The Empire 8 Athletic Conference has announced the 2017 Men’s Soccer All-Conference teams as voted on by the conference’s coaches. In addition, the Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year and Doug May Coach of the Year have been selected.
Player of the Year: River Seybolt, Sage College
River Seybolt erupted onto the Empire 8 stage as a forward for the Sage Colleges. Sage is a first-year member of the E8 conference but thrived in it new setting. Seybolt played in 18 games, making 17 starts and lead the team and conference with 35 points (16g, 3a). His 35 points currently ranks 31st in Division III for the season, while his 16 goals ranks 21st. Seybolt registered at least one point in 11 games and had five games with multiple goals scored. In conference only games he netted five goals and was credited with one assist.
Rookie of the Year: Josh Crespo, Nazareth College
Josh Crespo made an immediate impact as a rookie starting all 17 games. He led the Golden Flyers in points (16) and goals (7), and becomes the fourth Nazareth player to receive the E8 Rookie of the Year award. His 16 points ranked fourth among conference players while his seven goals ranked second. In conference only games he finished with eight points to rank fifth on four goals. His offensive output helped the Ducks qualify for the E8 Tournament for the first time since 2013.
Doug May Coach of the Year: Matt Tantalo, Nazareth College
Matt Tantalo guided the Golden Flyers to a 10-6-1 overall record and a 5-2 league mark in his second season at the helm. Tantalo has really turned the Golden Flyer program around since since taking over a program that didn’t post a win in 2015. The 10 wins this season is the highest win total in program history since 2011. Nazareth earned the second seed in the conference tournament and four of his players were recognized on the all-conference team for their play throughout the season. Tantalo is the first coach from Nazareth to earn the coaching honor.
The coaching award is named after May, who coached RIT from 1980 to 1996 and Nazareth from 1997 to 2003 before passing away in April 2004.
Sportsmanship Team
One member of each team was named that institution’s representative on the 2017 Men’s Soccer Sportsman of the Year Team. Empire 8 emphasizes that "Competing with Honor and Integrity" is an essential component of a student-athlete’s experience in conjunction with an institution’s educational mission. These honorees have distinguished themselves and consistently exhibit the critical traits as outstanding sportsmen.
Empire 8 2017 Men’s Soccer All-Conference Teams