COLONIA, NJ – Junior forward Johannes Hanken Tjostheim (Aalesund, Norway) and senior midfielder Julian Holland (Tokyo, Japan) of Mercy, redshirt freshman goalkeeper Thanasis Shehadeh (Nicosia, Cyprus) and head coach Frank Vertullo of Queens, and freshman goalkeeper Callum Hunt (Norwich, England) of Molloy headlined the East Coast Conference men's soccer postseason awards, as voted on my the league's nine head coaches and announced on Wednesday afternoon ahead of the start of the 2024 ECC Men's Soccer Championship.
In all, Mercy led the way with an ECC-leading eight All-Conference selections, including five First Team honorees. Queens followed with seven All-Conference selections (four First Team) while Roberts Wesleyan (two First Team), District of Columbia, D'Youville, and Molloy had four All-Conference nods apiece and both St. Thomas Aquinas and Staten Island landed one each.
Hanken Tjostheim was voted the ECC's Offensive Player of the Year after leading the conference in goals per game (1.38) and points per game (3.13), both of which ranked second across NCAA Division II, and tying for the conference lead in total goals, with 22. Against ECC competition, the Mercy junior forward boasted an ECC-leading 30 points on 13 goals and four assists, both of which sat second in the conference ranks. A two-time ECC Offensive Player of the Week, Hanken Tjostheim recorded at least one point in 12 of 16 matches this fall, including all eight ECC contests; highlights include eight points on four goals against Staten Island, five points on two goals and one assist against both District of Columbia and Roberts Wesleyan, and four points on two goals against St. Thomas Aquinas.
Holland repeated as the ECC's Defensive Player of the Year after totaling nine points on two goals and five assists in 1,366 minutes, which included 11 full matches and seven clean sheets. The Mercy senior played the full 90:00 in an ECC win over St. Thomas Aquinas and draws against D'Youville, Molloy, and Queens and added offensive production with a goal in a win over District of Columbia, an assist in a draw with Queens, and an assist in a win over Daemen.
Hanken Tjostheim and Holland were integral pieces of a Mercy squad that finished the regular season 9-2-5 (5-0-3 ECC) and earned the No. 2 seed for the upcoming ECC Championship. The Mavs received a First Round bye and will face the winners of No. 3 Roberts Wesleyan/No. 6 District of Columbia in the Semifinals on Sunday, November 10.
Shehadeh earned ECC Goalkeeper of the Year honors after going 9-0-2 in net and leading the ECC in goals against average (.449), save percentage (87.2), and clean sheets (8). The numbers stayed consistent throughout conference play, as the Queens redshirt freshman continued to lead all keepers in goals against average (.714), save percentage (80.8), and clean sheets (4) against ECC opposition. A standout pair of performances came in back-to-back conference games, when the three-time ECC Defensive Player of the Week was called upon to make six saves in a 2-2 draw at Mercy and seven saves in a 3-1 win at St. Thomas Aquinas.
Shehadeh and the No. 1 Knights (11-4-2, 7-0-1 ECC) received a First Round bye and will face the winner of No. 4 D'Youville/No. 5 Molloy in the Semifinals on Sunday, November 10.
Hunt was tabbed the ECC Rookie of the Year after going 6-5-4 in net as Molloy's starting keeper. The freshman ranked in the ECC's top five in goals against average (1.35), save percentage (76.1), clean sheets (5), and saves per game (4.19) and fared even better in conference action, ranking second in clean sheets (3) and third in both goals against average (1.25) and save percentage (76.7). A three-time ECC Rookie of the Week, Hunt came up big with eight saves in a 2-2 draw with Mercy and six saves in a 1-1 draw with D'Youville.
Hunt and the No. 5 Lions (6-7-4, 3-2-3 ECC) will face No. 4 D'Youville in First Round action tomorrow, November 7.
After leading his Knights to their first Regular Season Championship in program history, Queens head coach Frank Vertullo was selected the ECC Coach of the Year by his peers. QC finished with a 11-4-2 overall record and 7-0-1 mark in ECC play to earn the No. 1 seed heading into the ECC Championship that will run November 7 (First Round), November 10 (Semifinals), and November 17 (Final).
2024 ECC Men's Soccer All-Conference
First Team
F - Harry Cooke, Queens
F - Johannes Hanken Tjostheim, Mercy
F - Tamas Nagy, Roberts Wesleyan
M - Julian Holland, Mercy
M - Marcel Duffau, Mercy
M - Kevin Johnson, Queens
M - Santiago Serrano, Mercy
D - Joaquim Johnson, Queens
D - Benjamin Van Buren, Mercy
D - Nathan Ferguson, Roberts Wesleyan
GK - Thanasis Shehadeh, Queens
Second Team
F - Kevon Evans, St. Thomas Aquinas
F - Myles Palmer, Roberts Wesleyan
F - Miguel Soto Gonzalez, Queens
M - Bastian Engeli, Queens
M - Santiago Gordillo Martinez, District of Columbia
M - Ignacio Lopez, District of Columbia
M - Shawn Richardson, D'Youville
D - Mathias Schilbred-Eriksen, Mercy
D - Jorgen Krohn-Pettersen, Mercy
D - Eyob Gaffigan, Queens
GK - Eirik Elvestad, Mercy
Third Team
F - Miguel Espinosa, Staten Island
F - Ignacio Pericet, District of Columbia
F - Ethan Robinson, D'Youville
M - Iann Briones, Roberts Wesleyan
M - Sean Burke, D'Youville
M - Axel Gamez, District of Columbia
M - Connor Gervasi, Molloy
D - Mathew Broadhead, Molloy
D - Nick Leon, Molloy
D - Conor Livingstone, D'Youville
GK - Callum Hunt, Molloy
Offensive Player of the Year: Johannes Hanken Tjostheim, Mercy
Defensive Player of the Year: Julian Holland, Mercy
Goalkeeper of the Year: Thanasis Shehadeh, Queens
Rookie of the Year: Callum Hunt, Molloy
Coach of the Year: Frank Vertullo, Queens