St. Francis Brooklyn Athletics

KANSAS CITY, MO – The St. Francis College Brooklyn men's soccer coaching staff comprised of Head Coach Tom Giovatto, Assistant Coach Andy Cormack, and Assistant Coach Jason Orban were named the United Soccer Coaches Northeast Region Staff of the Year as announced by the organization. Additionally, senior forward Nicolas Molina and junior defender Harald Sollund were both tabbed to the United Soccer Coaches All-Northeast Region First Team, while sophomore goalkeeper Callum James was selected to the Second Team.
 
"Congratulations to our guys Nico, Harald, and Callum on earning United Soccer Coaches All-Northeast Region honors. All three student-athletes played significant roles on our team this season and were all instrumental to our success as a whole. We are very proud of each of them for earning this prestigious recognition. We are also extremely grateful to be named the United Soccer Coaches Regional Staff of the Year. This is a great honor and I am proud to share this award with Coach Andy and Coach Jason, who both do a tremendous job day-in and day-out," said Terriers' Head Coach Tom Giovatto.
 
Coach Giovatto, Coach Cormack, and Coach Orban guided the Terriers to their ninth NEC Championship, the most in conference history as well as the program's 10^th NCAA Tournament appearance. Under the leadership of Giovatto, Cormack, and Orban, St. Francis advanced to the Second Round of the 2020-21 NCAA Tournament.
 
The Terriers defeated Milwaukee in dramatic fashion to open up the NCAA Tournament in the first round. Senior midfielder Ivan Tapuskovic scored the golden goal in the 105^th minute to secure a 2-1 victory for the Terriers and clinch their spot in the second round of the tournament. St. Francis then went head-to-head with the No. 3 seeded Indiana Hoosiers out of the Big Ten. The Terriers narrowly fell to the Hoosiers in penalty kicks, but had Indiana, one of the best teams in the nation, on its heels throughout the match as they outshot them, 15-7, and had several chances to take the lead down the stretch and win the game in the two overtime periods.
 
The United Soccer Coaches Northeast Region Staff of the Year honors marks the Terriers' coaching staff's second major award this season. St. Francis' staff claimed the NEC Coaching Staff of the Year award following the completion of the regular season. Giovatto and staff guided the Terriers to a (6-1-3) record in 2020-21 and they captured their ninth NEC title, and first NCAA Tournament win since 1978. Giovatto has collected 126 wins during his 14 years at St. Francis. He is just one win shy of tying Sam Carrington for the second-most victories in program history.
 
Molina was tabbed to the United Soccer Coaches All-Northeast Region First Time. The senior had a memorable season for the Terriers as he became just the third student-athlete in program history and the first since Duke Shamo in 1998 to win the NEC Player of the Year award. In addition to the Player of the Year honor, he was selected to the All-NEC First Team. He led the team in points with nine, was first on the team in goals with three, and was second on the team in assists with three. Molina led the NEC in shots (30), was tied for second in points, was tied for fifth in goals, and tied for second in assists. His nine points; three goals, and three assists were all career-highs. Molina was named the NEC Player of the Week on March 30, after he registered a goal and an assist in a win at Sacred Heart.
 
Sollund joined Molina on the United Soccer Coaches All-Northeast Region First Team. The defender had a standout first season in Brooklyn Heights as he became the third Terrier in program history to be named the NEC Defensive Player of the Year. Sollund was also an All-NEC First Team selection as a result of his strong first season. The defender anchored the Terriers' backline that only surrendered seven goals through 10 games this season. The junior helped the Terriers to three clean sheets as he played in nine games during his first season at St. Francis. Sollund logged 744 minutes on the pitch and scored his first goal as a Terrier in the 2-1 win over Mount St. Mary's on March 15.
 
James was tabbed to the United Soccer Coaches All-Northeast Region Second Team. The Terriers' goalkeeper had a season for the ages as he became the first student-athlete in NEC history to take home the Goalkeeper of the Year award and was named to the All-NEC First Team. In addition, he led the Terriers to the 2020-21 NEC Championship title with a legendary performance in the penalty kick shootout against LIU. James scored a goal in the shootout and then promptly went on to make three-straight saves in rounds 7-9 to clinch the NEC Championship for the Terriers. James tallied a (6-1-2) record in goal this season and collected three clean sheets. He made 26 saves, recorded a save percentage of 78.8%, surrendered just seven goals, and notched a goals against average of 0.72. James ranked second in the conference in goals against average, third in save percentage, tied for second in saves, and seventh in saves per game (3.0).