St. John's University Athletics
Wingert Named BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year
11/13/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Nov. 13, 2003
VERNON, CONN. - St. John's University senior defender Chris Wingert (Babylon, N.Y.) was named the BIG EAST Conference's Defensive Player of the Year for the second-straight season, it was announced at a banquet prior to the league's semifinals on Friday night.
The Red Storm, 14-4-1, are the top-seeded team in the league after winning their 11th BIG EAST Championship (combined regular season and tournament) in the last 12 years. They will play fourth-seeded Rutgers in the second of two semifinals on Friday night at 7 p.m. Providence and Notre Dame will meet in the first game.
Wingert was one of six St. John's student-athletes to earn conference honors, including five who earned first-team All-BIG EAST honors. After each member of the team received a trophy for winning the league's regular season title, the major award winners were announced, with graduate student Matia Damiani (Foggia, Italy) being named the league's Midfielder of the Year and Wingert earning defensive honors. Rutgers senior Josh Gros was named the league's offensive player of the year, Notre Dame junior Chris Sawyer was tabbed the league's top goalkeeper and Virginia Tech freshman Ben Nason was selected as the league's rookie of year.
Wingert has been a dominant force in the BIG EAST and in college soccer since his arrival on campus in 2000.
This year, he was tabbed as the league's preseason defensive player of the year and helped St. John's register a league-high nine shutouts and limit conference opponents to eight goals in 10 games. He was named the league's defensive player of the week three times and earned national player of the week honors from both Soccer America and CollegeSoccerNews.com. This week, he was named one of 15 finalists for the Hermann Trophy, which is given annually to the top player in NCAA Division I soccer and is regarded as the sport's version of the Heisman Trophy.
Off the field, he has been equally as successful. A communication arts major with a 3.79 grade-point average, he was named to the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-District I team and is currently on the national ballot. A member of St. John's prestigious President's Society, Wingert was a CoSIDA Academic All-American first team selection in 2002, and earned third team honors in 2001.
He led the Red Storm to the No. 1 national ranking in the country last year as the team went 13-3-5, reached the BIG EAST semifinals and advanced to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament for the seventh-straight year. Wingert was named the BIG EAST's Defensive Player of the Year and earned first-team All-American honors from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America.
In 2001, when St. John's won the BIG EAST Tournament Championship and advanced to the NCAA Final Four with a 17-3-3 record, Wingert was a first-team All-BIG EAST selection. As a freshman, he helped the team to the NCAA Tournament and was a BIG EAST All-Rookie selection.
Damiani, meanwhile, has been a steady player for the Red Storm since his arrival from Italy four years ago. He has been a central figure in the midfield on both the offensive and defensive ends of the field, scoring two goals this season. A first-team CoSIDA Academic All-District first team selection, Damiani was named first-team All-BIG EAST in addition to his major award.
In addition to Damiani and Wingert, junior Chris Corcoran (Marshfield, Mass.), junior Matt Groenwald (Mt. Prospect, Ill.) and senior Simone Salinno (Lucera, Italy) each were named to the BIG EAST first team.
Corcoran, a second-team selection last year, scored two goals and had seven assists for 11 points this season. A second-team CoSIDA Academic All-District selection, Corcoran ranked second on the team in assists and tied for third in scoring. Groenwald, who has overcome three surgeries in the last two years, came back this season and started 17 of 19 games for the Red Storm. The speedy junior, a first-team CoSIDA Academic All-District first team selection this year, has five goals and nine assists for 19 points. He ranks second in the league in assists and among the league leaders in scoring. Salinno, meanwhile, broke out this season, scoring a team-high 12 goals and had three assists for 27 points, which ranked second in the BIG EAST. He had five goals and three assists for 13 points in league games, which ranked second.
Red Storm senior goalkeeper Bill Gaudette (Hummelstown, Pa.) earned second-team All-BIG EAST honors as well. Gaudette has posted a 9-3-1 record this season, with six shutouts and a 0.76 goals-against average. He ranks second in the league in overall GAA, but led the league in conference action with a 0.56 average, allowing only four goals in seven games.