SC Soccer Forums SCSoccer.com Forums Boys Varsity Soccer DF'S LUGGER TABBED AS NSCAA/ADIDAS ALL AMERICA

The National Soccer Coaches Assn Of America and Adidas have selected Dutch Fork senior midfielder Corey Lugger to the 2003 NSCAA/Adidas High School All America Team. Lugger is the first DF soccer player to receive this award. He was also named to the All Region, The State Paper's All Area, and All State team after last season. In addition he was selected as the Gatorade Team player of The Year. The 5'9", 160 pound center midfielder has started for 2 years at DF and also plays at Greenville Futbol Club (GFC) where he is coached by Chris Barrett.
http://www.nscaa.com/scripts/runisa.dll?m2:gp::14028+article+64994

Great news for Corey, but where is he going to college? Seems to be some higher profile players this year (if he's heading to D2).

Cola Fan...Not sure what you mean by "Seems to be some higher profile players this year (if he's heading to D2)" but I know that Corey has several offers to attend both in state and out of state D1 schools. He is currently finalizing his discussions with those schools and will be making a decision on where he will go in the next several weeks.

WOW!!!!! Hope this helps DF get over the hump. So is he also the Gatorade POY and Adidas POY? All-American uh. Pretty good. Must be a heck of a player. What number was he last year? Was he one of the ones a few years back that wanted to get rid of the coach out there? Good honor for the Duth Fork Program!

Wow, I've never even heard of this kid. I thought that the kid from Mauldin (Arrieta) or Christ Church (Charowksi) would have gotten an award like this. I hope Lugger is DI, if not this looks bad for SC soccer. Anyways, congratulations and hope that he lives up to it.

Money talks!

Spoton WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!!!!! We all know by now that Dreher has 11 All-Americans and that Columbia will rule the entire soccer world taking over as the new REAL MADRID or should I say REAL DREHER!!!!!!!!! Please please take your OWN advice!!!!!!!!

Mr. or Mrs. Shearer, I don't know if Dreher has 11 All-Americans, but the Blue Devils should be very good this year. I expect Dreher to challenge Myrtle Beach for the AAA Lower State championship. They'll also get some tough competition from West Florence and B-C, but are probably a little too experienced for those teams next spring. Go Devils!

yea yea yea,like spoton says Money talks! I guess well just have to wait and see!

Shearer, your comments and innuendo-like insults have no place on this message board. You are detracting from the honor bestowed on Corey for years of hard work and dedication to the sport of soccer. It is an honor that all of us in South Carolina should be proud of. This link was clearly established for that purpose--not to take jabs at players or coaches.

I say congratulations to Corey on an outstanding accomplishment that is a testament to your dedication and fervor for the sport of soccer.

Not trying to say Dreher will be bad but they cannot have that many super duper players if they lost to Cardinal Newman. Even though it was in pk, they were still beaten by a very small school.

zidane - at least they pay their bills!

Mr Landerneau or who ever you are, My comments were directed towards someone taking "shots" at the selction of Corey! I merely said that I was not familar w/ him but DID congratulate him and the DF program!( which I am sure you have a lot to do with)

LE dude WOW thanks I guess times they are a changing!

Congrats to wayne and Corey! Well Done! Good luck this spring! Where is he going to school? Are the in-state schools looking at him?

Congrats

will

Anyone else have comments about the awards this year?

This award has become somewhat of a joke over the past few years. Look at the player who got it last year. Costanza from Wando. NOT the best player in the state last year. Especially when you have players like Jeff Taylor, and Saul Stoner around. Can't even compare to those two. Lugger is a very average player. Not bad, but definately not the best in SC. Arrieta and Charowski are on a different level. I don't know who decides these awards but it shows how politics can affect this state's soccer reputation.

First of all, “lexsoccer”, if you are going to post and publicly denounce an award and the associated process as being a joke or political, please get your facts straight. John Cooper was the NSCAA All American selection and state player of the year for last year (2002). I believe Costanza won the Gatorade player of the year. Different award, different selection process.

It is usually humorous and entertaining to read and to try to understand some of the subject lines and responses to various soccer topics on this forum. However, when you begin to see what appears to be derogative commentary toward a dedicated player of Corey’s caliber, whom certain posters admit to knowing nothing about, I fail to see the humor or logic. I do not know the specific names, but I do know for a fact that there were multiple players submitted for this award by the South Carolina coaches. I am assuming Charowski, Arrieta and Carlisle, at a minimum, were submitted based upon the fact that they won other NSCAA awards or were named to the Region 3 South team.

The specific selection criteria utilized by the NSCAA committee, to my knowledge is not published, but I do know, based upon watching the best of these players perform in both high school and interstate and region elite/premier league competition for many years (I have first hand witnessed many games head-to-head with Charowski and Arrieta), that Lugger was more than worthy of consideration. He is certainly much more than an “average player” as noted by “lexsoccer”. Awards of this nature, I am sure, are not meant to be decided solely by who scores the most goals during the high school season, especially if defenders and mid-fielders are to be given consideration. Other factors including work ethic both on and off the field, commitment to soccer, consistency, club experience and performance, high school performance and overall soccer resume as well as academic standing are critical factors. If this is in fact the nature of the award and if you compare Lugger’s experience and performance, as part of the GreenvilleFC U18 club team, I believe you will find his credentials to be outstanding as are those of many of his club teammates. Most of these players, who you may not know by name, do not spend a lot of time on these chat lines. They, for the better part of the last five years, have quietly committed a significant part of their lives to practicing, traveling, and competing at a national level. If you were to talk to them, it would be clear that they do it for their love of the game and the competition and not necessarily for personal recognition.

If certain individuals (they know who they are) would like to get informed, they should investigate the accomplishments of that group over the past five years. If they take a look, especially as it pertains to play at the State Cup Challenge level and also out of state in regional league play and national tournaments, they might get a feel for the very high level and caliber of competition Lugger and the rest of that team have been exposed to, consistently, for many years. The team, in Summerville this past weekend, won it’s 7th consecutive state Challenge Cup (Against Arrieta’s team where Lugger scored the winning goal) and has been ranked as high as 11th in the nation via the various polls that exist. I can guarantee you that experience base and resume along with the high school recognition Corey received as a junior, noted in Coach Quinlan’s post (all-Region, all-Area, all-State, Gatorade Team player as well as Super 18), were part of the overall decision making process as it pertains to the All-American award and the nomination to the Region 3 South team as well as his selection as the 2003 NSCAA Adidas Player of the year for South Carolina.

More importantly, the coaches, both in club and high school, know who he is and what he is capable of in terms of soccer performance. Several have been critical to his development and are undoubtedly the individuals currently supporting him as he decides what college he will attend. I do know that he has several D1 offers, and that he is definitely D1 bound as are many of his teammates on the GreenvilleFC U18 club team.

We often times talk about the gap that South Carolina must close to stay in stride with some of the more leading edge states as it pertains to soccer. I wish people would get better informed so as to support the state in this endeavor rather than promoting the sometimes idiotic commentary seen in some of these posts. It is one thing to believe that a player might not be worthy of an award because, in someone’s infinite wisdom, they don’t recognize their name or think, based upon having seen them once or twice in a high school game, that they are an “average” player. It is another to publicize those views as part of a thread specifically originated to congratulate and celebrate success, especially when those views are borne out of a limited knowledge base.

To follow a few of the other posters, I also say congratulations to Corey on an outstanding accomplishment and encourage him to keep up the great work!! He and his club teammates have helped to bolster the view of elite level soccer in South Carolina and I wish him the best of luck as he moves on to college to pursue the next level of soccer development and challenges.

Campagnolo,

That was an awesome post and should put this debate to rest until the HS season when we can all judge for ourselves whether or not Corey is worthy. My money is on Corey.

Thanks for the information! Seems to be a pretty solid choice (all of them were come to think of it). Campagnolo, if you're ever in the Shandon area for a cycle ride, let me know. Congrats again!

Congratulations on receiving the award. It is good to see someone from the Midlands receiving it. Good luck in the upcoming soccer season. It is going to be difficult to beat Irmo in your region. Should be a good season for the spectators.

Campagnolo,

I've been here for about four years now..back to the days when this place was a joke (No offense to the old board..but there was NO order at all). And I have to agree with Wayne. We need people like you around here. Stick around.

John Eggert won the award last year, not John Cooper. Anyway, with any selection process there will be debate, which is OK and goes along with the territory. Corey is certainly a deserving candidate. Corey has worked to make himself in to a good player. He's done this by improving himself in every component of the game- technically, physically- he travels to Greenville to play on the best team,played yleague, ODP, etc..., so it is not a joke that he won this honor. Obviously Tomek's omission raises some eyebrows. He was the golden boot winner after Atlanta won Nationals and has already committed to Duke. Maybe that fact that he has not played club in SC since he was U14 had something to do with it. His current stint is with the Dallas Texans. Having said that, Corey may not be the biggest or fastest guy out there, but he is one good soccer player that can play with anybody on anyday. I don't smell anything political here. Congrats Lugger.

DEXTER...Nice post. I checked my information out pretty thoroughly before posting earlier and if you visit the NCSAA website, under the "Awards" section, you will find John Cooper listed as both an Adidas All-American and a State Player of the Year for 2002. I am pretty sure that Eggert was selected as a MacDonald's All-American. Apparently it is a separate selection and occurs later in the spring. Not a big deal, just wanted to clarify.

You're right. Egg was McDonalds but there had to be a player between Corey and Cooper. Cooper graduated 2 years ago. Was it Constanza?

Dexter...I agree with you but when I look at the NSCAA site Cooper is the name they list under their announcements for 2002. I took another look and couldn't find any additional information. It may remain a mystery unless someone else has input.

I have read the posts on this thread and have received comments from others on this award.

I would like to congratulate Corey Lugger of Dutch Fork on this prestigious award as well as those other outstanding players that were nominated. They are all very deserving prep players and will represent our state well this spring and in the future!

lugger is good and all but he is going to play good competition in his region with irmo, sumter some teams will make him look bad but he will take care of business against the teams he should

I have been reading responses to this post for some time now. I think the reason so many people don't know about Corey and think other high profile players should have got it instead of him boils down to one thing...goals scored. It just amazes me because I know there have to be some very high soccer IQ people that come to this site.
We all love a game that averages 1.5 goals at the highest levels. It is a game that the higher the level gets, the harder it is to score. Soccer is all about defense, always has and always will. We seem to understand goal keepers, sweepers and backs as defenders but what a vast number of the posters dont understand is that Corey Luger is the best defensive midfielder you will see this year. Come watch Dutch Fork play this year and watch the oppossing central midfielders get stuffed. He may not score 35 goals, but all good coaches know you must have a great sweeper and a great Defensive midfielder and Corey is the best I have seen...bar none