FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monks' Mattos, Gaumer, Mullen,
Dubois all receive major awards
WINTHROP, Mass. – Nationally-ranked Saint Joseph's College of Maine, the three-time defending Great Northeast Athletic Conference champions after its latest GNAC title on Sunday afternoon, sports eight of the 11 student-athlete selections on the 2018 All-GNAC Men's Soccer First Team, as announced by the GNAC office on Monday.
The Monks also nearly swept this fall's major awards, as senior Brett Mattos was voted the 2018 GNAC Men's Soccer Offensive Player of the Year, senior Dalton Gaumer was named the GNAC Defensive Player of the Year, senior goalkeeper Blake Mullen was named the GNAC Goalkeeper of the Year, and head coach Adrian Dubois was named the GNAC Coach of the Year.
Norwich University freshman forward Bienfait Badibanga was voted the GNAC Rookie of the Year by the league's head coaches. The first-year from Burlington, Vt. was third in the GNAC with 25 points on 11 goals and three assists.
Also from SJC on the First Team were junior forward Mitchell Duncan, junior midfielder Cody Elliott, senior midfielders Jesse Ramirez and Rory Twomey, and junior back Jackson Taylor.
Mattos and Elliott tied for the GNAC lead with 26 points each, as Mattos' 11 goals tied with Badibanga for the conference-lead and Elliott's 14 assists was the league-high.
Gaumer anchored a backline that allowed just one goal all season long in front of Mullen, who led GNAC keepers in save percentage (.960) and goals-against average (0.06).
Johnson & Wales University (RI) senior midfielder Teagan Drake and Norwich senior defender Matt Mazzola rounded out this year's First Team selections.
Saint Joe's led the way with nine total selections, while Norwich had seven. For the complete All-Conference and All-Sportsmanship selections, please see below.
First Team
F – Bienfait Badibanga, Norwich (Fr., Burlington, Vt.)
F – Mitchell Duncan, Saint Joseph's (Maine) (Jr., Sanford, Maine)
F – Brett Mattos, Saint Joseph's (Me.) (Sr., Mahopac, N.Y.)
M – Teagan Drake, Johnson & Wales (RI) (Sr., Waterbury, Vt.)
M – Cody Elliott, Saint Joseph's (Maine) (Jr., Gorham, Maine)
M – Jesse Ramirez, Saint Joseph's (Maine) (Sr., Dumont, N.J.)
M – Rory Twomey, Saint Joseph's (Maine) (Sr., South Windsor, Conn.)
B – Matt Mazzola, Norwich (Sr., Ridgefield, Conn.)
B – Dalton Gaumer, Saint Joseph's (Maine) (Sr., Corona, Calif.)
B – Jackson Taylor, Saint Joseph's (Maine) (Jr., Gorham, Maine)
GK – Blake Mullen, Saint Joseph's (Maine) (Sr., Manchester, Conn.)
Second Team
F – Amerle Nemeye, Norwich (Fr., Burlington, Vt. )
F – Derek Triana, Regis (Mass.) (Sr., Port St. Lucie, Fla.)
F – Noah Robinson, Saint Joseph's (Maine) (Jr., Wappingers Falls, N.Y.)
M – Nick Gutekunst, Johnson & Wales (RI) (Fr., East Northport, N.Y.)
M – Matt Hilton, Norwich (Sr., Colorado Springs, Colo.)
M – Dashiell Vermilya, Norwich (Jr., Montpelier, Vt.)
M – Jared Barroso, Regis (Mass.) (Jr., Central Falls, R.I.)
B – Braeden Krakosky, Johnson & Wales (RI) (So., Sachse, Texas)
B – Riley McNicholas, Johnson & Wales (RI) (Sr., Hopkinton, N.H.)
B – Chris Clain, Norwich (Sr., Proctor, Vt.)
GK – Brendan Germano, Norwich (Sr., Monroe Township, N.J. )
Third Team
F – Abdoul Aremu, Albertus Magnus (So., West Haven, Conn.)
F – Ken Niyonzima, Regis (Mass.) (Jr., Dracut, Mass.)
F – Daniel Castro, St. Joseph (Conn.) (Fr., Willimantic, Conn.)
M – Yannick Gonsalves, Colby-Sawyer (Sr., Oak Bluffs, Mass.)
M – Robert Danielian, Emmanuel (Mass.) (Fr., Watertown, Mass.)
M – Hayden Burbank, St. Joseph (Conn.) (Fr., Southington, Conn.)
M – Jordan Casey, Suffolk (Sr., East Hampton, Conn.)
B – Noah Camelo, Colby-Sawyer (Sr., Marblehead, Mass.)
B – Travis Cole, Emmanuel (Mass.) (Sr., Beckley, W. Va.)
B – Domeniko Skrelja, St. Joseph (Conn.) (Fr., Waterton, Conn.)
GK – Joe Russo, Albertus Magnus (Sr., North Haven, Conn.)
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Brett Mattos, Saint Joseph's (Maine)
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Dalton Gaumer, Saint Joseph's (Maine)
GOALKEEPER OF THE YEAR – Blake Mullen, Saint Joseph's (Maine)
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR – Bienfait Badibanga, Norwich
COACH OF THE YEAR – Adrian Dubois, Saint Joseph's (Maine)
INSTITUTIONAL SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD – Emmanuel (Mass.)
ALL-SPORTSMANSHIP TEAM
Kaj Djonne, Albertus Magnus (Sr., Sandy Hook, Conn.)
Connor Francis, Anna Maria (So., Colchester, Conn.)
Alexi Taliadouros, Colby-Sawyer (Sr., Winchester, Mass.)
Morgan Mercier, Emmanuel (Mass.) (So., Lincolnville, Maine)
Robert Hayman, Johnson & Wales (RI) (Sr., Tomkins Cove, N.Y.)
Connor Wall, Lasell (Sr., East Hampton, Conn.)
Ryan Fitzpatrick, Norwich (Sr., Millbury, Mass.)
Scott Holcomb, Regis (Mass.) (Jr., Natick, Mass.)
Collin Deyarmin, Rivier (Jr., Raymond, N.H.)
Gaetano LaBella, Saint Joseph (Conn.) (So., Wethersfield, Conn.)
Ryan Buonaiuto, Saint Joseph's (Maine) (Jr., Scituate, R.I.)
Simon Velez Angel, Suffolk (Jr., Weston, Fla.)
The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 13 member institutions and over 3,000 student-athletes across the New England region. Founded in 1995, the GNAC annually sponsors and administers 20 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunity and community involvement in an effort to enhance the student-athlete experience.
– #TheGNAC –