EDISON, NJ (Nov. 7, 2022) – The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) today revealed the 2022 Men’s Soccer Major Award winners and All-MAAC Teams, voted on by the league’s 11 head coaches. Regular season champion, Quinnipiac University headlined MAAC postseason honors with three major award winners.
Leading the way for the Bobcats was David Bercedo, winning 2022 Golden Boot. The senior forward from Madrid, Spain led the conference in points and goals during the regular season, logging 28 points and netting 11 tallies. Bercedo also recorded six assists, a mark that ranked fifth on the MAAC leaderboard during 2022. He ranked fifth in the MAAC with 36 shots and registered the second-most shots on goal, putting 23 on target. Moreover, Bercedo ranked eighth nationally in total goals and fourth in the country in total points, while being the only player in the conference this regular season to score double-digit goals and register above 20 points. He joins former Bobcat Eamon Whelan (2018) as the only other Quinnipiac winner of the MAAC top offensive player of the year award.
Greg Monroe from Siena College was named as the 2022 Golden Glove. The first ever Saint to garner the MAAC’s top goalkeeper award, Monroe was the league leader in save percentage (.814) and shutouts (7) during the 2022 regular season. He ranked second in goals against average (1.02) and third in both total saves (79) and saves per game (4.39). In conference games, Monroe stopped a conference-most, 43 shots and had the highest save percentage (.860). A native of Clifton Park, NY, he rewrote Siena’s record book this season, becoming the Saint’s all-time leader in wins, shutouts, goalkeeper minutes, and matches played. Monroe was named MAAC Defensive Player of the Week on three occasions during 2022, winning the award on Aug. 29, Sept. 19, and Oct. 10, and he was one of two goalkeepers this season to make 11 stops in a single match, doing so on Sept. 17 against Merrimack.
Manhattan College’s freshman defender, Nassim Akki, was voted as the 2022 MAAC Defensive Player of the Year. Hailing from Bordeaux, France, he helped anchor a Manhattan defense that allowed a league-low 16 goals, recorded a MAAC-best .94 goals against average, and recorded a conference-high eight shutouts throughout the regular season. Manhattan and its defense were the only unit in the MAAC that gave up less than one goal per game and the team closed out the regular season unbeaten in six straight matches. In addition to his defensive expertise’s, Akki notched a pair of assists on the offensive side of the pitch in 2022. He becomes the Jaspers’ first ever MAAC Defensive or Offensive award winner and just the program’s fourth ever major award winner within the MAAC. Akki was also one of two freshmen to earn All-MAAC First Team honors this season.
The second award winner from Quinnipiac was 2022 MAAC Rookie of the Year, Alexander Stjernegaard. Another MAAC standout first year, Stjernegaard was the conference leader in assists, pacing the league with nine helpers during the regular season, a mark that was tied for seventh in the NCAA. From Rungstad Kyst, Denmark, the midfielder tied for third in the MAAC with 17 points and was fourth on Quinnipiac’s charts with four goals. Stjernegaard picked up a trio of MAAC Rookie of the Week awards in 2022, claiming the weekly award on Sept. 19, Sept. 26, and Oct. 17. He becomes the third MAAC Rookie of the Year from Quinnipiac, joining current Bobcat Tomas Svecula (2019) and the aforementioned Eamon Whelan (2016). Stjernegaard was the only other rookie to claim a spot on the All-MAAC First Team, joining Akki.
The final major award winner for the Bobcats was head coach Eric Da Costa, claiming 2022 MAAC Coach of the Year honors, the third of his 18-year career, also earning the award in 2014 and 2016. Da Costa led Quinnipiac to its fifth MAAC Regular Season championship and top overall seed in the MAAC Championship field following a 6-2-2 conference mark and 11-4-3 overall record during 2022. Under his leadership, the Bobcats produced the most potent offensive attack in the MAAC, leading the conference in points (141), goals (46), and assists (49), marks that all ranked top-10 nationally following the MAAC regular season. Quinnipiac’s 46 goals ranked tied for first in the NCAA, the 141 total points ranked third, and the 49 assists ranked fifth. Additionally, Da Costa’s squad had the countries sixth-best scoring offense and eighth-best goal differential. The five regular season trophies since 2013 leads all other MAAC schools during the time span and the Bobcats have qualified for postseason play in all but one season since joining the MAAC under his guidance.
Manhattan led the way with a league-high eight All-MAAC selections, followed by Iona who placed seven athletes to an all-conference team, while both Quinnipiac and Siena had six earn conference honors.
The full list of All-MAAC Teams and major awards winners are below.
| 2022 Men’s Soccer Major Awards |
| Awards |
Player |
School |
| Golden Boot |
David Bercedo |
Quinnipiac |
| Defensive Player of the Year |
Nassim Akki |
Manhattan |
| Golden Glove |
Greg Monroe |
Siena |
| Rookie of the Year |
Alexander Stjernegaard |
Quinnipiac |
| Coach of the Year |
Eric Da Costa |
Quinnipiac |
| All-MAAC First Team |
| Player |
Class |
Position |
School |
| Brage Aasen |
Sr. |
Forward |
Quinnipiac |
| David Bercedo |
Jr. |
Forward |
Quinnipiac |
| Thomas Storodegard |
So. |
Forward |
Siena |
| Raz Amir |
Jr. |
Midfield |
Fairfield |
| Henrique Cruz |
Sr. |
Midfield |
Marist |
| Alexander Stjernegaard |
FY. |
Midfield |
Quinnipiac |
| Tomas Svecula |
Sr. |
Midfield |
Quinnipiac |
| Jacob Sandun Arachchige-Jensen |
So. |
Midfield |
Siena |
| Nassim Akki |
Fr. |
Defense |
Manhattan |
| Stephen Hasse |
Sr. |
Defense |
Niagara |
| Henrik Winkelmann |
So. |
Defense |
Siena |
| Greg Monroe |
Gr. |
Goalkeeper |
Siena |
| All-MAAC Second Team |
| Player |
Class |
Position |
School |
| Camil Azzam Ruiz |
Sr. |
Forward |
Iona |
| Gunnar Studenhofft |
So. |
Forward |
Manhattan |
| Rodrigo Almeida |
Sr. |
Forward |
Niagara |
| Bilal Hersi |
Jr. |
Forward |
Siena |
| Sergio Gonzalez Fernandez |
Fr. |
Midfield |
Iona |
| Ronaldo Da Silva |
Sr. |
Midfield |
Manhattan |
| Henry Hamilton |
So. |
Midfield |
Manhattan |
| Erik Reis |
So. |
Midfield |
Siena |
| Tom Fillaudeau |
Fr. |
Defense |
Iona |
| Tim Timchenko |
So. |
Defense |
Iona |
| Sander Sonsterud |
So. |
Defense |
Quinnipiac |
| Karl Netzel |
FY. |
Goalkeeper |
Quinnipiac |
| All-MAAC Third Team |
| Player |
Class |
Position |
School |
| Frederik Johnson Oee |
Fr. |
Forward |
Iona |
| Johan Velez |
Sr. |
Forward |
Manhattan |
| Jared Juleau |
Jr. |
Forward |
Marist |
| James Cotter |
5th |
Midfield |
Manhattan |
| Jesus Salazar |
Jr. |
Midfield |
Mount St. Mary's |
| Matias Morales |
Sr. |
Midfield |
Iona |
| Federico Russo |
Sr. |
Midfield |
Iona |
| Anthony Denis |
Jr. |
Defense |
Manhattan |
| Lenny Cidolit |
Sr. |
Defense |
Rider |
| Demarre Montoute |
RSr. |
Defense |
Marist |
| Danny DiMarco |
Jr. |
Goalkeeper |
Manhattan |
The 2022 MAAC Men's Soccer Championship will take place from November 6 through 13. The six-team, single-elimination championship will be hosted by the higher seed of each match. The opening round will take place on Sunday, November 6, followed by the semifinals on Thursday, November 10, and concluding with the championship match on Sunday, November 13. For all information regarding the 2022 MAAC Women’s Soccer Championship, please visit
maacsports.com/msoc.
About the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference:
With 11 institutions strongly bound by the sound principles of quality and integrity in academics and excellence in athletics, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) is in its 42nd year of competition during the 2022-23 academic year. Current conference members include: Canisius College, Fairfield University, Iona University, Manhattan College, Marist College, Mount St. Mary’s University, Niagara University, Quinnipiac University, Rider University, Saint Peter’s University, and Siena College.
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