Athletics Office
847.635.1753

Related Links
NJCAA
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NJCAA Region IV
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Season Record

Head Coach
Steve Brody
sbrody@oakton.edu

Asistant Head Coach
Dave Adkisson
adkisson@oakton.edu

Assistant Coach
Tony Stavropoulos

Assistant Coach/Goalkeeper
Alan Chalem

Raiders Wrap Up Regular Season, Postseason on Horizon
(October 2010)
The women’s soccer team wrapped up the regular season with a 9-5-1 regular season record after its 0-0 tie against Morton College on Monday, October 11. The Raiders begin postseason play in the NJCAA Region IV Tournament, which begins Saturday, Oct. 23.

In the Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference, the Raiders finished fourth with a 2-3-1 record under head coach Steve Brody. Freshman midfielder Sandra Mendoza (Foreman) leads the Raiders in scoring with 20 points (7 goals, 6 assists). Sophomore goalkeeper Ruby Martinez (Steinmetz) has been stellar in net posting eight shutouts and 79 saves. Her 0.48 goals against average ranks 14th in NJCAA Division I.

Oakton Drops Home Opener
(September 2010)
In its home opener on Wednesday, Sept. 7, Oakton (1-2, 0-2 Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference) dropped a 1-0 decision to Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference opponent Elgin. The Raiders opened conference play with a 2-0 loss to Lake County on Wednesday, Sept. 1.

Oakton kicked off the 2010 season with a 1-0 victory over Joliet on Friday, Aug. 27. Sophomore forward Aurea Mojica scored the lone goal for Oakton. The Raiders have only allowed three goals on the young season.

Making a Better Life
(August 2010)
Former women’s soccer player Deedee Fnu, an immigrant from Cameroon, is driven to become a doctor to ensure what happened to two of her relatives never occurs to anyone again.

Two of her uncles from Africa recently died due to complications from an infection. Fnu said their deaths could easily have been avoided if proper medical care was available for them.

“Losing my uncles was tragic,” she said. “It was very tough to deal with as I was close with them. In the United States, people are lucky to have access to hospitals and be able to receive medicine when they need it. What happened to my uncles inspired me to go into pre-med. If I could save just one person’s life, it would be worth it.”

Fnu came to the United States in 2005 to build a better life and to get her education.

“In Cameroon, it’s a struggle to find jobs and life is very difficult there,” she said. “Life is much easier here in the United States.”

At Oakton, Fnu used soccer as a diversion from worries about her native country. She played the 2007 and 2008 seasons for coach Steve Brody and excelled in the sport as a striker. In 2007, she was the second-leading scorer for the Raiders. The following season, Fnu earned accolades by being named to the Illinois Skyway Collegiate All-Conference Team and the NJCAA Region IV All-Region Team.

“My athletic success gives me a lot of confidence,” she said. “It demonstrated that through hard work and a positive attitude, anything is possible.”

While playing soccer, she also excelled in the classroom. With her 3.82 GPA in 2008, she was recognized as a Distinguished Academic All-American by the NJCAA.

“Athletics taught me important time management skills on how to make time for both study and practice,” Fnu said. “Whenever I didn’t feel like studying, Coach Brody would push me. He always emphasized that academics comes first and he is absolutely right.”

While her playing days for Oakton may be over, Fnu still has some academic requirements to finish – two more classes to earn her associates degree in liberal arts. As she can now fully concentrate on academics, Fnu admits she will miss the camaraderie of her teammates.

“Soccer is still fresh in my mind,” she said. “I had so much fun playing with my teammates and I still keep in touch with many of them. We all pushed each other very hard. We may not have won as many games as we would have liked, but we had great team spirit and gave it our all on the field.

I’m not sure where I will transfer to yet, but I do know that wherever I go, I will play soccer.”

Soccer Alumni Succeeding in Classroom
(June 2010)
Former standout soccer players are demonstrating that they can start at Oakton and “goal” anywhere.

While at Oakton, Anthony Stavropoulos (2007) and Gisela Gomez (2008) boasted impressive athletic resumes that included each being named all-conference and all-region players. Their hard work on the soccer field carried over to the classroom as both can call themselves honors graduates. Stavropoulos graduated this May with a 3.71 GPA from Elmhurst College, while Gomez earned a 3.82 GPA at Loyola University Chicago.

Both Stavropoulos and Gomez say they owe a great deal of their academic accomplishments to Steve Brody, who doubles as both Oakton’s men’s and women’s soccer coach.

“Playing for Coach Brody provided me with a high level of discipline,” said Stavropoulos. “He kept me on my toes and always stressed that academics came before soccer.”

That academic nudging paid dividends for Gomez, who graduated with high honors from Oakton with a 3.78 GPA. While a Raider, she also was honored as a Distinguished Academic All-American by the National Junior College Athletic Association.

“Coach Brody pushes you to not only be a better athlete, but to be an even better student,” said Gomez, who was the leading scorer for Oakton’s women’s soccer team in 2006 and 2007. “He sees your potential and encourages you to always give your all. He’s very supportive and taught me good study habits that helped me not only at Oakton, but at Loyola as well.”

Stavropoulos majored in philosophy at Elmhurst and plans on studying humanities at graduate school in the Netherlands. He also credits Brody for influencing him in other ways.

“He asked me to join his women’s coaching staff as an assistant a few years ago,” Stavropoulos said. “Coach Brody plays a critical role in how I coach. I try to follow his lead to serve as an example for players. When I attend grad school, I plan on pursuing coaching courses.”

Gomez, who earned her bachelor’s degree in social work from Loyola, intends on attending Dominican University in the fall and pursuing a master’s degree in social work.

Other soccer alumni also have recently displayed prowess in the classroom. Christian Davila (2007), a 2010 graduate of University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, has his eyes set on a career as an aerospace engineer. Davila served as an undergraduate research assistant at UIUC’s internationally known aerospace engineering department and aspires to develop models for flight simulation.

“A career in aerospace will allow me to be creative while following my passion for applied physics,” he said.

Making the Saves and the Grades
(September 30, 2008)
Sophomore Kaityln Wiedeman is not only good at hitting the dirt to make saves for the Oakton women’s soccer team, but also is good at hitting the books.

In 2007, Wiedeman made 111 saves in 1,270 minutes as the Raiders goalkeeper, earning the team’s Defensive Player of the Year Award and a spot on the Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference All-Conference Team. Her play also garnered a nomination as a National Junior College Athletic Association All-American.

In the classroom, Wiedeman posted a 3.79 grade point average as a freshman in her liberal arts studies. She also is a member of Phi Theta Kappa, the international honor society for two-year colleges.

“Playing soccer helps me stay disciplined,” Wiedeman says. “When you’re disciplined you can be good at anything.”

Juggling athletics and academics is nothing new for the Morton Grove resident. Wiedeman played goalkeeper all four years while attending Niles West, where she was an honors student who graduated in the top 10 percent of her class. For the Wolves, she posted a school record 24 shutouts from 2004-07, while amassing a miniscule 1.55 goals against average.

With goalkeeping being one of the most pivotal positions in soccer, Wiedeman says she enjoys the pressure that comes with it.

“When you get scored on as a goalkeeper everyone looks at you like you’re to blame,” she says. “However, making great saves makes it all worthwhile. When I make a save, I feel like I’m invincible. It’s the closest thing to flying when I dive and hang in the air. It’s just a great feeling.”

Wiedeman is always looking to hone her craft of making great saves, something she started doing as a youngster on club teams.

“I’m always working on my technique and I got much better at it in high school,” she says. “Now, I work a lot with Coach Brody. Being a former goalkeeper, he’s helped me tremendously to fine tune my skills so I can dive quicker and react better. I’ve never had a coach know so much about the position and that’s really benefited me.”

After Oakton, Wiedeman plans on pursuing a degree in construction management at a four-year university. Her vocational ambition is to help build homes for the underprivileged or those in areas hit by disasters.

While she doesn’t know for sure where the future will take her, she does know one thing for sure.

“I just want to keep on playing soccer,” she says. “I wouldn’t know what to do if I wasn’t playing soccer.”

Flooding Update
(September 18, 2008; updated September 23, 2008)
Home soccer matches will be held at Techny Field in Northbrook, until September 29. The Sept. 29 match will be held at Oakton.

Raiders Drop First Two Matches of the Season
(September 10, 2008)
The Oakton Community College women’s soccer team started the 2008 season with a 7-2 loss to Elgin Community College on Wednesday, Sept. 3, at the Elgin Sports Complex. Freshman midfielder Marijana Kubinek netted both goals for the Raiders. Kubinek’s first score from 24 yards out just before the half cut the Raiders deficit to 3-1. She later scored in the second half on an assist from sophomore striker Mamma Fnu.

On Saturday, Sept. 6, the Raiders opened their home schedule, posting a 2-1 loss to South Suburban. In the first half, Oakton had six breakaway opportunities, but were unable to capitalize on any of those scoring chances.

The Raiders (0-2) next compete against Waubonsee Community College on Wednesday, Sept. 10, in Sugar Grove. The next home game for the Raiders is Saturday, Sept. 13, when they host Carl Sandburg College.

Oakton Matches Postponed
(September 4, 2008)
The Oakton Community College men’s soccer match against Elgin Community College originally scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 4, at the Elgin Sports Complex has been cancelled due to inclement weather. The match has been rescheduled for 3:30 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 7, at the Elgin Sports Complex.

The men’s soccer match against Kennedy-King College originally scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 7, at Oakton also has been cancelled. No make-up date has been announced yet.

Oakton Opens Conference Play with a Victory over Morton
(September 2, 2008)
The Oakton Community College men’s soccer team opened Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference play with a 3-2 home win over Morton College on Tuesday, Sept. 2. Freshman striker Kamil Szepanski tallied two goals and sophomore striker Erwin Cruz scored a goal over the defending Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference champions.

Szepanski scored the game-winning goal unassisted in the 72nd minute. He also scored Oakton’s first goal in the fourth minute on an assist from freshman goalkeeper Matt Laine. Cruz’s goal came in the 33rd minute on an assist by freshman midfielder Biruk Lemma.

The Raiders (4-2, 1-0 Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference) resume play on Thursday, Sept. 11, when they host conference opponent Moraine Valley Community College.

Raiders Hang Tough with National Competition
(September 1, 2008)
Taking on some of the toughest competition in the country, the Oakton Community College men’s soccer team came away with a sixth place finish at the Missouri Junior College Invitational in St. Louis over the Labor Day weekend. Four of the 14 teams at the tournament were nationally ranked.
The Raiders opened the tournament on the short end of a 2-1 score against East Central (Missouri) College on Thursday, Aug. 28. Sophomore midfielder Octavian Curtean scored the lone Oakton goal on an assist from sophomore midfielder Alen Smjecanin.

The next day, the Raiders took their frustrations out on Allen County (Kansas) Community College by posting a convincing 3-0 victory. Freshman midfielder Pablo Perdomo scored in the 14th minute and freshman midfielder Wesley Hollis netted a goal five minutes later. Freshman midfielder Biruk Lemma assisted on both first-half goals. Sophomore striker Erwin Cruz scored the final Oakton tally on a penalty kick in the 71st minute.

n the last day of the tournament, Oakton dropped a 4-3 overtime decision to national powerhouse Jefferson College. After earning a 3-0 advantage, the Raiders broke down defensively. Under the 95-degree heat, Oakton surrendered three unanswered goals in the final 22 minutes of regulation. In the seventh minute of overtime, Jefferson was able to capitalize on defensive errors and score the game winner.

Lemma, on an assist by Curtean, opened the scoring for Oakton by scoring in the sixth minute. Fourteen minutes later, Smjecanin netted a goal on an assist by freshman defender Milan Sokolovic. Sophomore striker Erwin Cruz closed out the scoring for Oakton in the 68th minute on an assist from freshman striker Kamil Szepanski.

Lemma and Cruz were named to the Missouri Junior College Invitational All-Tournament Team.