Seven Greyhounds Selected to the SSC Commissioner’s Honor Roll

PORTALES, N.M. — The Eastern New Mexico University men’s soccer team, in its second year of competition, has placed seven players on the 2005 Southwest Soccer Conference Commissioner’s Honor Roll. This is the first year ENMU’s players were eligible for SSC academic honors due to requirements that each nominee must have 24 hours at his current university and have reached sophomore athletic status. Last year, most of Eastern’s players were in their first year at ENMU.

This year, the Greyhounds had more players rewarded for academic success than any other member of the SSC. Eastern’s seven honorees included one senior, plus two juniors and four sophomores. The list featured Eastern’s only senior, Brian Schonberger (MF, Clovis, NM/ Clovis HS), as well as juniors Martin Gallegos (MF, Roswell, NM/Roswell HS) and Keith Vargas (F/MF, Rio Rancho, NM/Rio Rancho HS), and sophomores Ryan Atkinson (MF, Alamogordo, NM/Alamogordo HS), Bryan Jonas (D, New Braunfels, TX/Canyon HS), Marcus Leyva (D, San Angelo, TX/Central HS) and Francisco Roman (MF, El Paso, TX/Cathedral HS).

Overall, 30 players were included on the SSC Commissioner’s Honor Roll. From that list, 11 players were chosen for the SSC All-Academic Team by sports information directors in the conference. Players were selected based upon their accomplishments in academics and athletics. ENMU did not have any All-Academic Team selections this season.

In order to qualify for the SSC Commissioner’s Honor Roll, each player had to earn a 3.20 cumulative grade point average. All qualifying student-athletes who were not chosen for the All-Academic Team were named to the Commissioner’s Honor Roll.

LSC Commissioner’s Honor Roll

Schonberger played in 23 games during his career at Eastern, while majoring in Physical Education and maintaining a 3.26 cumulative GPA. In the third game of 2005, he provided the top performance of his career, as he entered the match off the bench to score a goal and dish out two assists in a 9-0 win over Colorado Christian University. Schonberger contributed a goal in Eastern’s first victory in school history, a 3-1 win over Dallas Baptist University on Aug. 28, 2004.

As a Secondary Education major, Gallegos has achieved a 3.20 cumulative GPA. He has played in 34 of Eastern’s 35 games during the program’s history, including 27 starts. He scored three goals this season, including the game-winner in a hard-fought 3-2 victory over St. Mary’s on Sept. 11. He qualified for the ENMU Athletic Honor Roll during the Fall 2004 semester.

Vargas has successfully attained a 3.36 cumulative GPA, while majoring in Biology. He tied for first on the Greyhound roster with four goals this season. He scored the winning goal in a 3-0 shutout victory over the University of Texas-Permian Basin on Sept. 30. Vargas was on the ENMU Athletic Honor Roll both semesters last year.

While majoring in Biology, Atkinson has achieved a 3.55 GPA. This year, he played in 18 games with 16 starts. His only goal during the season was the first score, and also the game- winner, in Eastern’s 9-0 win over Colorado Christian. In 2004, he played in 14 games, including six starts.

Jonas has played in 34 games (30 starts) in his two seasons at ENMU. He played in 17 games (17 starts) in 2004, then saw action in 17 games (13 starts) this season. He recorded two goals and an assist in 2005. Both goals were scored against Colorado Christian. He has achieved a 3.21 GPA and is undecided about his major. He was named to the ENMU Athletic Honor Roll during both semesters in 2004-05.

Leyva has experienced academic success with a 3.36 GPA, while majoring in Biology. He has provided the Greyhounds with solid defense in 35 games the past two seasons, including 33 starts. This year, he played in 18 games with 16 starts. In 2004, his freshman year, Leyva was named Honorable Mention All-LSC South. He qualified for the ENMU Athletic Honor Roll both semesters during his freshman year.

Taking on a challenging major in Biochemistry, Roman has achieved a 3.6 GPA. In 2005, he started in nine of the 16 games he played. He scored one goal and provided one assist. Roman scored Eastern’s only goal in a loss to St. Edward’s and dished out an assist against the University of the Incarnate Word. In 2004, he played in 19 games (15 starts) and achieved one assist.

The ENMU men’s soccer team was 6-12-2 during its inaugural season in 2004, as the Hounds earned a 3-10-1 record in the highly-competitive Southwest Soccer Conference. This year, with just three juniors and Schonberger as the only senior, the Greyhounds were 4-15-1, including 2-12-0 in the SSC.