ATTLEBORO, Mass. – The NECC announced its 2017 Men's Soccer All-Conference teams and major award winners on Tuesday morning. The awards were voted on by the conference's eight coaches following the conclusion of the regular season. All eight of the conference schools are represented on the all-conference teams, with the newest member, Dean College, leading the way with five Bulldogs being honored.
Elms College forward Babba Jaden (Clarkston, Ga.) was voted the 2017 NECC Player of the Year. Dean's Nathan Silveira (East Providence, R.I.) was named Goalkeeper of the Year, while his teammate Felipe Campos(Barnstable, Mass.) earned Rookie of the Year honors. Mitchell College head coach Damian Houlden was voted Coach of the Year.
Joining Jaden and Campos in the first-team forward slot are Nilton De Andrade (Boston, Mass.) from Newbury College, and Pepe Vieira (Brockton, Mass.) of Dean. Elms had two midfield selections, C.J. Dabkowski(Bristol, Conn.) and Kahlil Peters (Hartford, Conn.). Rounding out the first team midfielders is Santiago Cardona (Revere, Mass.) of Dean. Mitchell's strong defense was rewarded with two of the three defender slots, as TJ Condon (North Stonington, Conn.) and William Ferguson (Old Lyme, Conn.) were named First Team All-NECC. Defender Patrick Gomes (Lisbon, Portugal) represented Wheelock College on the first team. Goalkeeper of the Year, Nathan Silveira rounded out the first team.
The second team saw all eight NECC schools being recognized. Lesley University forwards Nuno Pereira (Sao Filipe, Fogo, Cape Verde) and Anthony Vitta (Oceanside, N.Y.) earned second team accolades, along with Mitchell forward Andrew Storton (Oxford, England) and Southern Vermont College forward Jared Lacoste (Arlington, Vt.). Becker College freshman Leemar Baptista (Brockton, Mass.) earned a midfield selection, as did Newbury's Kevin Teixeira (Boston, Mass.) and Lesley's Jack Wadleigh (Glastonbury, Conn.). In the defender position, Dean's Cristiano Martins (Brockton, Mass.), Elms' Justin Kassouf (Milford, Conn.) and Lesley's Ben Heischuber (Holliston, Mass.) were honored. Wheelock goalkeeper Jordan Bernard (Westbrook, Conn.) closed out the All-NECC second team.
NECC Player of the Year – Babba Jaden, Elms (So., F, Clarkston, Ga.)
In his sophomore campaign, Jaden led the Blazers to a 5-2 regular season conference record, and a No. 3 seed in the 2017 NECC Men's Soccer Championship. In seven conference matches, he totaled 9 goals, including 3 game winners. He was a two-time 2017 NECC Player of the Week selection (weeks ending 9/24/17 and 10/22/17).
NECC Goalkeeper of the Year – Nathan Silveira, Dean (Fr., GK, East Providence, R.I.)
Freshman Nathan Silveira had a stellar rookie season in goal, playing in six conference matches. Dean led the league in goals-against-average (GAA) at 0.63, behind Silveira's impressive GAA of 0.38. He posted three shutouts, allowing only 2 goals in six games. Silveira's overall save percentage of .880 is tied for ninth in Division III.
NECC Rookie of the Year – Felipe Campos, Dean (Fr., LW, Barnstable, Mass.)
In his first year at the collegiate level, Campos helped lead the Bulldogs to a 6-1 conference record, for a share of the regular season title. He scored 11 goals in seven conference matches. He also added two assists, for 24 total points. Overall, Campos' 18 goals is tied for tenth in NCAA Division III, while his 1.29 goals per game average leads Division III. Campos was a two time NECC Player of the Week selection (weeks ending 9/10/17 and 10/29/17), along with four Rookie of the Week Honors (weeks ending 9/10/17, 9/24/17, 10/15/17, and 10/29/17).
Coach of the Year – Damian Houlden, Mitchell
In his third season at the helm of the Mariners, Houlden led his squad to a 6-1 regular season record, which was good enough for a share of the regular season conference title. Houlden's squad went on to win the NECC 2017 Conference Championship for the first time in school history, and will make their first appearance in the NCAA Championship.
First Team All-NECC
F – Felipe Campos, Dean (Fr., Brockton, Mass.)
F – Nilton De Andrade, Newbury (So., Boston, Mass.)
F – Babba Jaden, Elms (So., Clarkston, Ga.)
F – Pepe Vieira, Dean (Sr., Brockton, Mass.)
M – Santiago Cardona, Dean (So., Revere, Mass.)
M – C.J. Dabkowski, Elms (Sr., Bristol, Conn.)
M – Kahlil Peters, Elms (Sr., Hartford, Conn.)
D – TJ Condon, Mitchell (Jr., North Stonington, Conn.)
D – William Ferguson, Mitchell (So., Old Lyme, Conn.)
D – Patrick Gomes, Wheelock (Fr., Lisbon, Portugal)
GK – Nathan Silveira, Dean (Fr., East Providence, R.I.)
Second Team All-NECC
F- Jared Lacoste, Southern Vermont (Fr., Arlington, Vt.)
F- Nuno Pereira, Lesley (Sr., Sao Filipe, Fogo, Cape Verde)
F- Andrew Storton, Mitchell (Jr., Oxford, England)
F- Anthony Vitta, Lesley (Sr., Oceanside, N.Y.)
M- Leemar Baptista, Becker (Fr., Brockton, Mass.)
M- Kevin Teixeira, Newbury (Sr., Boston, Mass.)
M- Jack Wadleigh, Lesley (Fr., Glastonbury, Conn.)
D – Ben Heischuber, Lesley (So., Holliston, Mass.)
D – Justin Kassouf, Elms (Sr., Milford, Conn.)
D – Cristiano Martins, Dean (Fr., Brockton, Mass.)
GK - Jordan Bernard, Wheelock (Sr., Westbrook, Conn.)
All-NECC Sportsmanship Team
Nathan Cornejo, Becker (Jr., Douglas, Mass.)
Brendan Pacheco, Dean (Jr., Fall River, Mass.)
Mike DiPasquale, Elms (Sr., Meriden, Conn.)
Andrew Medeiros, Lesley (So., Bristol, R.I.)
Eduardo Tineo, Mitchell (Fr., Waterford, Conn.)
Jose Palma, Newbury (Jr., Brookline, Mass.)
Lee Dennis, Southern Vermont (So., Chocorua, N.H.)
Matt Woolverton, Wheelock (Jr., Cumberland, Maine)