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Somerset, NJ - The top-three finishers in the Northeast Conference regular season team standings captured all five major individual NEC men's soccer awards with St. Francis Brooklyn's El Mahdi Youssoufi (Tangier, Morocco) leading the way.
 
Youssoufi earned the conference's top honor, becoming the second SFBK Terrier in the last two seasons to secure NEC Player of the Year plaudits.
 
Two others from regular season conference co-champion St. Francis Brooklyn also joined Youssoufi on the awards stand.
 
Terriers' defender Harald Sollund (Viken, Norway) repeated as the NEC Defensive Player of the Year, becoming the third man in league history to do so.
 
Meanwhile, SFBK manager Tom Giovatto collected his second straight NEC Coach of the Year award.
 
In its second season since being established, the NEC Goalkeeper of the Year award went to Long Island University's Demetri Skoumbakis (Chania, Greece). The Sharks and their star keeper, who finished tied atop the NEC regular season standings, will host the four-team conference tournament this week as the No. 1 seed.
 
Fairleigh Dickinson midfielder Tony Gomez (Santander, Spain) became the first non-LIU recipient of the NEC Rookie of the Year award since 2017 when FDU's Jacob Labovitz held the honor.
 
The NEC revealed the list of major award winners via Twitter on the eve of the Friday's semifinal matches. Two 11-member All-NEC Teams and an All-Rookie Team were also unveiled.

On his way to capturing the title that Nicolas Molina earned last season, Youssoufi tallied a team-high 12 goals in 14 matches for the NEC regular season co-champions. The Moroccan-born forward scored goals in six of the Terriers' seven conference victories. Having made a habit of tickling the twine, he is responsible for 52 percent of the Terriers' scoring. Youssoufi’s five game-winning goals are tied for fourth most amongst Division I footballers. The SFBK senior was responsible for the lone goals in 1-nil road wins over NEC foes Howard and Mount St. Mary's. He accounted for the decisive goal in non-conference victories over Brown and Saint Peter's. Youssoufi heads into the NEC Tournament as one of nine Division I players who average at least 0.86 goal per game. His NEC Player of the Year campaign follows a breakout performance in last spring’s NCAA First Round win over Milwaukee when he scored the equalizer and assisted on the golden goal.  

Sollund stands as the first back-to-back recipient of the NEC’s top defensive honor since Saint Francis U’s Francis de Vries, a former All-American, achieved the feat in 2015. After he was added to MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List this past September, the Norwegian-born defender proceeded to key a SFBK defense that pitched five shutouts in nine conference matches. The 6-foot-4 defensive anchor started all 15 matches for a unit that ranked second overall on the NEC team leader board in goals-against average (1.12). Sollund also accounted for one goal and two assists this season. His lone goal opened the scoring in the Terriers’ eventual 3-1 win over Saint Francis U.

Skoumbakis sports a league-low 0.91 goals-against average after starting 16 matches for the Sharks, including all seven of the team’s conference victories. The Greek-born keeper blanked the opposition on five occasions this fall. He was credited with at least one save in all 16 appearances and averaged 3.6 stops per outing.  Skoumbakis did not allow a goal during the Sharks' swing through the Nutmeg State, posting shutout road wins over NEC foes Central Connecticut and Sacred Heart. He also shut out two Atlantic 10 members on the road, including a 1-nil overtime triumph over Saint Joseph's. The 6-foot-1 goalie accounted for a season-high eight saves in a scoreless draw with Ivy League member Columbia on September 18. With its all-NEC keeper leading the effort, LIU has allowed the fewest goals on the circuit.

Gomez has emerged as a force in the FDU midfield. Seeing his opportunities increase as the season went on, the rookie appeared in 13 matches and earned eight starts. He saw time in all nine conference matches, helping the Knights to a 6-1-2 record against NEC opponents. Gomez, who started FDU’s last five matches, scored goals in back-to-back wins over Howard and Mount St. Mary’s. The Spanish-born midfielder totaled 11 points on three goals and five assists.

Giovatto, who has won the NEC Coach of the Year honor in four of the last six seasons, has built a perennial contender in Brooklyn Heights. The Terriers have finished in first place four times since 2016 and have captured three of the last five NEC Tournament titles.