O'Connor Joins Team Stars & Stripes for Tazon de Estrellas

TEAM STARS & STRIPES FACE TEC MONTERREY ALL-STARS IN TAZON DE ESTRELLAS

Date: Saturday, December 19
Kickoff: 12pm local / 1pm EST
Venue: Tec de Monterrey Campus Estado de Mexico
Internet: Webcast at www.GlobalFootball.com
Results: www.facebook.com/TazonDeEstrellas

Dickinson College wide receiver Patrick O'Connor (Exton, Pa./Downingtown East) will take the field on Saturday with Team Stars and Stripes for Tazon de Estrella. O'Connor is the all-time leading receiver at Dickinson, holding school records for career receptions 167 and receiving yards (2,548). He set a Centennial Conference record in 2008 with 1,324 receiving yards with a school record 81 catches.

The Series: This is the first Tazon de Estrellas, but a NCAA DIII all-star team has faced a Mexican all-star team on 11 previous occasions in the Aztec Bowl from 1997 to 2007. The U.S. team led that series 10-1. Prior to that format beginning in 1997, Mexico had a record of 11-14-1 in 26 Aztec Bowls dating back to 1947. Opponents in those games were a mixture of junior colleges, NCAA and NAIA schools, military and international teams.

The last time: When the US all-star team faced Mexico in 2007, the Americans won 37-19 in the Estadio Olimpico Universitario in Chihuahua.

Team Stars & Stripes: 52 players selected from NCAA DIII colleges in the United States.

Tec Monterrey All-Stars: 30 players from Campus Monterrey, 15 from Campus Estado de Mexico and Toluca and 10 from Campus Ciudad de México. The full Tec roster can be found at http://triptonito.itesm.mx/dial/borregos/itesm.html.

Game production: Monterrey Tec and Global Football Inc, a Granbury, TX, company specializing in international sports events and tours.

Spanish language broadcast will air live at 1pm onGlobalFootball.com

The Tazon de Estrellas clash between Team Stars & Stripes and the Tec Monterrey All-Stars will air live via a webcast on GlobalFootball.com at 1pm U.S. Eastern Time on Saturday, December 19.

A Spanish-language broadcast will be available from the Tec de Monterrey Campus Estado de Mexico through technology developed and made available by Cambridge, Massachusetts-based YouCastr and will provide all the action to a Global American football audience for a viewing fee of $5. Fans can access the game through the home page of www.GlobalFootball.com.

Through the easy-to-use broadcasting platform YouCastr Pro, the game will be automatically archived and available indefinitely for future on-demand viewing. The service is essentially a plug and play solution that is safe for schools. Safety features include making content available from only the sites approved by Global Football with no advertisements.

The home team: Monterrey Tec All-Stars 70-man roster will be led by legendary coach Frank Gonzalez, who has won 11 national championships, 3 national conference championships and 1 Borregos Tournament championships for a total of 15 titles, has a combined record of 212-38-1 in a 24-year career with Campus Monterrey.

Award winner: Augustana College offensive tackle Blaine Westemeyer won the prestigious 2009 Gagliardi Trophy awarded annually to the outstanding football player in NCAA Division III.

Westermeyer was selected from four finalists to receive the Gagliardi Trophy, which recognizes excellence in athletics, academics and community service and is the first offensive lineman ever to win the award.

A 35-member national selection committee comprised of coaches, sports writers, community leaders and former Division III student-athletes enshrined in the National Collegiate Football Hall of Fame selects the winner of the Gagliardi Trophy.

A team from all corners of the United States: A total of 35 colleges from 20 states are currently represented on the Team Stars & Stripes roster: Adrian College, Alfred University, Augustana College, Bates College, Bethel University, Central College, Cornell College, Delaware Valley College, Dickinson College, Fitchburg State College, Franklin and Marshall, Hanover College, Hiram College, Kean University, LaGrange College, Lebanon Valley College, McDaniel College, Menlo College, North Carolina Wesleyan College, North Central, Ohio Northern University, Salisbury University, St. Lawrence University, Susquehanna University, Thomas More, Trinity University, University of St. Thomas, University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire, University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh, University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point, University of Wisconsin - Stout, Ursinus College, Utica College, Washington University-St. Louis, Willamette University.