BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- The 2023 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) men's soccer award winners were announced on Wednesday and the MASCAC regular season and tournament champion Bears of Bridgewater State University picked up some hardware.
Head Coach Brendan Adams was voted by his peers as the BSN Sports MASCAC Coach of the Year, while five Bears garnered All-MASCAC honors including Co-Rookie of the Year, freshman midfielder Nicholas Ribeiro.
Ribeiro, sophomore midfielder Filippo Mucci and graduate goalkeeper Williams Russell were selected to the All-MASCAC First Team while senior forward David Nelson and freshman defender Hector Bucio were chosen to the All-MASCAC Second Team.
Ribeiro, Mucci, Russell and Bucio are making their first appearance on the All-MASCAC Team while Nelson was also a second team selection a year ago. The coach of the year award marks the fifth of Adams’ career as he also garnered the honor in 2003, 2009, 2014 and 2015.
Adams guided the Bears to their first MASCAC regular season title since 2014 and fifth in program history. The Bears (12-2-5) went unbeaten in conference play during the regular season with a 6-0-1 MASCAC mark and captured the MASCAC Tournament title to advance to the NCAA Division III Tournament.
The all-time winningest coach in BSU men’s soccer history, Adams sports a career coaching mark of 196-162-41 (.543) in 22 years on the Bears’ sidelines including a conference regular season record of 90-39-17 (.675). He has reached the ten-win mark nine times and guided the Bears to six MASCAC Tournament titles and six NCAA Division III Tournament appearances.
Ribeiro has notched six goals and ten assists for 22 points through 19 games as he is one of three Bears to play in all 19 games. He presently leads the MASCAC in assists and ranks second in game-winning goals (4) and fourth in scoring. The Bellingham, Massachusetts product is also tied for fifth among the conference leaders in goals.
On a national level, Ribeiro is tied for 11th in all of Division III in assists and tied for 34th in game-winning goals.
Mucci, who hails from Vineyard Haven, Massachusetts, has six goals, including two game-winners, to go along with three assists for 15 points in 18 games this season to date. He is currently tied for fourth in the MASCAC in game-winning goals, tied for fifth in goals and ranks seventh in scoring.
In 30 games over two seasons in a BSU uniform, Mucci has eight goals and three assists for 19 points.
In 18 games this season, Russell is 12-2-4 with seven shutouts and a 0.84 goals against average in 1,610-plus minutes (1610:26) of work. He has turned aside 108 shots and currently sports an .878 save percentage.
Russell, who calls Sandwich, Massachusetts home, presently leads the MASCAC in minutes played, wins, saves and goals against average. He is also second among the conference leaders in shutouts and save percentage.
On a national level, Russell is currently eighth in all of Division III in save percentage and is tied for 14th in saves. He is also tied for 34th in shutouts and ranks 40th in minutes played.
In 48 games over four seasons at Bridgewater State, Russell is 25-14-8 with 14 1/2 shutouts, a 1.13 goals against average, 287 saves and an .844 save percentage in just under 4,224 minutes (4223:53) of work. He is second among the Bears' all-time goaltending leaders in goals against average and is fifth in both wins and shutouts.
Nelson has recorded 11 goals and six assists for 28 points in 18 games this season. The East Bridgewater, Massachusetts product presently leads the MASCAC in scoring and is tied for second in goals. Nelson is also third among the conference leaders in game-winning goals and is tied for third in assists.
In 74 games over four seasons at Bridgewater State, Nelson has amassed 30 goals and 16 assists for 76 points. Eight of his 30 goals have been game-winners. He ranks second among the Bears' all-time leaders in scoring, third in goals and tied for fourth in games played.
A native of North Easton, Massachusetts, Bucio is a significant part of an outstanding Bears’ defensive unit which has limited opponents to less than a goal a game (0.95) and produced seven shutouts. In 16 games, all starts, Bucio has a goal and an assist for three points.
The Bears will take on nationally ranked Tufts University in the opening round of the 2023 NCAA Division III Tournament on Saturday morning (11:00 AM) at Bello Field.