BROOKLYN HEIGHTS, N.Y. - The Northeast Conference (NEC) announced its end-of-season honors, and St. Francis Brooklyn took home three of the top individual honors after a regular season that earned the Terriers the two-seed in the NEC Tournament, set to begin Nov. 12.
NEC COACHING STAFF OF THE YEAR
Head coach
Tom Giovatto and his staff were named the NEC Coaching Staff for the second consecutive season, and fourth time overall (2016, 2017, 2020-2021, 2021). Giovatto, along with assistant coaches
Andy Cormack and
Jason Orban, led the Terriers to a 9-5-1 (7-2-0 NEC) record in the 2021 season, good enough for the second seed in the conference standings.
Giovatto earned the award last for his work during the 2020-21 season in which the team captured its first NCAA tournament win since 1978, capping off a run that saw the Terriers lose just one regular season game on its way to the program's ninth NEC tournament victory. The staff was also named United Soccer Coaches Northeast Region Staff of the Year for their work.
This is Giovatto's eighth overall end-of-season coaching honor since 2013, including being named National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) North Atlantic Region Coach of the Year and National Coach of the Year finalist (2013), ECAC Coach of the Year (2017), and BigAppleSoccer.com Coach of the Year twice (2013, 2016).
NEC PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Senior forward
El Mahdi Youssoufi (Tangier, Morocco) was named NEC Player of the Year after a nearly unstoppable scoring run during the fall of 2021.Youssoufi finished the regular season with 25 points (12 goals, 1 assist), scoring in all but two games he played in this fall.
In the calendar year of 2021, he scored in all but four games of the 22 he played in.
He is just the third player in program history to be named NEC Player of the Year, following Clint Marcelle (1988) and Duke Shamo (1997, 1998).
NEC DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Senior defenseman
Harald Sollund (Viken, Norway) was named the NEC Defensive Player of the Year, the third time a Terrier has earned the honor in the past five years (Collyns Laokandi [2016] Faouzi Taieb [2017]). Sollund is a vital part of a back line that has allowed opponents an average of just 1.13 goals per game and 9.1 shots per game. He has also added a goal and three assists this season.
Sollund started all 15 games for the Terriers this fall.
In addition to those top honors, Youssoufi and Sollund were named to the NEC All-Conference First Team, along with teammate
Sokol Ymeraj (Fier, Albania). Ymeraj totaled a goal and five assists in his 15 starts for the Terriers.
Goalkeeper
David Santiago (Catalonia, Spain) was named to the NEC All-Conference Second Team with a .757 save percentage and 1.12 goals against average.
The No. 2 Terriers take the field Friday morning at 10 a.m. against No. 3 FDU for the NEC Men's Soccer Tournament Semi-Final.
2021 Northeast Conference Men's Soccer First Team All-Conference
F Emil Jaaskelainen LIU
F El Mahdi Youssoufi St. Francis Brooklyn
MF Jordan Alonge FDU
MF Stefano Pesenti Merrimack
MF Ideal Shefqeti FDU
MF Sokol Ymeraj St. Francis Brooklyn
D Hugo Bacharach FDU
D Mirko Nufi Merrimack
D Andre Puente LIU
D Harald Sollund St. Francis Brooklyn
D Demetri Skoumbakis LIU
2021 Northeast Conference Men's Soccer Second Team All-Conference
F Diego Arribas FDU
F Frantz Pierrot Merrimack
MF Fridtjof Andberg LIU
MF Lucas Miquel Castrillo Sacred Heart
MF Javier Rehberger LIU
MF Diego Rodriguez Bryant
MF Fallou Tounkara FDU
D Samuel D'Agostino Bryant
D Etienne Murugarren Sacred Heart
D Piet Wesling Saint Francis (PA)
GK David Santiago St. Francis Brooklyn
