West Babylon, N.Y. – The East Coast Conference released its Men’s Soccer All-Conference Award on Friday afternoon. Mercy standouts Benjamin Van Buren (Anderson, S.C.), Eirik Elvestad (Oslo, Norway), and Mathias Schilbred-Eriksen (Bergen, Norway) were joined by Roberts Wesleyan’s Dylan Ruiz (Mexico City, Mexico) and Molloy’s Nick Conklu (Arlington, Va.) as top award winners.
Ruiz was named the league’s Offensive Player of the Year for the second time in his career after also earning the honor after the 2019 season. This year, Ruiz tallied 10 goals and four assists for 24 points. His goal total ranked third in the conference, while his points mark was second.
Van Buren, the Defensive Player of the Year, is the first of three Mercy honorees who contributed to a stingy defense. With Van Buren as the anchor, the Mavericks allowed an ECC-low 13 goals over 17 games, also good for an 0.82 goals against average which ranked 23rd in Division II. Van Buren contributed three goals scored on the year, as well.
Fellow back Schilbred-Eriksen had an outstanding debut season for the Mavericks. In addition to contributing to the aforementioned Mercy defense, he dished off six assists on the season, which ranked third in the conference.
Elvestad is half of the league’s Goalkeeper of the Year duo. The sophomore led the league with seven shutouts and a 0.76 save percentage. Both marks ranked in the top 25 in all of Divison II. Overall, he made 42 total saves on the year, good for 2.8 per game.
Conklu shares the Goalkeeper of the Year award after helping lead Molloy to its first-ever ECC Regular Season Championship. In 18 starts in front of the net, Conklu made 65 saves while posting an .802 save percentage and a 0.97 goals against average. Both his save percentage and goals against average totals ranked second in the ECC.
Queens' head coach Frank Vertullo wraps up the top awards after earning his peers' vote as the ECC Coach of the Year. Under Vertullo’s guidance, the Knights had one of the most successful seasons in program history, finishing with a 13-5 record in the regular season. Queens also earned the No. 2 seed and the program’s first-ever home game in the conference playoffs. Additionally, Vertullo has the Knights ranked No. 6 in the final NCAA Super Region 1 poll, positioning the squad for a potential at-large bid to the NCAA Championship.
2022 ECC Men's Soccer All-Conference
First Team
F - Gio Fabiano, Molloy
F - Dylan Ruiz, Roberts Wesleyan
F - Jorge Umana, St. Thomas Aquinas
M - Vasco Baptista, Mercy
M - Ryan Dobson, Molloy
M - Adolfo Martinez Paquet, Queens
M - Ollie Murch, Molloy
B - Thomas Esperoe, Queens
B - Jonas Jacobsen, Molloy
B - Benjamin Van Buren, Mercy
GK - Nick Conklu, Molloy
GK - Eirik Elvestad, Mercy
Second Team
F - Kevon Evans, St. Thomas Aquinas
F - Tamas Nagy, Roberts Wesleyan
F - Leo Pinto, Queens
M - Marc-Anthony Blackburn, Roberts Wesleyan
M - Axel Gamez, Dist. Columbia
M - Alex Perez, Roberts Wesleyan
M - Daniel Rodriguez, Mercy
B - Derek Bartlo, Daemen
B - Nathan Ferguson, Roberts Wesleyan
B - Mathias Schilbred-Eriksen, Mercy
GK - Dario Cruz, Queens
Third Team
F - David Breitenbach, Mercy
F - Santiago Gordillo Martinez, Dist. Columbia
F - Luis Silva, Mercy
M - Daniel Angulo, Staten Island
M - Thomas Cecil, Dist. Columbia
M - Danny Muir, Molloy
M - Marco Passera, Mercy
B - Nicholas Kishenko, Staten Island
B - Martin Penafiel, Mercy
B - Orlando Zambrano, Jr., Molloy
GK - Jared Gibbons, Roberts Wesleyan
* Two goalkeepers on First Team due to tie in the voting
Offensive Player of the Year: Dylan Ruiz, Roberts Wesleyan
Defensive Player of the Year: Benjamin Van Buren, Mercy
Co-Goalkeeper of the Year: Nick Conklu, Molloy
Co-Goalkeeper of the Year: Eirik Elvestad, Mercy
Rookie of the Year: Mathias Schilbred-Eriksen, Mercy
Coach of the Year: Frank Vertullo, Queens
