Merrimack rolled to the 2019 NEC men’s soccer regular season title with a perfect 9-0 record, and was rewarded with two major year-end awards. Senior defender Mirko Nufi (Crema, Italy/Luca Pacioli (Northern Michigan)) took home NEC Defensive Player of the Year accolades, while Tony Martone and his assistants were the unanimous pick for NEC Coaching Staff of the Year.

The league’s most coverted honor, however, went to high scoring Saint Francis U junior midfielder Lucas Rosa (Atibaia, Brazil/COC Atibaia), who was named the NEC Player of the Year.

LIU freshman striker Papa Ndoye (Mbour, Senegal/Mbour) was voted the NEC Rookie of the Year.

The awards were announced at the annual pre-NEC Tournament banquet hosted this year by top-seeded Saint Francis U in Loretto, PA.

Rosa’s emergence as an elite scorer and creative force in the midfield played a key role in the Red Flash’s runner-up finish this season. He enters the postseason ranked first in the NEC with 11 goals and 24 points, and his six game-winners ties him for first in the nation. The Atibaia, Brazil native posted three multi-goal games and amassed eight goals and 18 points during conference play to spark the Red Flash to a 7-2 mark vs. league rivals. Rosa joined last year’s winner and former teammate Mario Mastrangelo (2018) as the two SFU student-athletes who have been voted NEC Player of the Year.

Nufi was the ringleader of the NEC’s stingiest defense that stacks up with the best nationally, ranking ninth in shutout percentage (.562), 11th in goals allowed (12), and 14th in GAA (0.72) and total shutouts (nine). Merrimack conceded a mere two goals against NEC opposition and posted clean sheets in seven-of-nine league matches. Nufi started all 16 games and rarely came off the field, playing 98.5 percent of his team’s minutes. He also provided an offensive lift serving as the Warriors’ PK specialist, making all four of his attempts, including the game-winner in OT vs. FDU on November 3. Nufi, who hails from Crema, Italy, recorded three game-winning goals to tie him for second in the NEC.

Ndoye played anything like a rookie on a young LIU squad that features 13 freshmen and 21 underclassmen. He made an immediate impact, netting a late game-winner in his first collegiate match at Old Dominion on his way to scoring in four of his first six outings. A two-time NEC Rookie of the Week, Ndoye paced the Sharks and was the top freshman goal scorer and point producer in the conference with seven and 15, respectively. He ranks sixth in the conference in goals and seventh in scoring. Ndoye,  a native of Mbour, Senegal, was one of two freshman performers to be named to the All-NEC first team. He also became the seventh NEC Rookie of the Year in the program’s rich history, joining Dan DeOliveira (1987), Carlos Bravo (1988), Paul Schneider (1994), Rafael Solano (1997), Rasmus Hansen (2015) and Sam Ilin, who was honored last season.

Now in his 38th year, Martone is a legendary figure in North Andover, and his job in guiding the Warriors to the NEC regular season title in the program’s first year in the DI ranks just adds to his storied legacy. Merrimack led the league in both goals per game (2.12) and GAA (0.72), and earned distinction as just the fourth team in conference history to post a perfect record. The Warriors outscored NEC rivals by a 25-2 margin and also picked up non-conference wins over Northeastern and Boston University on its way to a 11-3-2 season. Martone picked up his 400th career win against the Mount on October 27 as Merrimack ended its year on an eight-match win streak.

AWARD WINNER HIGHLIGHTS

Merrimack earned a league-best four All-NEC first team nods and tied with Fairleigh Dickinson for the most overall all-star selections. Saint Francis U and St. Francis Brooklyn each had three All-Conference honorees.

Merrimack midfielder Marc Torrellas (Barcelona, Spain/Escola Pia Sarria) joined Ndoye as the lone freshmen to claim first team All-NEC plaudits. Torrellas, who has scored three times, was joined on the first team by teammate Tola Showunmi (Longdon, England/Highlands Secondary) two cornerstones in the Warriors’ young, attacking midfield. Just a sophomore, Showunmi is tied for the team lead with six goals and 14 points as part of a balanced Merrimack attack.

Joining Nufi on the first team for Merrimack was goalkeeper Lucas Rezende (Weymouth, MA/Weymouth), who came back strong after suffering the second season-ending injury of his career in 2018. Rezende ranks second in the NEC in both GAA (0.72) and save percentage (.815).

There are a host of repeat All-NEC award winners, including three from FDU. Junior keeper Jahmali Waite (Philadelphia, PA/YSC Academy) was a first team pick a year ago before earning second team status this fall. Teammate Anthony Herbert (Brooklyn, NY/Progress), a sophomore defender, made it back-to-back second team honors, while redshirt senior midfielder Daniel Lasarte (Madrid, Spain/Defiance (OH)) collected his second All-NEC second team accolade after being honored back in 2017.

Mount St. Mary’s senior defender Boris Nana Tonzi (Le Pradet, France/Notre Dame Le Menimar) took the leap from the All-NEC second team to first team this season, while St. Francis Brooklyn senior midfielder Julien Remiti (Ajaccio, France/Corte University) added a second team honor to the first team recognition he received a year ago.

Saint Francis U defender Piet Wesling (Hamburg, Germany) was the only freshman to be named to the All-NEC second team.

FDU junior forward Diego Arribas (Madrid, Spain/Brains International School), an All-NEC first teamer and three-time NEC Player of the Week, paces the Knights and ranks second in the NEC in goals (eight), assists (five) and points (21).

Two transfers paid immediate dividends for their squads and earned first team All-NEC honors for their efforts. Bryant senior midfielder Alex DaCosta (Bristol, RI/LaSalle Academy (Providence)), who played three years at Providence, rang up six goals and five assists during the regular season to pace the Bulldogs and rank in the NEC top-10 in each category. CCSU senior midfielder Eddie Yepes (Medellin, Colombia/Thomas Jefferson (UMass Lowell)) came to the Blue Devils by way of UMass Lowell. He finished with eight goals and 19 points, both good for third on the circuit.

ABOUT THE NORTHEAST CONFERENCE
Now in its 39th year, the Northeast Conference is an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic association consisting of 11 institutions of higher learning located throughout seven states. Media coverage of the NEC extends to a number of the largest markets in the United States - New York (#1), Boston (#9), Pittsburgh (#24), Baltimore (#26), Hartford/New Haven (#33) and Providence (#53).  Founded in 1981 as the basketball-only ECAC Metro Conference, the NEC has grown to sponsor 23 championship sports for men and women and now enjoys automatic access to 16 different NCAA Championships. NEC member institutions include Bryant, Central Connecticut, Fairleigh Dickinson, LIU, Merrimack, 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.