BRIDGEPORT, W.Va. -- Davis & Elkins' Daniel Cerezo, Alex Estrada-Avila and head coach Dean Johnson, along with Notre Dame's Ailton Silva, have earned top honors from the Mountain East Conference as the league announced its annual awards and all-conference teams.
Cerezo, a junior forward from Madrid, Spain, has poured in a league-high 12 goals to earn Offensive Player of the Year honors in the MEC. His seven game-winning goals are the most in the country. His 0.67 goals per game and 1.50 points per game rank among the league leaders.
Estrada-Avila, a senior from Ellicott City, Md., is the league's Defensive Player of the Year after helping lead one of the nation's stingiest defenses. The Senators have given up just six goals on the year, and the team's 0.33 goals-against average is second-best in the country. Estrada-Avila has also stepped forward to provide seven goals for D&E.
Silva was selected as the MEC Freshman of the Year after scoring nine goals and six assists this season. His 1.71 points per game was tops among league freshmen and ranks 25th in the country. He also ranks among the league leaders in goals per game (0.64) and assists per game (0.43).
Johnson was tabbed as the MEC Coach of the Year after directing Davis & Elkins to a 16-0-2 record and the school's first MEC regular season title. In addition to an unbeaten regular season, D&E has posted an NCAA-best 13 shutouts and allowed only six goals on the year. The Senators also rank sixth in the country in with 3.06 goals per game. Coach Johnson's squad has been nationally ranked for a majority of the season, rising as high as No. 2 in the polls. The Senators have also been in the recent editions of the NCAA Super Region 1 rankings.
In addition to the individual honors, the league also announced the All-MEC teams. Regular season champion Davis & Elkins had six first team selections, while Notre Dame had four and Charleston had three. The 14-player All-MEC second team was comprised of players from seven different schools.
The All-MEC teams are selected by a vote of the league's coaches.
| 2021 All-MEC First Team |
| Pos. |
Name |
Cl. |
School |
| GK |
Jeremy Coste |
Sr. |
Davis & Elkins |
| D |
Alex Estrada-Avila |
Sr. |
Davis & Elkins |
| D |
Antonio Bittencourt |
So. |
Notre Dame |
| D |
Lucas Christensen |
So. |
Charleston |
| D |
Gianluca Fiorini |
So. |
Davis & Elkins |
| M |
Luckas Hackaa |
So. |
Notre Dame |
| M |
David Jara |
Jr. |
Davis & Elkins |
| M |
Alexis Ledoux |
So. |
Charleston |
| M |
Haruki Yamazaki |
Jr. |
Davis & Elkins |
| F |
Daniel Cerezo |
Jr. |
Davis & Elkins |
| F |
Ned Dry |
Jr. |
Notre Dame |
| F |
Gabriel Rodriguez |
Gr. |
Charleston |
| F |
Ailton Silva |
Fr. |
Notre Dame |
|
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|
|
| 2021 All-MEC Second Team |
| Pos. |
Name |
Cl. |
School |
| GK |
Joel Assal |
Sr. |
Frostburg State |
| D |
Josh Gabriel |
Sr. |
Alderson Broaddus |
| D |
Eduardo Iranzo |
Gr. |
Charleston |
| D |
Martin Lago |
Fr. |
Davis & Elkins |
| D |
Charlie Naylor |
Jr. |
West Virginia Wesleyan |
| M |
Ploutarchos Alonefti |
Jr. |
Charleston |
| M |
Taylor Dyson |
Fr. |
Notre Dame |
| M |
Connor Hartwell |
Sr. |
West Virginia Wesleyan |
| M |
Luis Maestre |
Fr. |
Charleston |
| M |
Benardo Vilchis |
Gr. |
West Liberty |
| F |
Nika Monaselidze |
Sr. |
West Virginia Wesleyan |
| F |
Andreas Rossak |
Fr. |
Alderson Broaddus |
| F |
Liam Toman |
Fr. |
West Liberty |
|
|
|
|
| 2021 All-MEC Honorable Mention |
GK: Noah Underwood (WLU)
D: Matt Garrett (FROST), Davide Materazzi (DE), Emil Rasmussen (UC)
F: Carlos Almeida (NDC), Richard Afolayanka (WU), Alejandro Larrayoz (UC) |
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|
|
| 2021 All-MEC Freshman Team* |
| Pos. |
Name |
|
School |
| F |
Dominique Castano |
|
Davis & Elkins |
| M |
Taylor Dyson |
|
Notre Dame |
| M |
Zacharias Kohring |
|
West Virginia Wesleyan |
| F |
Andreas Rossak |
|
Alderson Broaddus |
| M |
Luis Maestre |
|
Charleston |
| F |
Ailton Silva |
|
Notre Dame |
| F |
Liam Toman |
|
West Liberty |
| * Players who competed in the spring season were not eligible for the All-Freshman team despite their remaining years of eligibility. |
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| Offensive Player of the Year: Daniel Cerezo (Davis & Elkins) |
| Defensive Player of the Year: Alex Estrada (Davis & Elkins) |
| Freshman of the Year: Ailton Silva (Notre Dame) |
| Coach of the Year: Dean Johnson (Davis & Elkins) |
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