With the 2006 NEC Men’s Soccer Tournament set to commence on Friday, November 3 at Monmouth’s Great Lawn in West Long Branch, NJ, the awards were announced at a banquet on campus Thursday evening. In the semifinals, top-seed Monmouth entertains #4 seed Robert Morris at 11:00 am, followed by #2 seed Fairleigh Dickinson going up against #3 seed Saint Francis (PA) at 1:30 pm. The championship match is slated for Sunday, November 5 at 12:00 pm. The winner of the NEC championship will claim the league’s automatic berth to the NCAA College Cup. First round NCAA action begins on November 10-11 at campus sites.

Holloway becomes the first Monmouth player to corral NEC Player of the Year honors since Joni Kallioinen, a two-time winner in 1990-91. Holloway, the league’s leading scorer with 16 goals and 36 points, will add a final footnote to his NEC career this weekend as the Hawks seek their first conference crown since 1990. On a national basis, the Hamilton, New Zealand product is fourth in goals per game and sixth in points per game. Holloway has produced a goal or an assist in 13 of 18 matches on the year. His 16 markers are tied with Mark Wilson (1988) for first on the Monmouth single-season list and his 36 points are third on the school chart, trailing Wilson’s 38 points in 1985 and 1988. A two-time Brine/NEC Player of the Week award winner this season, Holloway scored the lone goal of the match in Monmouth’s regular season title clinching win over Sacred Heart last Sunday.

MacDonald won the inaugural NEC Defensive Player of the Year award in 2005, and played at that same elite level again this season as Monmouth enters the playoffs having shutout five straight opponents and a league-high 11 on the year. The Hawks are currently fourth in Division I in goals against average (0.47), fifth in shutout percentage (.61) and seventh in save percentage (.873). While helping protect the box in front of all-star goaltender Daniel Schenkel, MacDonald also found ways to contribute on offense with three goals and seven points. The Kearny, NJ native is a two-time first team all-NEC performer.

Malijani, who hails from Lusaka, Zambia, played like a veteran this season when he helped return Fairleigh Dickinson to prominence as a three-time Brine/NEC Rookie of the Week award winner. The second team all-NEC selection currently paces all conference freshman with seven goals (fourth overall) and 18 points (fifth overall), and is tied for the league lead with five game-winning goals. The Knights, who worked their way back in the national rankings in September, are 5-0 in games Malijani has scored this season.

McCourt arrived at Monmouth determined to change the fortunes of the struggling program, and in just three years has built the Hawks into a national contender. In addition to back-to-back NEC regular season championships and a runner-up NEC Tournament finish a year ago, Monmouth achieved its first-ever national ranking last month, reaching as high as 15th in the NSCAA Top-20 poll before settling in at #16 entering the postseason. The Hawks have also been ranked first in the NSCAA North Atlantic region the last two weeks, a by-product of the team’s current 11-match unbeaten streak (8-0-3). Under McCourt’s watchful eye, Monmouth has also gone 19 straight NEC regular season matches without a loss (14-0-5) dating back to the 2004 campaign.

Monmouth placed a league-high four players on the all-NEC first team with junior forward Tom Gray (Middletown, NJ/Middletown South) and junior goaltender Daniel Schenkel (Campo Verde, Brazil/Virginia Intermont) joining Holloway and MacDonald. Gray’s ability to create scoring opportunities for Holloway has been one of the key storylines for Monmouth during the regular season. A total of seven of Gray’s league-leading 12 assists on the season have resulted in Holloway finding the back of the net. He currently stands fourth in the country with 0.67 assists per game, and ranks fourth in the conference with 20 points. Schenkel took over for all-NEC keeper Art Satterwhite without missing a beat. He is second in the NEC and seventh nationally with a 0.48 goals against average. Schenkel also tops the conference with nine shutouts and is third with an .870 save percentage (ninth nationally).

Central Connecticut State features three first team selection, all of whom are repeat honorees. Senior forward Alex Harrison (Eastbourne, England/Willingdon) will go down as one of the most decorated players in NEC annals. A two-time NEC Player of the Year, four-time first team award winner and NEC Rookie of the Year in 2003, Harrison concluded his CCSU career with 49 goals and 110 points. In 2006, he ranks second in the conference with nine goals and third with 21 points. He was also recently tabbed to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District I First Team for the third year in a row. Sophomore midfielder Yan Klukowski (Wiltshire, England/Sheldon), the 2005 NEC Rookie of the Year, makes his second straight first team appearance. Klukowski has found success as a tablesetter and currently stands second in the NEC with 11 assists and third nationally with 0.73 assists per game. He is also sixth in the conference with 17 points. Rounding out CCSU’s trio of English imports is sophomore defender David Tyrie (Norwich-Norfolk, England/City of Norwich), who moves up the ladder after earning second team plaudits as a freshman. While anchoring the CCSU defense, Tyrie also showed a nose for the ball, finishing the year fourth on the Blue Devils in scoring with seven points (two goals, three assists).

Fairleigh Dickinson sports a pair of first teamers with impressive resumes. Senior defender Donny Mayard (Laval, Canada/Leblanc) was a second team pick a year ago and is the leader of an FDU defensive unit that has been nearly impenetrable in 2006. The Knights have allowed just eight goals all season - a mere three in NEC play - and rank in the NCAA top-10 in goals against average (third, 0.44), save percentage (fourth, .889) and shutout percentage (tenth, 0.59). Mayard also contributed offensively with two goals and an assist. Sophomore midfielder Alejandro Bedoya (Weston, FL/St. Thomas Aquinas) takes home his second straight first team honor with another solid season up front for the Knights. A creative talent in the midfield, Bedoya is fourth in the NEC with five assists, and also ranks sixth in goals (five) and ninth in scoring (15 points).

Robert Morris junior forward Ryan Zabinski (New Cumberland, PA/Cedar Cliff) and Long Island freshman midfielder Frank Alesci (Ridgewood, NY/La Salle Academy) complete the all-NEC first team. Zabinski helped lead the Colonials’ playoff charge with a goal and two assists in victories over Quinnipiac and CCSU last weekend that clinched a tournament berth. A two-time first-team recipient, he ranks third in the NEC with eight assists and is seventh with 16 points. One of the central figures on a young Long Island squad, Alesci is the lone freshman to land a spot on the first team after finishing second on the Blackbirds with four goals and nine points, all of which came in league play.

Playoff bound Robert Morris and Saint Francis (PA) each placed three players on the all-NEC second team, while Mount St. Mary’s had two players recognized.

Robert Morris junior forward Jacek Przednowek (Brantford, Ontario/St. John’s College (Drexel)) is a prolific scorer who has totaled 23 goals in his first two seasons in a Colonial uniform. A first team award winner last year, Przednowek has remained near the top of the conference scoring chart all season long and enters the postseason ranked second in goals (nine) and points (22). Junior midfielder Jason Pelletier (Middletown, PA/Middletown (Rutgers)) earns second team distinction for the second year running after compiling a goal and three assists in regular season play. Senior defender Allan Brown (Newmarket, Ontario/Sacred Heart) directed a defense that held 13 opponents to one goal or less this fall.

No stranger to second team accolades, Saint Francis (PA) junior defender Jarron Brooks (Mitchellville, MD/Archbishop Carroll) claims his third such honor is as many years. In helping push the Red Flash to their third straight winning season and a #3 seed in the NEC Tournament, Brooks dished out a team-high five assists to rank third on the circuit. He also bolstered a defense that permitted just five goals in nine conference tilts. Senior forward Scott Thompson (Durham, England/Lanchester Saint Bedes) and sophomore midfielder Aaron Clapham (Christchurch, New Zealand/Aranui) led a balanced Saint Francis attack with five goals and two assists apiece.

Mount St. Mary’s senior goalkeeper Mark Murphy (Chesapeake Beach, MD/DeMatha Catholic) makes his all-star debut after posting a 1.36 goals against average and four shutouts in 2006. He also ranks third in the conference and 17th in the nation with 5.19 saves per contest. Sophomore Vinnie Berry (Helensburgh, Scotland/St. Patrick’s) made his presence felt in the midfield for a Mount team that finished the year strong. He wound up tied for the team lead in goals (three), assists (four) and points (ten).

The final two second team award recipients are Monmouth senior midfielder Jonathan Schmid (Kingston, PA/Wyoming Valley West) and St. Francis (NY) freshman defender Anthony Matos (Wantagh, NY/Holy Cross). Schmid effectively patrolled a defense that has allowed more than one goal in a game on just one occasion this season. Matos is one of the building blocks of the St. Francis (NY) program and one of just three freshman all-stars being honored.