BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- Six Bridgewater State University student-athletes have been voted to the 2018 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Men's Soccer All-Conference Team by the league's eight head coaches.
Senior forward Kessy Alves (Praia, Cape Verde) and junior goaltender Nate Morgado (Dartmouth, Mass.) garnered All-MASCAC First Team honors, while senior midfielder Kane Moran (Perth, Australia), sophomore midfielder Kevin Roberts (Medway, Mass.), junior defender Zachary Ells (Douglas, Mass.) and sophomore defender Stanislaus Sokolov (Reading, Mass.) were named to the All-MASCAC Second Team.
Moran is making his third appearance on the All-MASCAC Team and Morgado is making his second, while Alves, Ells, Roberts, and Sokolov are all first-time honorees. Moran was named to the second team in 2016 and 2017, while Morgado earned second team accolades in 2016.
Alves has a career-high nine goals, nine assists for 27 points in 18 games this season. He leads the team in both goals and scoring. Alves is also currently tied for second in the MASCAC in assists and ranks third in both goals and points.
In 36 games over two seasons with the Bears, Alves has produced 13 goals to go along with 11 assists for 37 career points. Alves was also named the MVP of the 2018 MASCAC Tournament for his performance during the Bears' championship run.
Morgado has started all 19 games this season between the pipes and sports a 1.63 goals against average with 100 saves and a .763 save percentage in 1,711 minutes (171:21) of work. The Dartmouth, Massachusetts product also picked up 11 wins and registered five shutouts to date this season. He is tied for first in the MASCAC in wins and tied for second in shutouts. Morgado also ranks second in saves and sixth in save percentage.
In 47 games over his first three seasons at Bridgewater State, Morgado has 21 wins and 12 shutouts to his credit to go along with a 1.62 goals against average, 245 saves and a .763 save percentage
Moran has started 17 games in 2018 and has four goals and three assists for 11 points. Three of his four goals have been game-winners. Roberts has appeared in 17 games with 16 starts and has recorded eight goals and four assists for 20 points.
Roberts is presently tied for fourth in the MASCAC in goals, ranks seven in scoring and is tied for eighth in assists.
In four years with the Bears, Moran has played in 75 games and tallied 13 goals (eight game-winners) and nine assists for 35 points, while Roberts has notched eleven goals and seven assists for 29 points over his first two seasons.
Ells and Sokolov anchor a BSU defensive unit which has helped produce five shutouts and a team goals against average of 1.61. Ells, who is one of three players on the team to start all 19 games, has a goal and a team-best ten assists for 11 points in 2018. He currently leads the MASCAC in assists.
The BSU men's soccer team is 11-7-1 and ended the regular season with a 5-2 MASCAC record. Seeded second in the MASCAC Tournament, the Bears advanced to the conference final on penalty kicks against #3 Salem State University in the semifinals and then disposed of top-seeded Framingham State University MASCAC title game, 5-3, to claim the programs fifth conference championship and earn a bid into the NCAA Division III Tournament. The Bears will now travel to Amherst College on Saturday as they will take on the 18th ranked Mammoths at 11:00 AM.