Westwood, Mass. – The NEWMAC has released its Men’s Soccer postseason awards, as announced by the conference on Friday morning. The awards are determined by the conference’s nine coaches following the conclusion of regular season play.
Attacker
Daniel Goba (North Kingstown, R.I.) of Salve Regina University was voted NEWMAC Athlete of the Year, while U.S. Coast Guard Academy defender
Jude Sargent (West Hartford, Conn.) earned Defensive Player of the Year honors. MIT’s
Shikhar Motupally (Avon, Conn.) was voted Rookie of the Year. The Salve Regina University coaching staff was selected as Coaching Staff of the Year by their peers.
Goba headlines the first team attack selections and is joined by Babson College’s
James Donaldson (Kirkland, Quebec) and
Liam Rhatigan (Holderness, N.H.), as well as Coast Guard’s
Aki Freeman (San Diego, Calif.) and WPI’s
Aaron Vaz (Medford, Mass.) Sargent is featured in the defender slot, alongside Babson’s
Liam Goldstein (Princeton, N.J.), Wheaton College’s
Ryan Bell (Berwyn, Pa.) and WPI’s
Evan Haas (Concord, N.H.). Babson leads the way with two midfield selections in
Kento Abe (Quincy, Mass.) and
Samuel Kalishman (Clarksville, Md.). MIT’s
Dilin Meloni (Needham, Mass.) rounds out the midfield trio. Babson’s
Walker White (Coral Gables, Fla.) is the first team goalkeeper selection.
Motupally headlines the second team attack selections. Springfield College is represented by
Connor Policarpio (Bristol, Conn.). Wheaton’s
Alasdair Ferrier (Concord, N.H.) was also honored at the attack position. Coast Guard’s
Micah Messner (Mableton, Ga.) garnered the accolade as a midfielder, along with Salve Regina’s
Ethan David (Stratford, Conn.) and Springfield’s
Matthew Mela (Natick, Mass.) Seven defenders made their way onto the second team, including two from Babson,
Joao Araujo (Boca Raton, Fla.) and
Marco Cerezo (Malaga, Spain). Springfield also had two defenders honored in
Brandon Trent (Commack, N.Y.) and
Ayaan Ahmad (West Springfield, Mass.).
Aidan Hallinan (Carlsbad, Calif.) and
Jack Minor (Boca Raton, Fla.) of MIT were also honored, as was Salve Regina’s
Evan Arpin (Andover, Mass.). Arpin’s teammate
Adonis Santiago (Oakdale, Conn.) closes out the selections in the goalkeeper slot
.
Athlete of the Year- Daniel Goba (So., A), Salve Regina University
Goba is tops in the NEWMAC in overall points with 33 and points in conference play with 14. He leads the way with six goals in conference play, and 14 overall goals. He scored two game-winning goals in conference play, and four overall, putting him in a tie for second in the league for both. Goba is also tied for second in assists with five overall. The driving force in the Seahawk attack, Goba helped Salve to a second-place finish in the NEWMAC.
Defensive Player of the Year – Jude Sargent (Sr., D), U.S. Coast Guard Academy
Sargent started all nine conference games at the center back position and is excellent in the air and with the tackle. He netted three goals, and four assists on the season, with all three goals coming in conference play.
Rookie of the Year- Shikhar Motupally (Fy., A), MIT
Motupally led the MIT offensive attack with nine goals overall, tied for second in the NEWMAC, and seven assists, which is tied for first. In conference play he scored three goals, and had three assists, for nine points, which puts him in the top-ten in the NEWMAC.
Coaching Staff of the Year – Salve Regina University
Interim head coach
Bill Lawler led the Seahawks to a 4-1-3 conference record, a No. 2 seed in the NEWMAC tournament, and a Championship appearance in his first season with the Seahawks. This was a huge turnaround for the Seahawks, who went 0-6-2 in their first season in the NEWMAC a season ago. Lawler is joined by assistant coaches
Evan MacDonald and
Nate Reid.
| Team |
Name |
Position |
Institution |
| First Team All-Conference |
James Donaldson |
Attack |
Babson College |
| First Team All-Conference |
Liam Rhatigan |
Attack |
Babson College |
| First Team All-Conference |
Aki Freeman |
Attack |
U.S. Coast Guard Academy |
| First Team All-Conference |
Daniel Goba |
Attack |
Salve Regina University |
| First Team All-Conference |
Aaron Vaz |
Attack |
WPI |
| First Team All-Conference |
Kento Abe |
Midfielder |
Babson College |
| First Team All-Conference |
Samuel Kalishman |
Midfielder |
Babson College |
| First Team All-Conference |
Dilin Meloni |
Midfielder |
MIT |
| First Team All-Conference |
Liam Goldstein |
Defender |
Babson College |
| First Team All-Conference |
Jude Sargent |
Defender |
U.S. Coast Guard Academy |
| First Team All-Conference |
Ryan Bell |
Defender |
Wheaton College |
| First Team All-Conference |
Evan Haas |
Defender |
WPI |
| First Team All-Conference |
Walker White |
Goalkeeper |
Babson College |
|
|
|
|
| Second Team All-Conference |
Shikhar Motupally |
Attack |
MIT |
| Second Team All-Conference |
Connor Policarpio |
Attack |
Springfield College |
| Second Team All-Conference |
Alasdair Ferrier |
Attack |
Wheaton College |
| Second Team All-Conference |
Micah Messner |
Midfielder |
U.S. Coast Guard Academy |
| Second Team All-Conference |
Ethan David |
Midfielder |
Salve Regina University |
| Second Team All-Conference |
Matthew Mela |
Midfielder |
Springfield College |
| Second Team All-Conference |
Joao Araujo |
Defender |
Babson College |
| Second Team All-Conference |
Marco Cerezo |
Defender |
Babson College |
| Second Team All-Conference |
Aidan Hallinan |
Defender |
MIT |
| Second Team All-Conference |
Jack Minor |
Defender |
MIT |
| Second Team All-Conference |
Evan Arpin |
Defender |
Salve Regina University |
| Second Team All-Conference |
Brandon Trent |
Defender |
Springfield College |
| Second Team All-Conference |
Ayaan Ahmad |
Defender |
Springfield College |
| Second Team All-Conference |
Adonis Santiago |
Goalkeeper |
Salve Regina University |
About the NEWMAC
The NEWMAC is an association of 12 selective academic institutions: Babson College, Clark University, U.S Coast Guard Academy, Emerson College, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Mount Holyoke College, Salve Regina University, Smith College, Springfield College, Wellesley College, Wheaton College, and Worcester Polytechnic Institute, that are committed to providing high quality competitive athletic opportunities for student-athletes within an educational and respectful environment that embodies the NCAA Division III Philosophy. The conference also partners with four Associate Members: Norwich University (Football), Simmons College (Rowing), SUNY Maritime College (Football), and U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (Football), while sponsoring 20 sports.