Video: Juniors Signing Ceremony

Sporting Kansas City held a special signing ceremony on Wednesday at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park for the SKC Juniors who have signed their National Letters of Intent to play college soccer this fall. Check out the video below to see footage from the event and hear from DOC Jon Parry, as well as future SMU Mustang Derek Schrick.

For more on Wednesday's gathering, check out Thad Bell's article on Examiner.com -- the first of several more on the Sporting KC Juniors youth development academy.

Miller an All-American

Congratulations to former Sporting Kansas City Juniors player and current Rockhurst senior captain Kyle Miller, named an NSCAA/Continental Tires NCAA Men's Division II All-American and All-Midwest selection. Miller anchored a Hawks' defense which allowed only seven goals during the 2011 season, fewest in the nation, and helped the team reach the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals this year.

The Overland Park, Kansas native was also named to the Daktronics All-America Second Team and Daktronics All-Region First Team. He also got a mention in the sports section of Saturday's Kansas City Star!

SKC Juniors in College Ranks

Last week, we took a look at the high school seasons for active U16 and U18 SKC Juniors players. Today, we catch our readers up on the collegiate seasons that several former Sporting Kansas City Juniors are now enjoying...

Division 1:
The Oral Roberts Golden Eagles concluded the season with a 13-6-1 overall record after falling 2-1 to Western Illinois in the championship of the Summit League. Juniors products Tom Adams and Paul Oliver helped propel ORU to the conference finals, appearing in 14 and 16 games respectively and each tallying six points on the year. Oliver gave ORU the 1-0 lead in the 33rd minute of the championship match this past weekend, but it wasn’t enough to earn the victory.

Christian Duke and San Diego University lost their season finale to St. Mary’s who went on to win the West Coast Conference. Duke started 17 games this season, notching three assists on the year to help SDU earn a .500 record of 9-9-1.

Wright State’s 1-0 victory on November 5th ended Butler’s season with a 7-8-3 record. However, Sporting Kansas City Juniors alumni Brandon Fricke earned individual honors. The redshirt freshman defender started 15 of the 16 games he appeared in for the Bulldogs this year and earned Academic All-District recognition. This selection deems Fricke eligible for the 2011 Capital One Academic All-America Team.

Asher Herbet played 16 games this year for Long Island University who ended their season on November 5th with a 3-0 loss on Senior Day to Fairleigh Dickinson.

Four Sporting Kansas City Juniors alumni were able to impact the University of Missouri Kansas City this fall. Konnor Knoll, Jordan Rideout, and Jimmy Simon each played in 17 games this year, while Michael Oakley made 16 appearances. Rideout started each of the 17 games he played in while Oakley started in each of the 16 games he played. Rideout tallied a team leading seven goals and 14 points this season and earned Newcomer of the Year and first-team all-conference honors. Oakley also earned a spot on the All-Newcomer Team after being the rock of the UMKC defense all season long. Knoll also tallied a game-winning goal and an assist on the season.

St. Louis Billikens dropped their season finale 2-1 in double overtime against Charlotte for their third OT loss this season. Sporting Kansas City Junior Raymond Lee started 17 games for the Billikens and totaled nine points this year with four goals and one assist.

Will Witherspoon played 18 games this year for Virginia Tech, who ended their season with a 1-0 loss to NC State in the ACC Tournament on November 7th.

Ohio State posted a 10-7-2 overall record, and came in second among Big Ten schools this fall. But Marques Mayoras and the Buckeyes fell to #7 seed Penn State in the quarterfinal round of the Big Ten Tournament in their final contest of 2011. Mayoras appeared in four matches during his freshman campaign.

Peter O’Neill started 20 games for Northwestern clocking 1,792 minutes to date for his senior season. O’Neill helped the Wildcats earn an 11-4-5 record, scoring one goal and adding five assists this season. NU finished atop the Big Ten at the conclusion of league play and won the Big Ten Tournament Title by beating Penn State in a come from behind 2-1 victory in the tournament finals. O’Neill scored the game-tying goal for Northwestern on a penalty kick. Northwestern will now face defending College Cup champions Akron in the first round of the NCAA tournament on Friday, November 17th.

Division 2:
Eric Hymer appeared in 12 games for Fort Hays State University, which finished their season with an 11-5-2 record. The season was the first for FHSU in school history and was highlighted by a ten-game unbeaten streak.

Eric Moore, Taylor Vinnage, Kyle Miller, and the rest of the Rockhurst squad boast a 17-2-2 overall record. Miller has started each of the 19 games so far for the Hawks, scoring one-goal and adding two assists. The Hawks are set to play in the Division II NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals on November 19th in Millersville, Pa.

NAIA:
Baker University and Leath Hamil host Oklahoma Wesleyan in the NAIA Men’s Soccer National Championship opening round on November 19th. Baker is 17-1-1 thus far with Hamil appearing in 18 of their 19 games this season.

Former Juniors Roundup

Sporting Kansas City has several Juniors academy products continuing their soccer careers in college programs across the country. Click here to see the full list from August with background information on each player and then check below for the latest update on some of the top performers thus far in 2011...

• Tom Adams (Oral Roberts) -- Scored in 83rd and 88th minutes of 4-0 victory over UNO earlier this month. Now has three goals, second most on squad, in 12 games played.
• Christian Duke (San Diego) -- Recorded three assists in back-to-back wins over Penn and Manhattan in September. His three assists are second most on the team in 12 games played. Click here to see a postgame interview with Christian.
• Brandon Fricke (Butler) - Defender scored game-tying goal for Bulldogs to help them win the Dayton Marriott Classic in September. Has one goal and one assist in 12 games played.
• Konner Knoll (UMKC) -- Scored first career collegiate goal in 3-1 win over Eastern Illinois on Saturday. He now has one goal and one assist in 12 games played.
• Raymond Lee (SLU) -- The Billikens' leading scorer has four goals and one assist, and has started all 12 games for Saint Louis.
• Kyle Miller (Rockhurst) -- Has one assist in 11 starts for the Hawks.
• Paul Oliver (Oral Roberts) -- Has two assists in 12 games played for the Golden Eagles.
• Peter O'Neill (Northwestern) -- Has started all 14 games for the Wildcats, recording three assists.
• Jordan Rideout (UMKC) -- Started all 12 games for the Roos and leads team with two goals, including a free kick from 40 yards out on Saturday in their 3-1 win.
• Jimmy Simon (UMKC) -- Teammates with Knoll and Rideout, Jimmy has one goal in 12 games played this season.

Juniors Products in College Soccer

Sporting Kansas City is starting a new feature to keep track of our Juniors products that are now college athletes! Player information will be updated throughout the 2011 NCAA/NAIA Men's Soccer season.

Below is the list of players, complete with background information on each former Sporting Kansas City Juniors player...

• Kyle Miller- Kyle is a redshirt senior at Rockhurst University where he is an Accounting/Finance major. He plays at the midfield position where he has made 53 starts for the team. He has recorded two goals and six assists. In 2010, he became a medical redshirt after playing in two matches.

• Peter O'Neill- Peter is a senior at Northwestern University where he is a Political Science major with a minor in Business Institutions. He plays at the midfield position. In 2008, he was a Big Ten All-Freshman Team selection. He appeared in 19 matches, starting six. In 2009 he appeared in 20 matches, starting four. He was selected to be an Academic All-Big Ten. In 2010 he appeared in 18 matches, starting 17. He ranked third on the team with four assists, was named to the all-tournament team at the NIU adidas/Magnuson Inn Invitational, and was once again Academic All-Big Ten.

• Jimmy Simon- Jimmy is a senior at the University of Missouri-Kansas City where he is a Pharmacy major. He plays the forward position. He started his career at Rutgers University where he appeared in eight games, with three starts as a freshman. He primarily played as a defender during his time at Rutgers. In 2009, for the University of Missouri-Kansas City, Jimmy appeared in 19 games, making 12 starts. He tied for second on the team with three assists. In the Summit League Conference, Jimmy tied for fourth with assists (3), and 10th in assists per game (.16). He was charged with one yellow card during the season. In 2010, he was a first-team All-Summit League selection. He led the team with seven goals. In the Summit League Conference he ranked second in scoring, and third in points (15). In addition, Jimmy earned Academic All-League and Commissioner's List of Academic Excellence.

• Christian Duke- Christian is currently a junior at the University of San Diego. He plays the the midfield position. In 2009, as a freshman, he appeared in 2 games for the Torreros. In 2010, as a sophomore, he played in 17 matches, making 15 starts. He was named All-WCC honorable mention.

• Laeth Hamil- Laeth is a junior at Baker University where he plays the defender position.

• Alex Sweetin- Alex is a junior at Saint Louis University. He plays the midfield position, and has not declared a major. In 2009, as a freshman, Alex was on the A-10 preseason All-Rookie Team, and was apart of CollegeSoccerNews.com's "100 Freshman To Keep an Eye On." After the season he was named Athletic 10 Conference Rookie of the Year. He was also named to TopDrawerSoccer.com's Rookie "Team of the Season." In 2010, as a sophomore, he was a preseason A-10 All-Conference pick. After the season he was named as a Second-team All-Atlantic 10 Conference selection. He tied for the team lead with eight points (2G, 4A). He was second on the team with his four assists.

• Patrick Foglio- Patrick is a freshman at William Jewell College. He plays the forward position. The William Jewell College Athletics' website states that the reason he attended William Jewell College was for the, "Great Biology program and soccer."

• Brandon Fricke- Brandon is a redshirt freshman at Butler University. He plays the defense position, and did not see action in the 2010 season because he redshirted.

• Taylor Vinnage- Taylor is a sophomore at Rockhurst University where he is a Business major. He plays as a goalkeeper. In his only appearance in 2010 he recorded a shutout against Indianapolis. He had four saves in Rockhurst's 2-0 victory.

• Tom Adams- Tom is a freshman at Oral Roberts University. He plays the forward position.

• Asher Herbet- Asher is a freshman at Long Island University where he is a Biology major. He plays the midfield position.

• Konnor Knoll- Konnor is a freshman at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. He plays the defender position, and has yet to decide on a major.
  

• Marques Mayoras- Marques is a freshman at the Ohio State University. He plays the midfield position. Head Coach John Bluem said about Marques on Ohio State's athletic website that, "Marques is an intelligent player who excels at positional sense and keeping possession in the midfield. He is very talented and we look forward to getting him into the program."

• Eric Moore- Eric is a freshman at Rockhurst University where he plays the midfield position.

• Michael Oakley- Michael is a freshman at the University of Missouri-Kansas City where plays the defense position.

• Paul Oliver- Paul is a freshman at Oral Roberts University where he plays the midfield and defense positions.

• Jordan Rideout- Jordan is a freshman at the University of Missouri-Kansas City where he is majoring in Business. He plays the forward position.

• Will Witherspoon- Will is a freshman at Virginia Tech University where he plans on majoring in University Studies. He plays the forward position. So far in 2011, he has played in one match for the Hokies.

• Raymond Lee- Raymond is a freshman at Saint Louis University where he plays the midfield position. In St. Louis's season opener, Raymond scored the team's only goal in the 58th minute in a 2-1 loss to Northern Illinois.