MCC well represented on All-Region 21 teams

MANCHESTER, CT – Manchester Community College sophomores Frank Busumbru (South Windsor), Hami Kara (Wethersfield), Mariusz Kurzatkowski (Southington) and freshman Giuseppe Panajia (Glastonbury) were named to the 2009 NJCAA Division III All-Region Team. Teammates Ken Rossignol (Manchester) and Daniel Boateng (East Hartford), both sophomores, were second team selections.

Busumbru had six goals and six assists in his second season at MCC and closed out his junior college career with 31 points (10 goals, 11 assists). Kara led all Division III goalkeepers with a 0.25 GA, allowing just four goals over 19 games (1466 minutes). The 2008 Wethersfield High grad made 146 saves while playing all 19 games for the 16-2-1 Cougars.

Kurzatkowski was a two-time All-Region first team selection, leading the team in scoring with 13 goals and 3 assists this fall. In 2008, Kurzatkowski had 45 points (17 goals , 11 assists) and participated in the NJCAA Division III National Championship Tournament in Richland, TX. Panajia was an outside force on the left flank for the Division III Region 21 Champions, scoring 10 goals and assisting on seven others.

Rossignol, a 2008 Cheney Tech grad, anchored the Cougar defense while setting up six of the team’s 50 goals. Boateng was a two-year starter for Head Coach Jim Insinga (ten seasons, 115-61-9)

MCC successfully defended its Division III Region 21 title with back to back, 3-0 victories in the tournament held in Manchester on October 31st and November 1st. The Cougars lost to Nassau C. C.1-0 in the District 3 Championship in Garden City, NJ on November 7th. MCC was ranked seventh in the final NJCAA Division III National Poll in 2009, went unbeaten in Region 21 play (16-0-1) and will carry a 27-game Region 21 winning streak into the 2010 season.