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Somerset, NJ -- On the eve of the Northeast Conference (NEC) Men’s Soccer Championship, the league revealed it’s 2016 men’s soccer major award winners and All-Conference teams, with top honors going to LIU Brooklyn sophomore midfielder Simen Hestnes (Oslo, Norway/Wang Toppidrett), who was voted the NEC Player of the Year by the league’s head coaches.

St. Francis Brooklyn, which won its first outright NEC regular season title since 1997, claimed three of the four major awards presented at the NEC Tournament banquet. Senior defender Collyns Laokandi (Paris, France/University of Reims Champagne Ardenne) was named the NEC Defensive Player of the Year and freshman defender Faouzi Taieb (Marseille, France/Ettp Om) collected NEC Rookie of the Year honors for the Terriers.  Now in his tenth year, SFBK head coach Tom Giovatto was named the NEC Coach of the Year after leading the Terriers to their first NEC regular season title in 18 years. SFBK did not allow a single goal in conference play, outscoring its opponents 11-0 en-route to a 6-0-1 league record. The Terriers have qualified for the NEC Tournament four straight seasons, including back-to-back conference titles in 2013 and 2014.

Hestnes, now a two-time first team All-NEC honoree, became the first Blackbird to win NEC Player of the Year honors since Walter Bustamante won it in 1994. The sophomore currently ranks first in the NEC and sixth nationally in with nine assists. He is also second in the league in points (23) and fourth in goals (seven). Hestnes was tabbed the NEC Player of the Week on September 19 after leading the Blackbirds to a win over then #22 Rider with a goal and an assist. Other LIU players to earn NEC Player of the Year honors include NEC Hall of Famer Giovanni Savarese (1992) and Roger Chavez, who won the inaugural award back in 1986.

Laokandi led a stingy defensive unit that ranks 12th nationally in goals against average (0.65) on the season. The Terriers have posted a league-high nine shutouts and have not allowed a goal in an astounding 681 minutes heading into the postseason. The Paris, France product also chipped in offensively with two goals and three assists, and ranks fourth on the team with seven points. Laokandi is the first St. Francis Brooklyn player to win the DPOY award.

Taieb became the first Terrier since Kevin Correa in 2012 and seventh overall to claim the NEC Rookie of the Year award. Yet another stalwart defender for a St. Francis Brooklyn squad that has held opponents scoreless in seven straight matches, Taieb was named NEC Rookie of the Week on September 19. The Marseille, France native found the back of the net twice during the regular season, including a game-winner against Saint Francis U on October 14. John Sallhag (2007), Agard Radoncic (1998), Dmitri Petrouniak (1995), Ron Mitchell (1992) and Steve Mason (1991) are previous NEC Rookie of the Year honorees for the Terriers.
 
AWARD WINNER HIGHLIGHTS

LIU Brooklyn and St. Francis Brooklyn each landed six All-NEC award winners. The regular season champion Terriers placed four players on the first team, with the Blackbirds and Saint Francis U right behind with three apiece.

LIU Brooklyn sophomore midfielder Rasmus Hansen (Greve, Denmark/Brondby Gymnasium), the 2015 NEC Rookie of the Year, earned his second straight first team All-NEC nod. He leads the league in goals (11) and points (29), and ranks ninth in goals and 11th in points nationally. LIU redshirt junior midfielder Naeem Charles (Trinidad & Tobago/Westinghouse) sits second in the conference, right behind Hansen, in goals (nine) and is tied for second in points (23).

Two-time NEC Defensive Player of the Year Saint Francis U’s Francis de Vries (Christchurch, New Zealand/Cashmere) earned his fourth straight first team All-NEC nod. The two-time NSCAA All-American and free kick specialist ranks fifth on the Red Flash with seven points and has three goals on the season. He joins Fairleigh Dickinson’s Stephen Fox (1993-96), the Mount’s Mark Southern (1994-97), UMBC’s Andy Wells (1998-01), CCSU’s Alex Harrison (2003-06) as the only four-time All-NEC selections in conference history.

Robert Morris senior Keane McIvor (Diego Martin, Trinidad & Tobadgo/St. Anthony’s College) earned his second consecutive second team All-NEC honor. The senior led the Colonials with nine points and five assists.

CCSU midfielder Andres Muriel Albino (Sevilla, Spain/I.E.S Miguel Servet) and LIU Brooklyn midfielder Giuseppe Barone (Brooklyn, NY/Xaverian) were the only two freshman to earn both All-NEC accolades and NEC All-Rookie honors. Both were named to the second team.

St. Francis Brooklyn junior goalkeeper Roberto Bazzichetto (San Vendemiano, Italy/G. Marchesini) did not allow a goal in 350+ minutes of NEC play this season and yielded just three on the year for a league-leading 0.43 goals against average.
 
About The Northeast Conference
Now in its 36th year, the Northeast Conference is an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic association consisting of 10 institutions of higher learning located throughout six states. Media coverage of the NEC extends to four of the largest markets in the United States - New York (#1), Pittsburgh (#22), Baltimore (#26), and Hartford/New Haven (#30).  Founded in 1981 as the basketball-only ECAC Metro Conference, the NEC has grown to sponsor 22 championship sports for men and women and now enjoys automatic access to 14 different NCAA Championships. NEC member institutions include Bryant, Central Connecticut, Fairleigh Dickinson, LIU Brooklyn, Mount St. Mary’s, Robert Morris, Sacred Heart, St. Francis Brooklyn, Saint Francis U and Wagner. For more information on the NEC, visit the league’s official website (www.northeastconference.org) and digital network (www.necfrontrow.com), or follow the league on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Snapchat, all @NECsports.