Former University of Florida standout Erika Tymrak has been named the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) Rookie of the year for the 2013 season. Tytmrak (Bradenton, FL) started 16 games and finished with six goals and four assists in 21 appearances for FC Kansas City….Former University of North Florida women’s soccer defender Kristin Lazowick (Parkland, FL) represented Team USA at the 2013 Maccabiah Games in Jerusalem, Israel, helping the U.S. win gold in the women’s open soccer tournament. The U.S. women went 6-0-1, beating Israel, 6-1, in the title match. Lazowick competed for the Ospreys from 2007-2010. Also on the U.S. team was Boca Raton’s Jordyn Richman, who currently plays at Temple University. Five Florida players, Aaron Franco (Golden Beach), Etan Mabourakh (Plantation), Julian Ribak (Miami), Salomon Serfati (Aventura) and Benjamin Wasserman (Tampa) were members of the U.S. Junior Boys Maccabia team…Embry Riddle is ranked #6 in the 2013 preseason women’s NAIA poll, while Northwood is ranked #10. Embry Riddle finished 2012 with a 17-6-0 record, while Northwood was 14-5-1. St. Thomas is #24 in the men’s preseason rankings….Tomer Bitton, a Class of 2014 prospect from Boca Raton, Fla, earned a two-week tryout in August with Israeli soccer power Maccabi-Tel Aviv. Bitton, a Region III ODP midfielder, is a rising high school senior at Boca Raton Community and is co-captain of his Boca United club team…..Dom Dwyer only played 13 games for the Orlando City Lions on loan from Sporting Kansas City. In those 13 games he scored 15 goals. That got him a return ticket to his MLS club and earned him a share of the USL PRO scoring championship. Pittsburgh’s Jose Angulo finished the regular season with 15 to share the Golden Boot award. Dwyer has scored only one goal since returning to Kansas City…..Miami escaped Jacksonville with an overtime victory over the Dolphins in a women’s non-conference match. Ashley Flinn, who also scored the game’s first goal, got the game-winner for the Hurricanes. After going down 2-0, Jacksonville had fought back to get the game into extra time.