The awards were presented at a banquet on the eve of the 2005 NEC Men’s Soccer Tournament, set to commence on Friday, November 11 at Monmouth’s Great Lawn in West Long Branch, NJ. In the semifinals, top-seed Monmouth takes on #4 seed Sacred Heart at 11:00 am, followed by #2 seed Central Connecticut State going up against #3 seed Robert Morris at 1:30 pm. The championship match is slated for Sunday, November 13 at 12:00 pm. The winner of the NEC championship will receive the league’s automatic berth in the NCAA College Cup. First round NCAA action begins on November 18-19 at campus sites.

Harrison becomes the fourth two-time NEC Player of the Year honoree in league history, joining Monmouth’s Joni Kallioinen (1990-91), St. Francis (NY)’s Duke Shamo (1997-98) and UMBC’s Giuliano Celenza (1999-00). A prolific goal scorer over the course of his career, Harrison paces the NEC in both goals (12) and points (26) and ranks 12th and 18th, respectively, in the two categories nationally. As a sophomore, he led the nation in goals per game and was second in points per game en-route to NSCAA/adidas all-New England honors. A former NEC Rookie of the Year, three-time first team all-star and a member of Great Britain’s World University Games team last summer, Harrison has boosted his career totals to 39 goals and 87 points. A success in the classroom as well as on the field, the Eastbourne, England native was recently named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District first team for the second year in a row.

MacDonald was one of the key defensive elements on a new-look Monmouth team this year that shutdown opponents all season long. A transfer from Virginia Commonwealth, MacDonald, along with fellow first team defender Ed Hayden and first team goalkeeper Art Satterwhite, permitted a league-low 14 goals on the season and shutout 10 opponents, including four straight to close out the regular season. He also produced on the offensive end with three goals and seven points.

Klukowski is the third Central Connecticut State player in four years to earn NEC Rookie of the Year plaudits, following in the footsteps of current teammates Alex Harrison and Jorden Holder. A first team all-conference selection, Klukowski was a catalyst in the Blue Devils’ stretch drive toward a playoff berth, scoring five goals over his last four games, including the lone marker in CCSU’s playoff-clinching win over Sacred Heart last Sunday. The only player in the conference to earn Brine/NEC Player and Rookie of the Week honors this season, he is currently second among league freshman with 17 points and third with seven goals. Overall, he is fourth on the circuit in scoring and fifth in goals. Klukowski was also the leading NEC scorer in league play with six goals and 14 points.

In just two years, McCourt has engineered a dramatic turnaround in the fortunes of the Monmouth program. The Hawks posted a 4-11-1 mark the year prior to his arrival, but improved to 7-8-3 in his first season. Reaping the benefits of McCourt’s outstanding recruiting class, Monmouth wrapped up its first NEC regular season crown since 1993 and first outright title since 1990 by finishing unbeaten in league play (6-0-3) for the first time in school history. The Hawks will be making their first NEC Tournament appearance since 1999 and carry a school record 11-game unbeaten streak into postseason play. Under his watch, Monmouth has earned its highest-ever ranking in the NSCAA/adidas Mid-Atlantic region, rising to #6 in the most recent poll.

The future of the NEC looks bright with seven freshman and four sophomores earning all-conference honors this season. Only five of the 22 all star spots were awarded to seniors.

Monmouth’s success during the regular season translated into a league-high three players recognized as first team all-NEC performers. In addition to MacDonald, fellow defender Ed Hayden (Olney, MD/Magruder) earns his second all-league nod, while senior goalkeeper Art Satterwhite (Somerset, NJ/Franklin) is a first time honoree on the NEC’s top-ranked defensive unit. Hayden, who was tabbed to the second team in 2004, is a bonafide two-way threat as his four goals rank second on the Hawks. MacDonald and Hayden proved to be the perfect defensive counterparts to Satterwhite, who posted a school record and league-best 10 shutouts over the course of the regular season. He enters tourney play with four straight shutouts to his credit and ranks first in the conference and 19th nationally with a 0.71 goals against average. Satterwhite was even better against NEC rivals this season, permitting just two goals in nine matches for a 0.20 gaa.

It has been a season of firsts for Sacred Heart. Not only are the Pioneers about to embark on their first-ever NEC Tournament appearance after being picked last in the preseason coaches poll, but freshman forward Jason Tessitore (Ansonia, CT/Amity) and freshman defender Anthony Anzevui (Newcastle, England/Monkseaton) have also become the first first team all-NEC award recipients in school history. Tessitore quickly developed into one of the most feared goal scorers in the conference and is currently tied for the lead among NEC freshman with eight tallies and ranks third overall in the conference. He is also the second-leading scorer among freshmen and stands fourth in the conference with 17 points during the regular season. Anzevui is one of the ringleaders of a defense that yielded just seven goals in nine league games and has allowed one goal or less in nine straight matches.

Playoff bound Robert Morris also sports a pair of first time honorees in sophomore forward Jacek Przednowek (Branford, Ontario/St. John’s College) and sophomore midfielder Ryan Zabinski (New Cumberland, PA/Cedar Cliff). Przednowek exploded onto the scene in 2005, and heads into the postseason ranked second in the NEC with 11 goals and 25 points. He also buried the game-winner in the Colonials’ 2-1 win over St. Francis (NY) that clinched a playoff spot on the final day of the regular season. Zabinski is the top tablesetter for Robert Morris with five assists, three of which came in a 3-2 win over Sacred Heart on October 7. The three helpers are the second-highest single-game total in the nation this year.

Fairleigh Dickinson and Mount St. Mary’s each placed one player on the first team. For the Knights, freshman midfielder Alejandro Bedoya (Weston, FL/St. Thomas Aquinas) needed little time to become an offensive force in the conference. He is a two-time Brine/NEC Player of the Week who leads all NEC freshman and ranks third in the conference with 19 points. Bedoya’s eight goals tie him for most among freshman players and place him third overall. The Mount’s Howdy Long (Gaithersburg, MD/Quince Orchard) entered his senior year with career totals of two goals and two assists, but the midfielder stepped up his production in 2005 with 17 points (fourth in NEC) and seven goals (fifth).

Nine of the ten competing NEC schools placed a player on the all-conference second team with only Central Connecticut State and Fairleigh Dickinson claiming two spots.

Central Connecticut State senior forward Jorden Holder (Oxon, England/Bicester Community) created scoring opportunities at an eye-popping rate for the Blue Devils during the regular season. The 2002 NEC Rookie of the Year and a three-time all-NEC second team member, Holder is the national leader in assists per game (0.81) and has compiled an NEC-high and school record-tying 13 helpers on the year. He also established a new CCSU career mark with 31 assists. Freshman defender David Tyrie (Norwich-Norfolk, England/City of Norwich)) helped spark CCSU’s playoff push as the Blue Devils allowed just four goals over their final five matches. Offensively, he has registered one goal and two assists.

Fairleigh Dickinson senior midfielder Nadav Gottesman (Haifa, Israel/M. Fleiman) and junior defender Donny Mayard (Laval, Canada/Leblanc) were two veteran standouts for the Knights, who lost out on claiming their ninth straight playoff berth on the final day of the regular season. Making his fourth all-conference appearance is Gottesman, one of the most decorated players in recent league history. Gottesman, who was picked to the first team in 2003 and 2004, orchestrated FDU’s attack and contributed three goals and seven points. Mayard scored one goal and helped anchor a suffocating FDU defense that did not yield more than two goals in a single game this season.

Joining Holder up front on the second team are Monmouth sophomore forward Tom Gray (Middletown, NJ/Middletown South) and Quinnipiac junior forward Francis Mavula (Ottawa, Ontario/St. Patrick). Gray, a transfer from Rutgers, currently leads the Hawks with seven assists (second in NEC) and 13 points. Mavula finished as the Bobcats’ leader in both goals (seven) and points (17), and ranks fourth and fifth, respectively, in the two categories in the conference.

The second team all-NEC midfield is comprised of Gottesman, along with Long Island freshman Josh Merchant (New Orleans, LA/Pendleton), St. Francis (NY) junior Carlos Moncaleano (Jackson Heights, NY/Long Island City) and Robert Morris junior Jason Pelletier (Middletown, PA/Middletown). On a young Blackbird team dominated by freshman, none made his presence felt more than Merchant, who contributed three goals and four assists in his first collegiate season. Moncaleano was a bright spot for the Terriers in 2005, contributing two goals and four assists. Pelletier recorded two assists and was a vital cog in the midfield for Robert Morris, which returns to the NEC playoffs for the fourth time in five years.

The second team backfield consists of Tyrie, Mayard and St. Francis (PA) sophomore Jarron Brooks (Mitchellville, MD/Archbishop Carroll), a repeat selection. With a goal and three assists, Brooks provided the Red Flash with some offensive punch, and also patrolled a defense that posted seven shutouts on the year.

Rounding out the second team is Sacred Heart freshman goalkeeper Matthew Jones (Stoke-on-Trent, England/Sandon), who ranks second in the conference and 11th in the nation with an .835 save percentage. Jones, who permitted just four goals during the Pioneers’ recent eight-game unbeaten streak, is also second in the NEC with seven shutouts.