FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Fairfield University men's soccer team was well represented on the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC), highlighted by Goalkeeper of the Year honors for Gordon Botterill, Defensive Player of the Year accolades for Jonas Vergin, and the Coach of the Year award for Carl Rees. The awards were announced on Tuesday and were selected by vote of the conference head coaches.

                Vergin and Botterill joined midfielders Diego Casielles and Matt McGlinchey on the All-MAAC first team, while defenders Cormac Pike and Kheireddine Kourdassi in addition to forwards Jonathan Filipe and Jack Weiss collected berths on the MAAC All-Rookie team.

                Botterill, who was an All-MAAC keeper last season, allowed secured four shutouts over the team's last five MAAC games, allowing just one goal in 490 minutes of work. The sophomore played all but nine minutes this season and posted a 0.97 goals against average with a .770 save percentage. The goalkeeper averaged 3.4 saves per game by making 57 stops in his 17 starts.

                Vergin was part of a back four that comprised one of the top defenses in the MAAC, surrendering just 17 goals in 17 games. The Stags yielded one goal or less in 13 of their 17 dates including five shutouts. He appeared in all 17 games and garnered 16 starts this season.

                Casielles ended the regular-season as the team's top scorer with five goals and one assist for 11 points. More importantly, the senior posted three game-winning goal including the deciding score in Fairfield's 2-1 overtime win against Army West Point. The forward received his second postseason accolade after earning All-Rookie honors as a freshman.

                McGlinchey, a second-team All-MAAC player in 2017, led all Stags with six assists this season which accounted for all of his points during the regular season. His assist total placed him a tie for second among all MAAC student-athletes, averaging 0.38 assists per game. The sophomore started 16 of his 17 appearances this year.

                The Stags also saw four of their freshmen class honored by the MAAC coaches, two up front and two in the back. Filipe and Weiss played a pivotal role in Fairfield's offensive success this season. Filipe and Weiss finished in a tie for second in scoring among their teammates with eight points each. Filipe posted his points on four goals, while Weiss used his three goals and two assists to arrive at his total.  Three of Filipe's goals decided the outcome of three conference games, namely Monmouth, Iona, and Saint Peter's

                Pike and Kourdassi were part of the Stags defense that tied for third for shutouts in the MAAC. Kourdassi played in all but one game this season and gained 15 starts while Pike was also a regular by appearing in all 17 games with 16 starts. Pike was also a threat up front, serving as the top team's top scoring defender with two goals and three assists, including the assist that set up the game-winner in the team's MAAC regular-season clinching win over Manhattan.

                Rees wins the MAAC Coach of the Year for the second straight season after leading Fairfield to an 8-0-2 mark in conference play. With this year's unbeaten MAAC mark, Rees has brought the Stags to an 18-game unbeaten regular-season conference streak dating back to September, 2017. Under his guidance, the Stags captured the MAAC regular-season title for the second straight season in 2018.

                The Fairfield University men's soccer team will host Rider University on Thursday, November 8 in a MAAC Tournament semifinal game. The match will be played at Lessing Field beginning at 7 pm.