RESUMES
OF PREMIER
QUAD CITY
STUDENT ATHLETES
ILLINOIS/IOWA
GREAT QUAD CITY ATHLETES
SCOTT DEOPERE
Ability, Tenacity, Character and Attitude
Scott Deopere
Athletic History
National
Player of Year
and
1st Team
All-American
Scott Deopere
"News Articles"
Selfless
Deopere
One of A Kind
Deopere Named
National Player
Of The Year
Premier Development
League Soccer
NCAA Tournament
2000
Scott Deopere
This Weeks
Argus/Dispatch
"Pacesetter"
Scott Deopere
Chosen For Prestigious
James O'Melia Jr. Athletic Award
Cincinnati Takes
Scott Deopere
In First Round
Scott Deopere
#5 Pick
In First Round
Former
Titan
Scott Deopere Signs
With Cincinnati
Deopere Joins
Mid-Michigan
Bucks
Deopere
Selected in
First Round of
USL Draft
Deopere named national player of the year
By Scott Tappa
of the Northwestern
Scott Deopere thought he was done getting Christmas gifts on Dec. 25.
Then the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh athlete got a phone call Dec. 26, informing him
that he had been named the NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Player of the Year.
Nice gift, even if it was a day late.
"Shocked would be a fair assessment to say," Deopere said Thursday from his
parents' home in Rock Island, Ill. "I couldn't believe it, it really blew my mind.
There are so many great players out there, to be named the top player is a great way to
go."
Maybe Deopere shouldn't have been too surprised with the honor. After all, the senior had
his share of highlights this season, including:
* Breaking the all-time Oshkosh goal-scoring record (74).
* Scoring 26 goals, second-most in Division III this season, ninth-most all-time.
* Scoring 61 points, second-most this season, 13th-most all-time.
* Scoring a school-record 11 goals.
* Scoring two goals and assisting on another in a Sweet 16 win over Trinity.
* Earning All-American and All-Region honors.
* Leading his team to the Division III semifinals.
There aren't too many guys out there that can match that resume.
"Looking at the criteria, I knew he would be strongly considered," said Oshkosh
coach Toby Bares. "Certainly I thought he was very worthy of that honor, and the fact
that he got it is not just a great recognition on his behalf, but it also reflects well on
the entire team and university.
"That makes me feel good about it. Scott is the type that understands this award
isn't just about him, it's about everything we've worked for collectively."
In fact, the collective success the Titans enjoyed this season may have gone a long way
toward making Deopere the best candidate for the award. Deopere's 26 goals looked pretty
good when placed next to a 20-2 record.
"I looked over the history, and over the years, pretty much all of (the players of
the year) were on Final Four teams, or at least Sweet 16," he said. "I mean,
you've got to credit my teammates a lot, they're the ones that did everything, especially
the midfielders, but all the way back to the defense. They got me the ball, I put a few
balls in the net, we won a lot."
Of course, Deopere was also a big reason why the nice feeds from Matt Boehnen, Bill Wick
and Jeremy Arens turned into assists, and why Mark Foster was able to find himself in
position to score 13 goals in his rookie season.
"The thing that put Scott from a very good player to a great player is he made the
rest of his teammates better when he played," said Bares. "That's a very
important distinction. A lot of good players can't or don't have the capacity to do that.
"When he came here he wasn't like that, it wasn't out of selfishness, but he was a
young player learning how to become more of a complete player. The final game of his
career reflected that."
That would be the Trinity game. Playing against the explosive No. 2 team in the nation,
Deopere got things going less than two minutes in, taking a feed from Arens, and finding
Foster in front of the net, giving Oshkosh a lead it did not relinquish.
"Earlier in Scott's career, he would have turned, tried to take on a guy or two,
maybe beat him," said Bares. "With more notoriety, he was getting crowded, and
he worked on dropping it back and sprinting up to get it. That in a nutshell is reflective
of how he got there."
Deopere put an exclamation point on the game with two more goals, the second one salting
away the 3-1 win. It was also the goal on which Deopere tore the lateral meniscus in his
right knee, ending his college career.
His rehabilitation is going well, he said, and the knee will be reevaluated Jan. 9 by Dr.
Patrick McKenzie. Deopere said he expects 100 percent recovery.
With a full recovery, a professional career is not out of the question for Deopere. Bares
said several A League teams have expressed interest, including the Milwaukee Rampage.
"Hopefully getting named player of the year opens some doors for me," he said.
"I have options out there right now, whether it's A League, I don't know how
realistic MLS is. Hopefully professional soccer is in the future."
Deopere is the ninth Oshkosh athlete to earn national athlete of the year honors since
1994. In that time, Titans have been honored in track and field, baseball, women's
basketball and volleyball, most recently indoor track and field athlete Rachel Milligan in
1999.
SCOTT DEOPERE
Telephone (in Oshkosh): 920-232-9893
Telephone Number of Parents in Illinois: (309)
786-0744