Skyhawks recognized for academic excellence
United Soccer Coaches Announces Team Academic Award Winners
EASTON, Mass. (October 6, 2017) – The 2016-17 Stonehill College men's soccer team was awarded their fifth-straight Team Academic Award, as announced by the United Soccer Coaches on Thursday.
The award, which was initiated in the 1996, honors collegiate and high school men's and women's soccer teams that displayed excellence in the classroom during the school year by maintaining at least a 3.00 cumulative team grade-point average (GPA) on a 4.0 scale.
United Soccer Coaches recognized 825 teams, 286 men and 539 women on Thursday. Stonehill College was one of 195 schools to have both their men's and women's programs honored this year. This is the first year that both Stonehill soccer programs have received the award in the programs' histories.
The Skyhawks join Bentley University, Merrimack College, and the University of New Haven as the Northeast-10 Conference teams to make the list this year. Adelphi University leads the conference by being recognized for 18 years, followed by Merrimack, and then Stonehill.
Seniors Adam Branco (Naugatuck, Connecticut/Naugatuck) and Conor McDonough (Bridgewater, Massachusetts/Coyle & Cassidy) were tabbed on the NE10 Fall Academic All-Conference teams last year. Both Branco, McDonough and 16 teammates were also named to 2016 Fall NE10 Commissioner's Honor Roll for having a GPA of 3.00 and above.
The 2016-17 men's squad wrapped up the season with a 7-10-0 overall record and a 5-8-0 mark in NE10 play. Branco was the only Skyhawk to be named to a NE10 All-Conference team, as he made the third team, for his second recognition in his three years playing. Stonehill graduated three seniors from the 2016-17 including Patrick Keogh (Garden City, New York/Garden City), Stephen Conway (Sandy Hook, Connecticut/Newtown), and Andrew Smith (South Windsor, Connecticut/South Windsor).
The 2017-18 Stonehill team will travel to Ted Grant Field in Syracuse, New York for a NE10 battle against Le Moyne College on Saturday, October 7 with a start time of noon.
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