Posted: Nov 12, 2013
Plattsburgh's Matt Hamilton was named the Most Valuable Player of the 2013 SUNYAC Men's Soccer Tournament after leading his team to its eighth SUNYAC Title and first since 2010.
In the SUNYAC Semifinals against top-seeded Oneonta, Hamilton scored the lone goal and led the team with three shots on goal in the 1-0 win. Hamilton and the Cardinals went on to defeat second-seeded Cortland, 2-1, to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Tournament.
Playing in his final season for Plattsburgh State, Hamilton leads the conference with five game-winning goals and is second in team scoring with 18 points.
The Huntley Parker Award is named after the highly successful Soccer Coach at Brockport. Parker coached soccer for 14 years, winning the SUNYAC conference twice (1961-1968) and sharing the championship in 1970.
Freshman defender Nick Economou helped the Cardinals hold its opponents to just 19 goals in 20 games. Starting all 20 games in the back, Economou also added two goals this season.
During the SUNYAC Tournament the Cardinals defense allowed just two goals in three games, shutting out top-seeded Oneonta, 1-0 and holding Buffalo State and Cortland to just one goal each.
Economou hails from Vestal, NY and attended Vestal High School prior to joining the Plattsburgh State Cardinals.
In his first year as the Buffalo State men's soccer head coach, Mark Howlett led the Bengals to a 4-5 league record and a No. 5 seed into the SUNYAC Tournament. This was the first time Buffalo State qualified for the SUNYAC Tournament since 2007.
The 4-5 record is a huge turn-around from last year's 0-8-1 last place finish in conference play. The Bengals have made dramatic improvements at both ends of the field in just one season. Buffalo State has tallied 35 goals, while conceding just 17 through 19 games this season. By comparison, in the same number of games a year ago, the Bengals produced just 15 goals, while surrendering 50 against.
In the SUNYAC Quarterfinals Buffalo State dropped a 2-1 game to Plattsburgh, who was later crowned the SUNYAC Champion. The Bengals ended the season with a 9-9-1 overall record improving by eight wins from 2012.
Howlett, a native of Portsmouth, England, was a three-time collegiate soccer All-American and most recently served as the head coach at SUNY Canton. He spent three seasons at Canton, leading a program in transition from NAIA to NCAA Division III. He mentored the Kangaroos to 26 victories in three seasons.
2013 Men's Soccer All-Conference Teams
| First Team | ||||
| Name | Yr. | Pos. | School | Hometown/High School |
| Peter DiLorenzo | So. | F | Brockport | Hicksville, N.Y. / Hicksville |
| Luke Halberg | Sr. | F | Oneonta | Norwich, N.Y. / Valley Heights Christian Academy |
| Dylan Williams | So. | F | Oneonta | Monroe, N.Y. / Monroe-Woodbury |
| C.J. Scirto | Sr. | M | Buffalo State | Lockport, N.Y. / St. Joe's |
| Darren McCormack | Jr. | M | Cortland | Dublin, Ireland / Fingal Community |
| Justin Rivera | Jr. | M | Oneonta | Bay Shore, N.Y. / Bay Shore |
| Matt Hamilton | Sr. | M | Plattsburgh | Keeseville, N.Y. / AuSable Valley |
| Bobby Ross | Sr. | D | Brockport | Grand Island, N.Y. / Grand Island |
| Patt Lynch | Sr. | D | Geneseo | Canandaigua, N.Y. / Canandaigua Academy |
| Scott Taglione | Jr. | D | Oneonta | Ballston Lake, N.Y. /Shenendehowa |
| Tim Beauvais | Jr. | G | Cortland | Hilton, N.Y. / Hilton |
|
Second Team |
||||
| Dillon Johnson | So. | F | Cortland | Northport, N.Y. / Northport |
| Jake Sutherland | So. | F | Oneonta | Syracuse, N.Y. / West Genesee |
| Tom Greene | Sr. | F | Plattsburgh | Schenectady, N.Y. / South Colonie |
| Nick Parrella | Jr. | F | Plattsburgh | Miller Place, N.Y. / Miller Place |
| Eduardo Figueroa | Jr. | F | Potsdam | Rochester, N.Y. / Dr. Freddie Thomas |
| Fabian Chaparro | So. | M | Plattsburgh | Mamaroneck, N.Y. / Mamaroneck |
| Alessio Vitale | Sr. | M | Potsdam | Liverpool, N.Y. / Liverpool |
| Ian Cusack | Sr. | D | Cortland | East Northport, N.Y. / Northport |
| Anthony Passiatore | Fr. | D | Oneonta | South Setauket, N.Y. /Ward Melville |
| Nick Economou | Fr. | D | Plattsburgh | Vestal, N.Y. / Vestal |
| Casey Sullivan | So. | G | Brockport | East Syracuse, N.Y. / East Syracuse-Minoa |
|
Third Team |
||||
| Bryan Merlos | Sr. | F | Cortland | Harrison, N.Y. / Harrison |
| Bernardo Menendez | Sr. | F | New Paltz | Buenos Aires, Argentina / San Martin de Tours |
| Alexis Archilla | Fr. | F | Plattsburgh | Warwick, N.Y. / Warwick Valley |
| Christopher O'Gorman | Sr. | M | Brockport | Wading River, N.Y. / Shoreham-Wading River |
| Francesco Cardillo | Jr. | M | Buffalo State | Tonawanda, N.Y. / St. Thomas Aquinas (ON) |
| Robert Reiser | So. | M | Cortland | Melville, N.Y. / Half Hollow Hills East |
| Chase Lipshie | Sr. | M | Fredonia | Port Jefferson Station, N.Y. / Comsewogue |
| Alex Minsker | Jr. | M | Potsdam | Brewster, N.Y. / Brewster |
| Ryan Phillips | Sr. | D | Brockport | Hamlin, N.Y. / Brockport |
| Anthony Appiani | Sr. | D | Buffalo State | N. Tonawanda, N.Y. / N. Tonawanda |
| Vincent Pellegrino | Jr. | G | Oneonta | Baldwin, N.Y. / Baldwin |
SUNYAC Men's Soccer All-Conference Teams (PDF)
