Men's Soccer | 11/11/2025 10:00:00 AM
The Empire 8 Conference announced its 2025 Men’s Soccer All-Conference awards on Tuesday, Nov. 11. The awards are voted on by the league's head coaches. Empire 8 Championship game participants SUNY Geneseo and SUNY Brockport combined to earn four of the five major individual awards and earn 13 All-Empire 8 honors.
Senior forward Dylan Thody of SUNY Geneseo was named the Empire 8 Offensive Player of the Year. Thody, who was also named the Empire 8 Men’s Soccer Championship Most Outstanding Player, enters NCAA Tournament play tied for the league lead with 39 points on 15 goals and nine assists. He excelled in league play, recording 24 points on nine goals and six assists in 11 contests. Thody scored both goals, including the overtime game-winner to lift SUNY Geneseo to the Empire 8 Men’s Soccer Championship on Nov. 8.
Senior Alex Rivara of SUNY Brockport was named the 2025 Empire 8 Defensive Player of the Year. Rivara was the leader of a stout Brockport defense that allowed just seven goals and 11 Empire 8 regular season games. The Golden Eagles recorded seven clean sheets in 2025. Rivara also added four assists in league play, recording four straight games with a helper from Sept. 27 to Oct. 8.
Samuel Burton of Nazareth earned 2025 Empire 8 Rookie of the Year honors. Burton, a midfielder, appeared in 17 games for the Golden Flyers in 2025 and tallied 13 points on five goals and three assists, while helping lead Nazareth to its ninth straight berth in the Empire 8 Tournament. He had four goals and three assists in 11 E8 regular season contests. Burton is Nazareth’s sixth student-athlete to earn E8 Rookie of the Year accolades.
AJ Nelson of SUNY Brockport was named the E8 Goalkeeper of the Year. Nelson led the Empire 8 in all three major goalkeeping categories, including lowest goals against average (0.54), highest save percentage (.829) and most shutouts (7), while playing in just 13 games. Nelson went 9-0-2 in league play during the regular season, allowing just five goals in the 11 games with six clean sheets.
Howlett was named the Doug May Coach of the Year after leading the Knights to their first Empire 8 Championship and first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 2006 this season. SUNY Geneseo won the 2025 E8 Regular Season Championship and earned top seed in the Empire 8 Tournament, while entering the NCAA Tournament with a 13-5-3 overall mark. The Knights went 9-1-1 in league play, out-scoring opponents, 33-7. He coached six 2025 All-E8 selections. It is Howlett’s first Doug May Coach of the Year 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.
SUNY Brockport had a league-high four first team members, while three SUNY Geneseo student-athletes and a pair of Elmira College and St. John Fisher standouts were honored. Overall, Brockport had a league-high seven student-athletes earn All-E8 honors, while Elmira, Geneseo and St. John Fisher each had six honored. Utica forward Byamungu Mugushu, who leads the league with 16 goals and 39 points, earned his third All-Empire 8 first team honor, while Jacob McGinnis of St. John Fisher and Max Voyer of Brockport each earned All-Empire 8 first team honors for the second straight season.
One member of each team was named that institution's representative on the 2025 Men’s Soccer Tomorrow’s Leaders Team. This team honors a student-athlete who has emerged as a leader not only on the field of play, but in the classroom and in the community. In addition, they “compete with honor and integrity” and have distinguished themselves and consistently exhibit the critical traits as outstanding sportsmen.
“Developing character and integrity is a hallmark of the Empire 8,” said E8 Executive Director
Chuck Mitrano. “This series is proof that Empire 8 and our member institutions are committed to intercollegiate athletics’ important role in higher education.”
2025 Empire 8 Men’s Soccer All-Conference Selections
Offensive Player of the Year: Dylan Thody, Jr., F, SUNY Geneseo
Defensive Player of the Year: Alex Rivara, Sr., D, SUNY Brockport
Goalkeeper of the Year: AJ Nelson, So., GK, SUNY Brockport
Rookie of the Year: Samuel Burton, Fr., M, Nazareth
Doug May Coach of the Year: Mark Howlett, SUNY Geneseo
Empire 8 First Team
Hamza Kromah, So., F, Alfred (Margivi, Liberia/Western Reserve Academy)
Max Voyer, Sr., F, SUNY Brockport (Williamsville, NY/Williamsville South)
Pietro Gallina, Sr., F, Elmira (Rome, Italy/Sant’Orsola)
Dylan Thody, Sr., F, SUNY Geneseo (Huntington Station, NY/Walt Whitman)
Byamungu Mugushu, Gr., F, Utica (Syracuse, NY/Bishop Grimes)
Jhoan Chavez, Sr., M, Elmira (Miami, FL/Coral Reef)
Michael Ruggiero, Jr., M, SUNY Geneseo (Holtsville, NY/Sachem East)
Jadin Lyle, Jr., D, SUNY Brockport (Camillus, NY/West Genesee)
Alex Rivara, Sr., D, SUNY Brockport (Commack, NY/Commack)
Eric Famularo, Sr., D, SUNY Geneseo (Sayville, NY/Sayville)
Jacob McGinnis, Sr., D, St. John Fisher (Rochester, NY/Brighton)
Nick Rippe, Sr., D, St. John Fisher (Churchville, NY/Churchville-Chili)
AJ Nelson, So., GK, SUNY Brockport (Fairport, NY/Fairport)
Empire 8 Second Team
Brady Reinagel, Sr., F, SUNY Brockport (Hamburg, NY/Hamburg)
Tyler Warmington, Jr., F, Nazareth (Buffalo, NY/Orchard Park)
Khadim Amar, So., M, SUNY Brockport (New York, NY/Manhattan International)
Jace DiPalo, Fr., M, SUNY Geneseo (Northport, NY/Northport)
Devin Chandler, Fr., M, Hartwick (Wylie, TX/Wylie East)
Will Napierala, Sr., M, Hartwick (Endwell, NY/Maine-Endwell)
Samuel Burton, Fr., M, Nazareth (Rochester, NY/Webster Schroeder)
Noah Nassberg, Sr., M, Utica (Naples, FL/Gulf Coast)
Aadne Aarstad, So., D, Elmira (Gjettum, Norway/Baerums Verk)
Charlie Sorenson, So., D, SUNY Geneseo (Rochester, NY/Aquinas)
Quentin Herrmann, Sr., D, Nazareth (Alexandria, VA/West Potomac)
Logan Diebold, So., D, Russell Sage (Williamsville, NY/Williamsville South)
Parker Stusek, Fr., GK, St. John Fisher (Wickliffe, OH/Hawken)
Empire 8 Third Team
Xavier Bowman, Jr., F, Alfred (Hampstead, MD/Manchester Valley)
Ryan Mathis, Fr., F, SUNY Brockport (Fairport, NY/Fairport)
James Fay, So., F, Houghton (Stony Brook, NY/Stony Brook School)
Jack Tamburino, Jr., F, St. John Fisher (Rome, NY/Oriskany)
Carter Cookinham, Fr., F, Utica (Poland, NY/Poland)
Acelino Medford, Jr., M, Elmira (Couva, Trinidad & Tobago/Club Sando)
Reese Powers, Sr., M, St. John Fisher (Nunda, NY/Kesehqua)
Henry Schweitzer, Fr., M, Utica (Clinton, NY/Clinton)
Mathieu Six, Fr., D, Hartwick (Antwerp, Belgium/Fairgreen International)
Daniel Mercedes, Jr., D, Elmira (Punta Cana, Dominican Republic/Punta Cana)
Juan Ortegon, Jr., D, Elmira (Bogota, Columbia/Deportivo/Dinhos)
Alexander Kobayashi, Fr., D, Nazareth (Buelton, CA/Saint Ynez)
Blake Petocchi, Sr., D, St. John Fisher (Fairport, NY/Fairport)
Max Crothall, So., GK, SUNY Geneseo (Rye, NY/Rye)
Empire 8 Tomorrow’s Leaders
Hamza Kromah, So., F, Alfred (Margibi, Liberia/Western Reserve Academy)
Trevor Lagarde, Jr., D, SUNY Brockport (Palm Coast, FL/Monroe Woodburry)
Aadne, Aarstad, So., D, Elmira (Gjettum, Norway/Baerums Verk)
Connor Guercia, Sr., M, SUNY Geneseo (Shoreham, NY/Shoreham Wading-River)
Mariano Kool, Fr., M, Hartwick (Amsterdam, Netherlands/Swiss International Scientific School of Dubai)
Daniele Schivo, Sr., D, Houghton (Brussels, Belgium/Ecole Francaise)
Timothy Cowin, Fr., M, Keuka (Syracuse, NY/Westhill)
Joey Weaver, Jr., F, Nazareth (Rochester, NY/Spencerport)
Joshua Webb, So., M, SUNY Poly (Walden, NY/Valley Central)
Zakaria Toure, Sr., M, Russell Sage (New York, NY/International Ivory Coast)
Connor Dziulko, Sr., D, St. John Fisher (East Aurora, NY/East Aurora)
Santiago Consalvo, Jr., M, Utica (Buenos Aires, Argentina)