Men's Soccer | 4/20/2021 9:55:08 AM
The Empire 8 Conference announced its 2021 Spring Men’s Soccer All-Conference awards on Tuesday, April 20. The awards are voted on by the league's head coaches. Three individuals from 2021 E8 Men’s Soccer Champion St. John Fisher College garnered individual honors.
Junior midfielder Justin Bonetto of St. John Fisher was named the 2021 Player of the Year. Bonetto tallied five points on two goals and an assist in seven games and was the leader of a St. John Fisher team that finished 6-1.
Cooper LaValley of Nazareth College was named Rookie of the Year. LaValley led the Golden Flyers and was among the national leaders with eight points on three goals and two assists. He was named the E8 Player of the Week on March 22.
Senior Caleb Loew of Houghton College and freshman Jadon Schlierf of St. John Fisher were both named co-Goalkeepers of the Year. Loew led all Empire 8 goalkeepers with a 0.45 goals against average and a .912 save percentage to go along with four shutouts. He was named the E8 Defensive Player of the Week on April 12. Schlierf finished 6-1 and recorded a 0.56 goals against average and an .862 save percentage with three shutouts. He was named the E8 Defensive Player of the Week on March 15.
Cahoon led all Empire 8 student-athletes in scoring with 16 points on six goals and four assists in 2021. Begy was the leader of a stout Nazareth defense that allowed just four goals in nine games, while Pighetti recorded a miniscule 0.45 goals against average and five shutouts in goal. Key recorded a pair of assists in seven games for the Gators.
Jack Burgasser of St. John Fisher was named the Doug May Coach of the Year for the Spring 2021 season. Burgasser, in his first season with the Cardinals, along with his coaching staff, led St. John Fisher to a 6-1 mark and second Empire 8 Championship in program history.
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.
St. John Fisher had a league-high four first team members, while a trio of Utica College student-athletes were honored. Overall, seven Houghton student-athletes earned All-E8 honors, while St. John Fisher had six.
One member of each team was named that institution's representative on the 2021 E8 Spring 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.
2021 Empire 8 Spring Men’s Soccer All-Conference Selections
Player of the Year: Justin Bonetto, Jr., M, St. John Fisher College
Co-Goalkeeper of the Year: Caleb Loew, Sr., GK, Houghton College
Co-Goalkeeper of the Year: Jadon Schlierf, Fr., GK, St. John Fisher College
Rookie of the Year: Cooper LaValley, Fr., M, Nazareth
Doug May Coach of the Year: Jack Burgasser, St. John Fisher College
Empire 8 First Team
Julius Klohr, Sr., F, Houghton
Ben Woolingham, So., F, St. John Fisher
Ramanzi Juma, Jr., F, Utica
Cooper LaValley, Fr., M, Nazareth
Justin Bonetto, Jr., M, St. John Fisher
Matt Gentile, Fr., M, St. John Fisher
Sory Konate, So., M, Utica
Justin Pumputis., Sr., D, Nazareth
Nathan Ficht, Sr., D, Russell Sage
Mohamadou Diallo, So., D, Utica
Jadon Schlierf, Fr., GK, St. John Fisher
Empire 8 Second Team
Justin Eaton, So., F, Alfred
Andy Loomis, Fr., F, Houghton
Jeaneste Pierre, Sr., F, Russell Sage
Jackson Bishop, Fr., F, St. John Fisher
Logan Schrock, So., M, Houghton
Daniel Myers, Sr., M, Houghton
Raphael Wence, Fr., M, Houghton
Christian Vaalstuen, Jr., M, Russell Sage
Jon Herrick, So., D, Nazareth
Oscar Palacios, Fr., D, Houghton
Ryan Brown, Fr., D, St. John Fisher
Caleb Loew, Sr., GK, Houghton
Empire 8 Sportsman of the Year
Nathan Croscut-Miller, So., D, Alfred
Elijah Steffen, Sr., F/D, Houghton
Antonino Marino, Jr., M, Nazareth
John Locicero, So., F/M, Russell Sage
Kevin Halsteter, Sr., M, St. John Fisher
Daniel Varsames, Sr., D, Utica