Link to NCAA Division II men's soccer statistics
GAFFNEY, S.C. – With the 2011 season coming to a close, the Limestone College men's soccer team has claimed the NCAA Division II Scoring Title after leading the nation with a 3.05 goals per game average.
“We are all very proud of earning this final ranking, especially considering how young a team we were this year” said head coach Eric Alsop. “I think that the most amazing part of this stat is that we didn't have a dominant goal scorer on this year's squad. Our goals came from all areas which made us a very dangerous team to try to defend against.”
Limestone finished third in the country with 58 total goals scored, trailing only National Champion Fort Lewis (61 goals) and Southeast Regional Runner-Up Flagler College (59 goals). However, the Blue and Gold played in six fewer contests than the Skyhawks who surpassed LC in total goals scored with a 3-2 win over Lynn in the National Championship Game while the Flagler Saints scored their 59th goal in their 23rd game.
The Saints benefited from 13 different goal scorers this season while 57 of the team's 58 goals were scored by underclassmen. More specifically, Limestone's freshman class played an important role on a squad that scored three or more goals on 12 separate occasions, netting half of the team's goals after wrapping up the season with 29 combined scores. LC's attacking unit consisted exclusively of freshmen and sophomores.
Sophomore forward Jack Bailey (London, England) led the Blue and Gold with 12 goals, which ranked 31st in the nation, while Conference Carolinas Freshman of the Year Jorge Mackenna (Santiago, Chile) found the back of net on 10 occasions. The Saints featured nine players that scored four or more goals on the year.
Bailey finished the year ranked 29th in NCAA Division II with 30 total points while Mackenna was ranked 54th. Bailey was also ranked 29th with 1.67 points per game and tied freshman midfielder Sam Orritt (Doncaster, England) and sophomore midfielder Calvin Bond (Stirling, Scotland) for 68th in the nation with six assists.
“This is only the beginning of what this team can achieve” concluded Alsop. “I can't wait to get started this spring as we begin to build for the 2012 season and our next run at a championship season”.