MANSFIELD, Mass. - In 1999 the NE10 began awarding Goalkeeper of the Year in men's soccer. In the 24 seasons since, no one NE10 team has captured Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, Goalkeeper of the Year, Rookie of the Year and Coach of the Year in the same season. Until now.
Southern New Hampshire, the regular season NE10 champion, swept the league's postseason awards and placed nine of 11 starters on all-conference teams. All awards were nominated and voted on by the league's 10 head coaches.
Iago Perez, a junior from A Coruña, Spain, was selected Player of the Year after scoring nine goals and 20 points in 2024. It was a career year for the Spaniard after scoring eight goals in five fewer games last fall.
Last season's Elite 24 Award winner,
Preston Neal is this year's Goalkeeper of the Year. He's the first Penmen to win since Nick Zucco in 2015. Both the Player of the Year and Goalie of the Year wins snapped a three year run of winners from Franklin Pierce.
The first SNHU NE10 Rookie of the Year since Sinisa Sprecakovic in 2019,
Gabriel Castro enters the postseason having scored in consecutive games. A first-year sophomore from León, Spain, Castro joins Sprecakovic and former Franklin Pierce national championship coach Rueben Resendes as recent Penmen to win the award.
Maybe the most incredible story of the Penmen to win a major award,
Liam Evans was selected Defensive Player of the Year. A player that had once been told there wasn't a place for him on the roster, Evans built his career from the ground up. He's the fourth in Manchester to win the honor.
Finally,
Josh Taylor joins Marc Hubbard as the only SNHU men's soccer coaches to win Coach of the Year. Now the head coach at NC State, Hubbard won the award three times over his tenure up north. Taylor has been the Penmen coach since 2015 after serving as an assistant for seven seasons.
Beyond SNHU's major awar wins, the Penmen also littered the NE10 all-conference teams. The Penmen led the way with 10 selections, including seven of the 13 players on the first-team.
Player of the Year: Iago Perez, SNHU
Defensive Player of the Year: Liam Evans, SNHU
Goalie of the Year: Preston Neal, SNHU
Rookie of the Year: Gabriel Castro, SNHU
Coach of the Year: Josh Taylor, SNHU
ALL-NE10 FIRST TEAM
F- Pablo Herrera, Adelphi
F – Pau Santanach, New Haven
F – Philipp Herrmann, SNHU
F – Iago Perez, SNHU*
M – Tiago Barriguinha, Franklin Pierce
M – Sandro Branquinho, New Haven
M – Martin Zapata, SNHU
M – Gabriel Castro, SNHU*
D – Anthony Denis, New Haven
D – Alex da Cunha, SCSU
D – Liam Evans, SNHU*
D – Haroun Conteh, SNHU
GK – Preston Neal, SNHU*
*Major Award Winner
ALL-NE10 SECOND TEAM
F- Johann Fraser, Bentley
F - Antonio Lima, Franklin Pierce
F – Guillermo Avendano, Franklin Pierce
F – Jose Clemente, SCSU
M – Alessio Consoli, Adelphi
M –Chad Meyers, Bentley
M – Lucas Olle Bravo, Saint Anselm
M – Samuel Nagy, SCSU
D – Luke Hanchar, Bentley
D – Joaquin Lauria, Franklin Pierce
D – Jesse Oostendorp, Franklin Pierce
D – Alex Pons, SNHU
GK – Cam Hall, Bentley
ALL-NE10 THIRD THEAM
F- Richard DeBrosse, Adelphi
F – Andy Chisholm, Franklin Pierce
F – Joao Araujo, Franklin Pierce
F – Martin Fuentes, SNHU
M –Pablo Ablanedo, Adelphi
M – Michael Haikal, Bentley
M – Oskar Kvarnback, New Haven
M – Alejo Caceres, SNHU
D – Luca Nicolauo, Adelphi
D – Albert Porqueras, New Haven
D – Luke Fiscella, New Haven
D – Saar Almoznino, New Haven
GK – Archie Watts, New Haven
NE10 ALL-ROOKIE TEAM
Gustav Attas, Adelphi
Pietro Botasso, AIC
Leo Consoloni, AIC
Emmaniel Tamen, Assumption
Logan Veloria, Bentley
Jesse Oostendorp, Franklin Pierce
Luke Fiscella, New Haven
David Huang, New Haven
Chance Prouty, Saint Anselm
Solomon Aidoo, SCSU
Kasper Murzinski, SCSU
Gabriel Castro, SNHU
Haroun Conteh, SNHU
ABOUT THE NE10
The NE10 is an association of 11 diverse institutions serving student-athletes across 24 NCAA Division II sports. Together we build brilliant futures by embracing the journey of every student-athlete.
Each year, 4,500 of those student-athletes compete in conference championships in 24 sports, making the NE10 the largest DII conference in the country in terms of sport sponsorship. Leading the way in the classroom, on the field and within the community, the NE10 is proud of its comprehensive program and the experience it provides student-athletes.
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