranked North Carolina field hockey team. Major has two goals and four assists in the early going for the fourth-ranked Tar Heels, who are 3-1 after a 3-1 victory over Penn on Sept. 3. She had her best game of the season with a goal and two assists in a 3-0 victory over Iowa on Aug. 27. Major has 34 goals and 23 assists for 91 points with six game-winners in 75 games and 48 starts and had nine goals and 10 assists for 28 points last season to help the team earn a berth in the NCAA title game where they were beaten 3-2 by Delaware.
MARK DUKES (POTTSGROVE) »The junior running back gave the No. 24-ranked West Chester football team a jump start on the way to a 51-9 season-opening nonleague victory over Bentley on Sept. 1 in West Chester. Bentley took an early 3-0 lead but the Golden Rams came back midway through the first quarter when the 5-foot-11, 195-pound Dukes raced 57 yards for a touchdown and it was downhill after that for the Falcons. Dukes finished with 82 yards on seven carries. In 18 previous games, he had rushed 27 yards for 153 yards and a score.
KELLY TORNETTA (POPE JOHN PAUL II) » The junior was named to the All-Tournament team (Sept. 2) and was named Centennial Conference Co-Player of the Week (Sept. 5) after leading the Muhlenberg women’s volleyball team to a 4-0 record at the Battlefield Classic Sept. 1-2 in Gettysburg. The 5-foot-8 outside hitter had 51 kills, 30 digs and four service aces with 15 kills in a 3-1 victory over St. Mary’s and a doubledouble (13 kills and 13 assists) against Bethany. The Mules lifted their record to 5-0 with a 3-0 triumph over FDU-Florham on Sept. 6.
SIMONE VAGNONI (SPRINGFORD) » The redshirt senior defender came up big on offense for the 3-2 Michigan State field hockey team in a 4-3 non-league overtime victory over Vermont on Sept. 3 in East Lansing, Mich. Vagnoni tied the game with a goal at the 62.54 mark and then picked up the assist on the winning goal 4:41 into overtime. She also had a goal in a 5-4 victory over California on Aug. 28 in Berkeley. Entering this season, Vagnoni had a goal and three assists in 53 games.
JILL BRAUNSBERG (DANIEL BOONE) » The Wilmington (Del.) women’s volleyball team opened its season by going 1-3 in Bentley’s Hoffman Memorial Tournament Sept. 1-2 in Waltham, Mass, but the Wildcats got a big effort from the 5-foot10 setter/opposite. Braunsberg was named to the All-Tournament team after recording 51 assists, 45 digs and 28 kills. She’s coming off a solid freshman season where she recorded 353 assists, 248 digs and 148 kills as Wilmington posted a 1020 record.
RASAAN STEWART (PERKIOMEN VALLEY) » The senior safety had a solid game to help No. 10-ranked Villanova football team got past No. 17 Lehigh in the season opener for both squads on Sept. 2 in Bethlehem. The 5-foot-11, 200-pounder had eight tackles including six solos. Stewart came on strong last year with 40 tackles and a team-high three interceptions to help the Wildcats finish 9-4 and making it to the second round of the Football Champion Subdivision Championship tourney where they were beaten 10-7 by South Dakota State.
EMILIE KUPSOV (OWEN J. ROBERTS) » The 5-foot-5 sophomore forward has started all six games thus far for the Longwood women’s soccer team. She has a goal and two assists and the goal was a game-winner in a 2-1 nonleague victory over Marshall on Aug. 27. Kupsov had a goal in 20 games and eight starts for the Lancers as a freshman, being on the pitch for 1,049 minutes of action. Longwood is 4-2 after a 1-0 non-league setback against Virginia Tech of the Atlantic Coast Conference on Sept. 4.
SARAH PARK (METHACTON) » The sophomore, who didn’t see any field action as a freshman, is starting in goal for the Lafayette field hockey team. She picked up her first career shutout making two saves in a 3-0 triumph over Hofstra on Aug. 25 in Easton and came back with seven saves in a 2-1 win over Appalachian State on Sept. 2 in Harrisonburg, Va. Park and the Leopards saw their unbeaten streak end with a 2-0 loss to James Madison on Sept. 3, also in Harrisonburg. She had a career high 10 saves in the game.
LEXIE NUGENT (SPRINGFORD) » The freshman midfielder scored her first collegiate goal for the Miami University of Ohio field hockey team in a seasonopening 2-1 overtime victory over Albany on Aug. 25 in Albany, N.Y. Her score tied the game in the second half. Nugent followed that effort up by picking up a goal and an assist in a 7-0 victory over Siena on Aug. 27 also in Albany. The Redhawks are 2-2 after dropping a 3-1 decision to Boston University on Sept. 4 in a home game in Oxford, OH.
EZRA RANCO (PERKIOMEN VALLEY) » The redshirt senior had a solid game but his Bloomsburg football team dropped a 44-28 season opener to Stonehill on Sept. 2 in Bloomsburg. The 6-foot-2, 340-pound defensive lineman had eight tackles, with one solo, and 1.5 for losses of eight yards including a seven-yard sack. Ranco started the first three games for the Huskies last season but missed the final eight games with an injury. He was an All-PSAC second team choice in 2015.
COURTNEY VIDOVICH (DANIEL BOONE) » The 5-foot-10 junior defensive specialist/ libero helped the Rochester women’s volleyball team post a 3-1 record in the season-opening Red Dragon Tournament Sept. 1-2 in Cortland, N.Y. Vidovich had 73 digs (5.21 per set) and five service aces including a college career-high 28 digs in a 3-0 victory over Vassar on Sept. 2. She had 343 digs and 65 service aces in 60 matches and 181 sets entering this season to go along with 34 assists and 13 kills.