January 5, 2012
ECAC Honors Eight Players and a Rookie
Eight SUNYAC men’s soccer players have been chosen to the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III Upstate All-Star team. And SUNY Oneonta forward Justin Rivera has been honored as the 2011 Rookie of the Year. The voting was done by the coaches in the ECAC Division III Upstate Region membership.
Rivera posted five goals and four assists for 14 points en route to SUNYAC Rookie of the Year and conference all-tournament honors. The freshman midfielder started in 16 of 23 games played. The Red Dragons swept the SUNYAC regular-season and tournament titles, won a school record 18 games and reached the national semifinals.
In addition to Rivera, junior Eric Fortier and senior Gary Laronde and Nicholas Gregg were named First Team All-Stars. Plattsburgh’s Pat Shaughnessy completed the first team forward line while New Paltz midfielder Tommy Garafola and Brockport defender Brian Duffy earned first team honors.
Fortier, who became Oneonta's first men's soccer All-American since 1980, had his best season in a Red Dragon uniform in 2011. He was selected as the SUNYAC Player of the Year and was the team's leader with 28 points on 12 goals and four assists. He was also the leader in game-winning goals with four.
Laronde and Gregg were honored as NSCAA All-Region selections for their outstanding seasons. Laronde was named to the second team, as a forward while Gregg was a third team defender.
Laronde started 15 of Oneonta's 23 games this year and finished third on the team in scoring with 17 points on six goals and five assists. The first team All-SUNYAC and SUNYAC tournament MVP also had two game-winning goals for Oneonta this fall.
Laronde ends his collegiate career as a three-time All-Conference selection. He played in 66 games for Oneonta and registered 13 goals and 11 assists for 37 points.
Gregg was Oneonta's starting sweeper this fall. He started all 23 games for the Red Dragons and was selected to the All-SUNYAC first team. He registered one goal and two assists on the season with his lone goal being a game-winner versus Skidmore.
Gregg was a three-time All-Conference player during his career and played in 76 games for Oneonta during his four years. He finished with 12 goals and three assists for 27 points.
Laronde and Gregg were honored as NSCAA All-Region selections for their outstanding seasons. Laronde was named to the second team, as a forward while Gregg was a third team defender.
Laronde started 15 of Oneonta's 23 games this year and finished third on the team in scoring with 17 points on six goals and five assists. The first team All-SUNYAC and SUNYAC tournament MVP also had two game-winning goals for Oneonta this fall.
Laronde ends his collegiate career as a three-time All-Conference selection. He played in 66 games for Oneonta and registered 13 goals and 11 assists for 37 points.
Gregg was Oneonta's starting sweeper this fall. He started all 23 games for the Red Dragons and was selected to the All-SUNYAC first team. He registered one goal and two assists on the season with his lone goal being a game-winner versus Skidmore.
Gregg was a three-time All-Conference player during his career and played in 76 games for Oneonta during his four years. He finished with 12 goals and three assists for 27 points.
It is the first time in Shaughnessy’s career that he has been named an ECAC All-Star. Shaughnessy has been racking up post-season honors following the completion of his Cardinal career. He has already been named to the NSCAA Scholar All-American team, NSCAA All-East first team, All-SUNYAC first team and the Capital One Academic All-District team. The 2011 season was a career year for the four-year starter from Plattsburgh after leading the conference in scoring with 33 points. Shaughnessy tallied 14 goals, including seven game-winners, in his final season.
Garafola owned the team-high in assists with eight this year—which ranks third all-time in a single season in New Paltz program history—and he also collected a team-leading 14 points. He found the back of the net three times this season, and two of those were game-winners. Among conference leaders, he finished second in assists and third in assists per game (0.42). The all-ECAC honor supplements a pair of additional postseason awards that he has accrued in the past two months, as he was named First-Team All-SUNYAC and Second-Team All-East Region.
Duffy led Brockport to a 13-4-2 overall record, including an 8-1-0 record in the SUNYAC. The team reached the SUNYAC Championship game and made it to the second round of the NCAA Tournament after Duffy scored the lone goal in a 1-0 victory in the first round victory against Manhattanville. Duffy scored seven goals, including three game-winning goals, and added one assist this season. He was also the recipient of the 2011 Fred Holloway Award, First-Team All-SUNYAC and Second-Team All-Region by the NSCAA.
Second team All-ECAC honors went to Oneonta’s midfielder Jonathan Kowalski and goalkeeper Max Siegelman.
