Boca GK selected for All-State Showcase
December 2, 2002
Feature article on iHigh.com – Published December 2, 2002.
Boca GK selected for all-state showcase
December 02, 2002, 12:16 PM
Toms River, NJ – Jersey Shore Boca goalkeeper Chris Konopka has been selected to participate in the 2002 Soccer Coaches Association of New Jersey All-State Senior Showcase all-star game to be held on Saturday December 14th at Rutgers University in Camden NJ.
The SCANJ All-State Showcase spotlights the top NJ high school seniors as selected by the high school soccer coaches from throughout New Jersey. Four teams of 20 players each are selected from 4 different regions of the state. The regions include North I, North II, Central and South.
Konopka was named the top goalkeeper by the SCANJ for the Central region which geographic area includes all high schools from Ocean, Monmouth. Middlesex and Mercer counties.
He is only one of six players from the Shore Conference selected for the SCANJ All-State Showcase and only one of three players selected from Ocean County.
Other players from the Shore Conference who were selected include Nick LaBrocca from CBA, Yoni Litwok from Marlboro High School, Eddie Mallue from Brick Memorial High School, Dane Hodge from Neptune High School and Leo Mihalkovitz from Central Regional High School.
Coach Scott Burd from Franklin High School and Stan Williston from North Brunswick High School will coach the Central team which will face the North I side at 2pm.
The Soccer Coaches Association of NJ holds the annual All-State Senior Showcase in connection with their annual All-State Banquet. The 2002 SCANJ All-State Banquet will be held on Sunday, December 15th at 12 noon at the East Brunswick Hilton in East Brunswick, NJ. The 2002 All-State Banquet will the be 34th in the organization’s history.
At the high school level, Konopka is a three-year varsity starter for Coach John Crowley and the Raiders of Toms River East. He was named team co-captain in his senior year.
As a senior he led TRE to a 9-9-2 mark and a berth in the NJSIAA State playoffs. In 20 games Konopka allowed 25 goals for a GAA of 1.25 per game, made 133 saves for a SPG of 6.65, had a save percentage of 84.18% and recorded 4 shutouts.
Konopka finished his 56 game high school career with an overall record of 26-23-7. He allowed only 66 goals and has a career GAA of 1.18. Konopka made 402 saves, had a SPG average of 7.18 and save percentage of 85.90% in his 3 years at TRE.
At the club level, Konopka is a long-time member of the Jersey Shore Boca youth program and was a part of the Boca USL Super Y-League teams for 2002 and 2001. He was named the USL Super Y-League “National Player of the Week” on May 21, 2001 for his 11 save effort against national powerhouse FC Delco.
He is also a current member of the United States Youth Soccer Region I Olympic Development Program team and a four-year member of the New Jersey ODP state team.
Konopka who stands 6’4″ and weighs 200 lbs. was also nominated for the prestigious Adidas ESP program in 2002 and 2001.
Academically Konopka is a 4-year honors student at Toms River East. He has a 3.88 GPA and ranks in the top 20% of his senior class of 469 students. He plans to peruse a computer graphics and design major in college.
Konopka plans to announce his college plans in the near future.
The Jersey Shore Boca soccer club has been in existence for over 20 years and is one of the most respected soccer clubs in New Jersey. The club is based out of Toms River and programs include youth level teams from U11 to U19, a U20-U23 program and men’s “open” team.
Jersey Shore Boca is also one of the newest members of the Premier Development League of the United Soccer Leagues and will begin play in the PDL during 2003. Boca is also a three-year member of the USL’s prestigious elite Super Y-League.
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