NEW HAVEN, Conn. (October 30, 2018) -- Post University standout Sergio Diaz on Tuesday was named the 2018 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) Men's Soccer Player of the Year, as announced by Commissioner Dan Mara. The player-of-the-year honor highlighted a list of other major award winners and all-conference honorees released on Tuesday by the league. Voting for all the awards was conducted by the league's 14 head coaches in the sport.

In addition to Diaz, Concordia College's Marlon Buck was named the 2018 CACC Rookie of the Year, while Wilmington University's Elliott Johnson was named the Defensive Player of the Year, Vinny Tasca was tabbed as the Goalkeeper of the Year and Nick Papanicolas garnered the Coach-of-the-Year honor.

Diaz leads the conference in assists (15) and points (39), while ranking third with 12 goals. He also paces the CACC with 71 shots. Diaz had a season-best effort of three markers in a win over Nyack College on Oct. 17. He also chipped in an assist for a seven-point afternoon.

Buck leads the CACC with 14 goals in his debut season at the collegiate level. Five of his tallies have gone for game-winning goals, which is the second-highest total in the conference. Buck is fifth in the league with 30 points this season.

Johnson has been a terrific defender in the league this season, as he has helped anchor a backline that has produced six shutouts on the year. The total is the second-best mark in the CACC. 

Tasca has been a brickwall in net for the Wildcats, as he is 12-1-4 with six shutouts. He has posted a 0.84 goals against average and a .754 save percentage. Tasca's save percentage and GAA rank second and first, respectively, in the league. 

Papanicolas was named the league's top coach after guiding Wilmington to a 9-1-2 conference mark and the CACC Regular Season Championship. Overall, WilmU is 12-1-4 and ranked in the latest NCAA Division II East Region Poll.

Nyack College earned the league's other major award, as Head Coack Keith Davie and the Warriors were named the Team Sportsmanship Award winner for demonstrating outstanding character throughout the year.

Diaz (midfielder), Buck (forward), Johnson (defender) and Tasca (goalkeeper) earned spots on the All-CACC First Team. 

2018 CACC MEN’S SOCCER PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Sergio Diaz (Post University)

2018 CACC MEN’S SOCCER ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Marlon Buck (Concordia College)

2018 CACC MEN’S SOCCER DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Elliott Johnson (Wilmington University)

2018 CACC MEN’S SOCCER GOALKEEPER OF THE YEAR
Vinny Tasca (Wilmington University)

2018 CACC MEN’S SOCCER COACH OF THE YEAR
Nick Papanicolas (Wilmington University)

2018 CACC MEN’S SOCCER TEAM SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD
Nyack College

2018 CACC MEN’S SOCCER ALL-CONFERENCE FIRST TEAM
F Marlon Buck (Concordia College)
F Tom Garratt (Wilmington University)
F Alvaro Sanchez (Post University)
M Sergio Diaz (Post University)
M Jason Rocha (Jefferson)
M Will Stone (Wilmington University)
D Joaquin Escudero (Caldwell University)
D Jonathan Firmino (Georgian Court University)
D Elliott Johnson (Wilmington University)
D Matteo Moro (Post University)
GK Vinny Tasca (Wilmington University)

2018 CACC MEN’S SOCCER ALL-CONFERENCE SECOND TEAM
F Kenny Monfort (Felician University)
F Joel Quist (Georgian Court University)
F Regsan Watkins (Bloomfield College)
M Sean McCormick (Holy Family University)
M Maxi Ojeda (Felician University)
M Louis Silva (Georgian Court University)
D Andrea Baleotto (Post University)
D Niklas Laenger (Georgian Court University)
D Daniel Loyo (Wilmington University)
GK Jaime Gonzalez (Concordia College)
GK Nils Svere (Caldwell University)

The award winners were announced on Tuesday just hours prior to the first-round contests of the 2018 CACC Men's Soccer Championship. The honorees will be recognized on Thursday night at the CACC Men's Soccer Championship Banquet in Southbury, Conn., on the eve of the tournament's semifinals.

ABOUT THE CACC
The Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference is an NCAA Division II Conference composed of 14 institutions in Connecticut, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. The member institutions are Bloomfield College, Caldwell University, Chestnut Hill College, Concordia (N.Y.) College, Dominican (N.Y.) College, Felician University, Georgian Court University, Goldey-Beacom College, Holy Family University, Jefferson (Philadelphia University + Thomas Jefferson University), Nyack College, Post University of Waterbury, University of the Sciences, and Wilmington University.