Two players came from European countries
Rowan College at Burlington County’s international soccer players, Ismael Guerrero, of Spain, and Jack Hoey, of England, recently signed their National Letter of Intents to Division I program Gardner-Webb University in North Carolina.
“It is very exciting when you get to see your players’ efforts recognized and see them offered opportunities to continue their education and soccer career beyond RCBC,” said RCBC Head Coach Craig Dewar.
Both student-athletes played huge roles for the Barons the past two seasons. During their time at RCBC, the men’s soccer team was ranked as high as 11th in the Junior College Division of the National Soccer Coaches Association of America, and 15th by the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA).
Together, Guerrero and Hoey led the team to the Region XIX championship in 2015. In fall 2016, the Barons soccer program won the Garden State Athletic Conference (GSAC) title, the Region XIX championship (earning outstanding player awards in the tournament — Jack Hoey for defense and Ismael Guerrero for offense), and advanced to the NJCAA District Tournament, where the season fell to Monroe College, the 2016 NJCAA Division I National Runner Up.
Hoey, a midfielder, was a captain for the Barons in 2016. He was ranked the third best player in Region XIX Division I Soccer in 2015 and also earned earn the NJCAA Division I Soccer All-American honor that year. He was named to the All-Region First Team in 2016, and the GSAC First Team in both his freshman and sophomore years with the Barons. Hoey accumulated 65 points during his time with RCBC with 20 goals and 25 assists. In 2016, he was ranked 4th in NJCAA Division I Men’s Soccer with 16 assists, and 25th in the nation for 42 total points.
Guerrero, a midfielder for the Barons, was named to the Region XIX Division I Second Team in 2015 and First Team in 2016, and the GSAC Division I Soccer First Team in 2016. He tallied 73 points with a total of 22 goals and 29 assists. Guerrero was also a leader in NJCAA Division I Men’s Soccer in 2016 with 18 goals (18th in nation), 20 assists (2nd in nation), 56 points (25th in nation), and five game-winning goals (21st in nation), including the winning goal in this year’s Region final.
Both students have earned above a 3.0 GPA and Guerrero, who spoke limited English after arriving from Madrid in fall 2015, is set to graduate with honors this May. At Gardner-Webb, Guerrero plans to study international business and Hoey plans to study exercise science.
