Men's Soccer | 11/8/2022 9:59:48 AM
The Empire 8 Conference announced its 2022 Men’s Soccer All-Conference awards on Tuesday, Nov. 8. The awards are voted on by the league's head coaches. Sophomore forward Ander Castillo of 2022 Empire 8 Champion Medaille University was named the Player of the Year.
Castillo has enjoyed a tremendous season for the Mavericks, who won their first Empire 8 Championship in their first year as a league member on Nov. 5. He has set Empire 8 men’s soccer single-season records with 21 goals and 45 points in 2022. Those totals place him in the top-five nationally in scoring. Castillo has fired 104 shots and has three game-winning goals. In league play. Castillo tallied seven goals and 15 points in seven games. He has also excelled in the postseason, with three goals in two games.
Kwame Amissah-Arthur of Hartwick College was the 2022 named Empire 8 Rookie of the Year. Amissah-Arthur, a midfielder, appeared in 17 games for the Hawks in 2022 and tallied five points on two goals and an assist, while leading the Hawks to their first Empire 8 Tournament appearance and first E8 postseason victory. He is the first Hartwick student-athlete to earn an individual honor.
Freshman Carson Smith of Keuka College was named the Goalkeeper of the Year. Smith led all Empire 8 goalkeepers with 5.54 saves per game and was second with an .809 save percentage to go along with two shutouts. He excelled in league play, recording a league best .863 save percentage. Smith was the E8 Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 24. He is the first Keuka student-athlete to earn an Empire 8 individual honor.
Burgasser was named the Doug May Coach of the Year after leading the Cardinals to the 2022 E8 Regular Season Championship and top seed in the Empire 8 Tournament. The Cardinals went 6-2-1 in league play, out-scoring opponents, 18-9. He coached six 2022 All-E8 selections. It is Burgasser’s second Coach of the Year honor in the last three seasons.
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.
Medaille had a league-high four first team members, while a pair of Utica University and St. John Fisher student-athletes were honored. Overall, Medaille, Nazareth and St. John Fisher all had six student-athletes earn All-E8 honors. Justin Bonetto of St. John Fisher earned All-E8 first team accolades for the third straight season.
One member of each team was named that institution's representative on the 2022 E8 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.
2022 Empire 8 Men’s Soccer All-Conference Selections
Player of the Year: Ander Castillo, So., F, Medaille
Goalkeeper of the Year: Carson Smith, Fr., GK, Keuka
Rookie of the Year: Kwame Amissah-Arthur, Fr., M, Hartwick
Doug May Coach of the Year: Jack Burgasser, St. John Fisher
Empire 8 First Team
Ander Castillo, So., F, Medaille
Cuneyt Vardar, Gr., F, Nazareth
Byamungu Mugushu, Jr., F, Utica
Sean Burke, So., M, Medaille
Rodrigo Fernandez, So., M, Medaille
Justin Bonetto, Gr., M, St. John Fisher
Cody Baker-Green, Jr., M, Utica
Kerfalla Toure, Fr., D, Elmira
Celso Juberias, So., D, Medaille
Tim Brown, Sr., D, St. John Fisher
Carson Smith, Fr., GK, Keuka
Empire 8 Second Team
Jake Zona, Sr., F, Hartwick
Ben Woolingham, Sr., F, St. John Fisher
Sam Smyth, Gr., F, Nazareth
Jim Mahony, Jr., M, Hartwick
Jake Pawlika, So., M, Nazareth
Christian Vaalstuen, Sr., M, Russell Sage
Matt Gentile, Jr., M, St. John Fisher
Samuel Wickins, Fr., D, Medaille
Quentin Hermann, Fr., D, Nazareth
Trevor Heschke, So., D, St. John Fisher
Jadon Schlierf, Jr., GK, St. John Fisher
Empire 8 Third Team
Martin Harungudey, Fr., F, Elmira
Lutho Mlungaza, Sr., F, Elmira
Drew Decker, So., F, Nazareth
El Hadji Iba Sy, Jr., F, Russell Sage
Gavin Wise, Gr., M, Elmira
Chase Freeland, Jr., M, Alfred
Kwame Amissah-Arthur, Fr., M, Hartwick
Rodrigo Fernandez, Jr., D, Hartwick
Owen Brignati, So., D, Nazareth
Isaiah Edmonds, Fr., D, Russell Sage
Noah Scranton, So., D, Utica
Dante Gesamondo, So., GK, Medaille
Empire 8 Sportsman of the Year
AJ Giaquinto, So., D, Alfred
Henry Wylie, Sr., F, Elmira
Timmy O’Connor, Sr., D, Hartwick
Micah Schilke, Sr., M, Houghton
Larry Kroon, Jr., D, Keuka
Ben Brown, So., D, Medaille
Andrew Vogler, Sr., M/D, Nazareth
Jordan Prouty, So., GK, Russell Sage
Aiden Gaffney, Sr., D, St. John Fisher
Fred Holmes, Sr., D, Utica