Lehigh’s Forrest on Hermann watch list
Mark Forrest had a big junior season with the Lehigh men’s soccer team and the 6-foot-3 forward is off to another great start this season.
Forrest, from Douglassville (The Hill School), was named to the United Soccer Coaches third team AllAmerican. He was also ECAC and Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year after scoring 15 goals with eight assists for 38 points with three game-winners.
Prior to the start of this season, Forrest was named to the MAC Hermann Trophy Watch that goes to the outstanding male and female soccer players in the country. It’s the most prestigious individual award in the sport. He was also named the pre-season Patriot Offensive Player of the Year. He entered his final campaign with 33 goals and 16 assists for 82 points with nine game-winners in 55 games.
“Mark has gotten off to a good start with two goals and an assist in four games,” coach Dean Koski said. “What hasn’t shown up in stats is his commitment to helping us defend more as we are relatively young and inexperienced in the back line (two returning starters). He’s also captain of the team.”
The coach said that Forrest is focused on the Mountain Hawks winning games whether he scores or not.
“Being on the Hermann Watch List is a huge honor for Mark,” Koski said. “I believe that he has the ability to play professionally and hopefully, will be a top draft pick in the MLS (Major League Soccer).”
Lehigh stands 2-2 on the season after a 1-0 non-league victory over St. John’s last Tuesday in Queens, N.Y.
MARK DUKES (POTTSGROVE) » The 5-foot-11, 195-pound senior had a big day running the ball to lead the West Chester football team to a season-opening 44-6 non-league victory over Bentley on Aug. 30 in Waltham, Mass. Dukes carried the ball 22 times for a game-high 115 yards. He scored The Rams first touchdown on a 1-yard run. Dukes rushed for 367 yards in 13 games as a junior last season and now has picked up 625 yards in 32 games for his career.
MAHOGANY WILLIS (OWEN J. ROBERTS) » The 5-foot=3 freshman forward scored both goals as the Indiana women’s soccer team blanked No. 19-ranked Slippery Rock last Wednesday in Indiana. Willis has scored four goals on the season and her other two goals were also game-winners – a 3-2 overtime triumph over Pitt-Johnstown on Aug. 30 in Johnstown and the first score in a 7-0 victory over Glenville State on Sept. 3 in Glenville, W. Va. The Crimson Hawks are 3-1 overall and 2-1 in PSAC play.
LEXIE NUGENT (SPRINGFORD) » The sophomore has scored two goals for the Miami (OH) field hockey team which wrapped up a California trip with a 1-0 loss to California on Sept. 2 in Berkeley. Nugent had goals in a 3-1 victory over Pacific and a 2-0 triumph over UC Davis. She played in 21 games with 12 starts as a freshman to help the Redhawks finish 12-9, losing 4-2 to No. 2 Duke in the first round of the NCAA Division I Tournament. Nugent finished her first season with 17 points on seven goals and three assists.
LEON MARIC (BOYERTOWN) » The Virginia transfer has scored two goals in the early going for the St. Joseph’s men’s soccer team, the Hawks 3-1 after a 2-1 victory over Stony Brook last Wednesday in Stony Brook, N.Y. Maric had the first goal on that game. He also scored a goal on a 3-1 victory over Saint Peters on Aug. 28 in Jersey City, N.J. The 6-foot-5, 200-pound forward played in six matches in his two seasons with the Cavaliers and scored his first collegiate goal against Xavier as a sophomore.
JULIA HERNAN (THE HILL SCHOOL) » The red-shirt junior from Collegeville is back in goal for the St. Francis women’s soccer team, the Red Flash 2-3-2 on the season. Hernan has given up seven goals and has 33 saves. She has two shutouts – 4-0 over Maryland Baltimore County and 3-0 over Binghamton. In 51 career games, Hernan has given up 54 goals and has 197 saves with 12 shutouts and a 12-17 record. Freshman Corrine Renninger has played in six games with five starts and sophomore Dakota Graham has played in three games on defense.
ALANA PERGINE (POPE JOHN PAUL II) » The 5-foot-8 sophomore middle blocker has helped the Shippensburg women’s volleyball team get off to a 6-2 start this season after topping Shepherd (31) and West Virginia State (3-1) on Sept. 1 in Institute, W.Va. Pergine has played in all eight matches with two starts and 21 sets. She has 19 kills, 18 digs and eight total blocks. She had her best game of the season in a 3-1 loss to Ashland on Aug. 24 in Ashland, OH with seven kills, three digs and three total blocks.
DAKOTA CLANAGAN (PERKIOMEN VALLEY) » The 5-foot8, 185-pounder red-shirt senior is starting at wide receiver for the Slippery Rock football team, The Rock opening the season with a 38-31 victory over Kentucky State on Sept. 1 in Slippery Rock. Clanagan caught two passes for 35 yards including one that covered 32 yards. As a sophomore and junior, Clanagan caught total of five passes for 95 yards with two touchdowns. He was a red-shirt as a freshman and played one game on special teams as a sophomore.
LAUREN HALEY (BOYERTOWN) » The 5-foot-8 sophomore forward is a Moravian transfer and she’s off to a great start as a member of the Albright women’s soccer team. Haley kicked off the season with three goals, including the gamewinner, on four shots in a 5-2 non-league victory over Marywood on Sept. 1 in Reading. She leads the 2-0-1 Lions with nine points on four goals and an assist. She had a goal in 15 games with Moravian last year as a freshman.
Haley earned MAC Commonwealth Offensive Player of the Week honors on Sept. 3.
MICHAEL REALBUTO (METHACTON) » The sophomore is one of four area athletes seeing action with the Juniata men’s soccer team, the Eagles 3-0 after a 3-2 victory over St. Vincent last Tuesday in Huntingdon. Realbuto had a goal in that game and the only score in a 1-0 triumph over Wilson on Sept. 1. Freshman Nick Sinapius (Phoenixville) has a goal and it was the gamewinner in the St. Vincent game. Sophomore Logan Sorti (Owen J. Roberts) has started all three games on defense. Freshman Jack Hermann (Spring-Ford) has played in one game.
ERIKA WOMACK (PERKIOMEN VALLEY) » The senior forward kicked off the season with the Wooster field hockey team by scoring a three-goal hat trick in a 14-1 victory over Wells on Sept. 1 in Aurora, N.Y. She had a goal in a 2-1 triumph over Ohio Wesleyan last Wednesday in Wooster, OH. Womack, also a sprinter on the Fighting Scots’ track team, has five goals this season giving her 21 career goals with five assists in 60 games with 44 starts. She earned All-North Coast Athletic Conference firstteam indoor honors in the 4x100 last winter.