NCC Spotlight: Soccer's Jacob Muszczynski

North Central College men's soccer student-athletes Jake Muszczynski, Paul Box and Michael Curtis were honored by the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin last week with selections to the 2011 all-conference team.

Muszczynski earns a spot on the first team while Box and Curtis both earn selections to the second team — the first time since 1997 the Cardinals have had three All-CCIW selections.

Muszczynski headlines the Cardinal honorees. The sophomore forward led the team in goals (eight) and points (18) and added three game-winning goals. Five of his eight goals came during the conference slate, including a first half hat-trick against Millikin University on Oct. 1.

finished the season 10-5-2 overall and 2-3-2 within the conference, posting its first winning season since 1999.

Congratulations, Jake, on your selection to the CCIW First Team. What's the honor mean to you? Getting chosen for the first team was incredible. It is such an honor to be recognized as an elite player in such a tough conference as the CCIW. Moving up into the forward position from the midfield was a quite a change for me, and I am just grateful to my team for helping adapt into the new position. Without my team and them putting the ball into the right places, I would have never been recognized on the CCIW all-conference team.

You also led the team in goals and points. Was that a preseason goal or a postseason surprise? To put it simply, a striker's job is to score goals, so scoring was clearly a priority of mine. As for preseason goals, I was hoping for double-digit goals this season. Unfortunately, I got stuck at eight, so I can't wait to get back on the field next season.

Finish this sentence. You're only a sophomore but... I'm only a sophomore, but I don't let my age affect my confidence. I go into every game telling myself I am the best player out on the field, and although I may have two years left in my career, now is the time to get it done. Secondly, I am only a sophomore, but I know how much of an impact I have on the other players on our team, especially upperclassmen; the better I play, their game gets elevated as well and our team is positively impacted as a whole unit.

Non-soccer fans make fun of the size of the game's goals and the low-scoring nature of the game. How do you explain this part of the game to people? Although the job of the offense is to put the ball in the back of the net, the defense is there to prevent that. So even going to see a team like Barcelona with the best offense in the world, if they are playing a very defensive, organized side, the score is going to be low, but the quality of soccer will be at an exceptionally high level. Soccer is the world's sport, so although there may not be a score of 27-14 like a football match, this classy sport can still be appreciated during a low-scoring game.

What's your personal juggling record? Does this skill translate to the game and have you ever used it to score? Personally, I am not the best juggler. My record is probably in the 50's or 60's. It is quite rare to see me doing "around the worlds" or catching the ball in between my shoulder blades, but it is a skill that directly translates to the game and helps you with your touch on the ball. You see this with a player like Michael Lenzi, a sophomore on our team, he constantly juggles in training which translates to his phenomenal touch as he is dicing players up with moves like the stepover and the double scissors. Juggling is definitely a skill all young players should acquire.