Two Tide Who Made Off-season News

Raphael Cox.

It was more than just Ciaran O'Brien (TFC 2007) who made news this Tacoma off-season. Did you see these stories when they first came out?

Raphael Cox was featured in the Tacoma Weekly last September:

"I really wanted to go to a big college and my grades weren't quite good enough," Cox said. "I played for a small club team and we did well, but it wasn't one of the big, power names in club soccer. I didn't score a lot of goals, I was just kind of like the behind-the-scenes guy."

At Highline, he led his team to the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges title and was named to the league's all-star team. Colleges started to take note of the 5-foot-7-inch midfielder.

"The next season, I sat out because I got offers from Seattle (University) and Seattle Pacific," he said. "I figured, 'Why play when I've already got a sure thing playing, and the coaches (at Highline) were generous enough to let me train with the team that year."

Eric Anton (left, #6)

Eric Anton was named Patriot League "Offensive Player of the Year" as Colgate won the crown.

Senior Eric Anton, who was later named the Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year, stepped up and netted the penalty kick for his fifth goal of the season. After taking the lead, the Raiders defense, led by senior Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year Dan Belke and junior goalie David Cappuccio, looked to keep its one-goal advantage intact. Bucknell prevented that from happening though when Mark Schmiegel scored from ten yards out, tying the score in the 79th minute. Both teams had their fair share of chances at the end of regulation and in both overtimes, but it would take an exciting penalty kick shootout to determine the winner.