ALTOONA, Pa. - Penn State Altoona men's soccer coach John Parente and his staff will hold its annual Residential Soccer Camp beginning Wednesday, June 24, and concluding Friday, June 26 at Spring Run Stadium on the Penn State Altoona campus.  The three-day camp is intended for boys interested in playing competitive soccer beyond high school.  Players will train to improve individual skill development and fitness levels as they prepare for their own upcoming soccer seasons.  Campers will experience sessions similar to the Penn State Altoona men's soccer pre-season workout program, highlighted by short and full sided games in the evenings.  The $175 registration fee includes meals, housing, and a camp t-shirt.  For more information or to register for the 2009 Penn State Altoona Residential Soccer Camp, call or e-mail Coach Parente at 814-949-5159 or jmp296@psu.edu.

ALTOONA and WASHINGTON, Pa. - The Penn State Altoona men's and women's soccer teams and women's volleyball team enjoyed successful outings during their day of spring competition this past weekend.

Head coach John Parente's men's soccer squad emerged victorious at the Washington & Jefferson Classic on Sunday, going 2-0-2 and winning the title on a tiebreaker.  Rich Hopewell (Malvern, PA/Great Valley) was named the Classic MVP.

The Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference champion women's soccer team won the women's portion of the W&J Classic Sunday afternoon, sporting a 3-0-1 record en route to the crown. Meredith Barcia (New Canaan, CT/New Canaan) won Classic MVP honors.

At the Adler Gym, head coach Phil Peterman and the Lion volleyball team played six matches Saturday, going 4-2 on the afternoon.  Altoona battled AMCC foe Mount Aloysius as well as a Penn State Altoona alumni team consisting of many players from the 2006 conference championship squad.

ALTOONA, Pa. - For the first time in program history, the 2007 Penn State Altoona men's soccer squad received the National Soccer Coaches Association of America Team Academic Award, the NSCAA announced last week.

The annual honor goes to teams with a combined grade point average of 3.0 or better for an entire academic year.  Last season, head coach John Parente's Lions posted a team GPA of 3.10 for the fall 2007 and spring 2008 semesters.

Altoona was one of only 102 men's squads at the Division I, II, and III levels that received the distinction.  An additional 259 women's teams including Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference members Frostburg State and La Roche also were honored.

Penn State Altoona also became the first men's team from the AMCC to win the award.  The Lions finished the 2007 season with a program record 16 victories and advanced to the semifinals of the Eastern College Athletic Conference South Region Championship.

To view the full list of team award recipients, visit the NSCAA website at http://nscaa.com/articles/20081119120007383.php.

PITTSBURGH, Pa. - Five Penn State Altoona men's soccer players were named to the 2008 Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference Men's Soccer All-Conference team, the league office announced Tuesday. 

Juniors Tim Morris (Altoona, PA/Altoona) and Will Gray (Collegeville, PA/Perkiomen Valley) collected second team honors, while classmate Rich Hopewell (Malvern, PA/Great Valley), sophomore Geremy Graham (Doylestown, PA/Central Bucks East), and freshman Nick Giffen (Ashburn, VA/Stone Bridge) earned honorable mention accolades.

Morris, making his second appearance on the AMCC postseason award list, also earned second team honors as a freshman in 2006.  This season, he scored one goal and dished out four assists in 17 games. 

Gray, who will transfer to University Park next year, played and started all 19 games in the midfield and served as a team captain for head coach John Parente's squad.  It was his first-ever AMCC all-conference nod.

Hopewell, who battled injury for most of the season, appeared in 14 games in which he scored three goals and recorded an assist. 

Graham and Giffen, both new to the Penn State Altoona program in 2008, enjoyed stellar inaugural seasons at the forward position.  Graham, a Shippensburg University transfer, led the squad in scoring with five goals and three assists (13 points) and notched the game-winning score in a 3-2 OT victory at Franciscan.  Giffen was the team's second leading scorer, tallying four goals and an assist (9 points), on only 13 shots.

Penn State Altoona finished the season at 5-10-4 overall and fell in the first round of the league playoffs to La Roche College.

To view the entire 2008 AMCC Men's Soccer All-Conference team, visit www.amcconf.org.

ALTOONA, Pa. - Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference standout Reuben Jolo headed home the only goal in the 60th minute pushing La Roche past Penn State Altoona 1-0 Saturday evening in the opening round of the league men's soccer playoffs at Spring Run Stadium.

The Redhawk score happened after a foul just outside the right box.  La Roche's Greg Ceravolo lofted a free kick to the front of the net, and Jolo knocked it past Lion goalkeeper Chris Bolea (Harmony Township, PA/Ambridge) to send the #5 seeded Redhawks to the AMCC semifinals.

Altoona, which held a 16-5 advantage in shots and had a handful of good scoring opportunities, concluded its season at 5-10-4 overall.

The Lions out-shot La Roche 10-2 in the first 45 minutes and held a 9-1 advantage on corner kicks by game's end.  Redhawk keeper Jonathan Happel made three spectacular saves to preserve the shutout.  Bolea finished with two saves for Penn State Altoona.

Both teams were whistled for three offsides violations, and a combined 38 fouls and one yellow card were assessed.

La Roche, which also defeated the Lions 1-0 in regular season action on October 8, moves on to face top-seeded Medaille College on Wednesday, November 5.