Danczyk commits to School of Mines

Whitefish High School senior Matt Danczyk has committed to play collegiate soccer with the Orediggers at the Colorado School of Mines in Golden, Colo.

Danczyk played sweeper for the Bulldogs during the 2009 season and helped lead the team to the Class A championship game. He was selected to the 2009 All-State and All-Conference teams.

"I'm really happy for him," Whitefish coach O'Brien Byrd said. "He's the type of player that shows the attributes you need to succeed at the next level. I think he'll do great."

Byrd noted that the School of Mines is an academically challenging institute that is 'very hard to get into."

"Matt is a hard worker on and off the field," Byrd said. "He's hugely successful in the classroom."

Danczyk plans to study engineering at the school. He traveled to Golden recently to tour the college campus and play in a spring soccer scrimmage.

Byrd said Danczky looked at other schools, but the School of Mines was the best fit.

"Colorado's geography is a lot like Montana," he said. "It's a tremendous fit for him."

The Orediggers soccer team finished the 2009 season ranked 18th in the final Division II national poll. They earned a bid to the 2009 NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Championships for the second time in program history and finished the season with a record of 15-3-4 overall and 11-2-1 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.

Head men's soccer coach Frank Kohlenstein was named the 2009 National Soccer Coaches Association of America Mondo Central Region Coach of the Year.