Empire 8 Announces Men's Soccer Awards, Headlined by Stevens' Daniel Aversano Earning Player of the Year

11/8/2018 10:13:41 AM

Stevens' Daniel Aversano was named the Empire 8 Conference Player of the Year as the league announced the 2018 Men's Soccer All-Conference and Major Award winners today. Aversano helped lead the Ducks to a perfect E8 campaign as they posted a 7-0 mark during the regular season and recently won the E8 title.

Aversano's teammate, Adam Silva, was named the Rookie of the Year, while their coach - Dale Jordan - was selected as the Doug May Coach of the Year. Stevens will take on Gordon College in an NCAA Tournament First Round game tomorrow afternoon.

For a complete list of all-conference members and award winners, please see below. Somewhat remarkably, seven Stevens' student-athletes were named to the Empire 8 First Team. The awards and honorees are voted on by the league's head coaches.

CLOSER LOOK
Aversano had one of the more impressive seasons in recent conference history. The senior led the league in virtually every statistical category. His ten goals, 11 assists, and 31 total points were each league-best totals in the respective categories. He also added four game-winning goals, which was tied for tops in the conference. Aversano helped direct an offense that has scored 55 goals, tops in the conference and among the best nationally. He was also named a First Team All-Conference selection.

Silva, in his first year at Stevens, made an immediate impact for the Ducks. The high-scoring freshman midfielder has posted seven goals and seven assists, totaling 21 points on the season for Stevens. His totals currently place him tied for third-best in goals and assists, while his 21 points is the third most in the league. He was also named a First Team All-Conference selection.

Jordan was recognized as the Doug May Coach of the Year by his peers. Jordan has led the Ducks to another outstanding campaign this fall. Stevens went a perfect 7-0 in league, and won the E8 conference title this past weekend. The Ducks have won six straight overall, and have only allowed four goals over their last 12 outings.

The coaching award is named after May, who was the head coach at RIT from 1980 to 1996, and at Nazareth from 1997 to 2003 before passing away in 2004.

SPORTSMAN OF THE YEAR TEAM
One member of each team was named that institution's representative on the 2018 Men's Soccer Sportsman of the Year Team. The Empire 8 Conference 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.

Player of the Year - Daniel Aversano, Stevens
Rookie of the Year - Adam Silva, Stevens
Doug May Coach of the Year - Dale Jordan, Stevens

1st Team All-Conference
Brice Bogna, Houghton | F
River Seybolt, Sage | F
Daniel Aversano, Stevens | F

Jake Adams, Nazareth | MF
Zein Mohamed, Nazareth | MF
Andrew Masur, Stevens | MF
Adam Silva, Stevens | MF

Nicholas Cousillas, Stevens | D
Jimmy Doran, Stevens | D
Nikolai Figueroa, Stevens | D

Brian Wilkin, Nazareth | GK
Aaron Henry, Stevens | GK

2nd Team All-Conference
Andrew Bussey, Houghton | F
Gabe Vanwyk, Houghton | F
Sam Smyth, Nazareth | F
Joe Balls, St. John Fisher | F

Cody Cronmiller, Alfred | MF
Ben Dicrasto, Houghton | MF
Sean Masur, Stevens | MF

Adam Taylor, Alfred | D
Ben Lawrence, Houghton | D
Seth Onolaja, Stevens | D

Joe Gonzalez, Alfred | GK

Honorable Mention
Zachary Gloskin, Alfred | F
Alexander Tostanoski, Alfred | F
Ryan Wallace, Elmira | F

Tyler Randall, St. John Fisher | MF
Leo Musacchia, Stevens | MF

Mason Sanborn, Alfred | D
Colin Morrison, Elmira | D
Justin Pumputis, Nazareth | D

Sportsman of the Year
Brennan Jelstrom, Alfred
Adam Taylor, Alfred
Tony Valencia, Elmira
Zach Shilvock, Houghton
Connor Mann, Nazareth
Liam Hayes, Sage
Josh Miles, St. John Fisher
Nikolai Figueroa, Stevens
Luke Tantillo, Utica

(Listed alphabetically by school)

About the Empire 8 Conference
The members of the Empire 8 are committed first and foremost to the pursuit of academic excellence and aspire to be regarded as an outstanding NCAA Division III conference. The membership seeks to distinguish itself among its peer group for its quality institutions, spirited and sportsmanlike competition, outstanding services and highly ethical policies and practices. Its commitment to serve the educational needs of its student-athletes is the hallmark of the Empire 8.