NEC Player of the Week: Santiago Marin Gutierrez, CCSU
NEC Rookie of the Week: Dante Orellana, FDU

Previous NEC Releases: September 21 | September 14 | September 8 | August 31 | August 24 | NEC Preseason Poll

NEC MEN'S SOCCER PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Santiago Marin Gutierrez, Central Connecticut
Heredia, Costa Rica/CombineAcademy/Lincoln School (Creighton)
Marin Gutierrez scored both goals in Central Connecticut’s NEC opener at Howard on Sunday. The second-year midfielder opened the scoring for the Blue Devils in the 36th minute of the contest with an absolute rocket of shot from outside the box. Marin Gutierrez added a brace at the 64:34 mark off a penalty kick to cement a 2-0 advantage for CCSU. The Costa Rica native has netted a league-best six goals so far this season, while owning a total of 14 points, which also leads the conference. Marin Gutierrez is tied for 15th nationally for most goal scored by a DI player this season and is tied for 25th with 0.67 goals per game. This marks the first time since 2021 that a CCSU student-athlete has claimed NEC Player of the Week accolades.

NEC MEN'S SOCCER ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Dante Orellana, Fr., GK, FDU
Newark, NJ/East Side HS
In a thrilling 2-1 victory at UMass, Orellana anchored the FDU back line in his first collegiate start. Orellana made a key save in the first 10 minutes of the game to keep the Minutemen from earning an early advantage. The freshman keeper commanded the Knights’ defense as they were peppered with six shots from the Summit League opponent. This marks the fourth straight season a FDU player has attained NEC Rookie of the Week status.

NEC PRIME PERFORMERS

Santiago Marin Gutierrez, 2, M, CCSU
Named NEC Player of the Week.

Ryan Calheira, Gr., M/F, FDU
Scored the first goal in the 12th minute of FDU's 2-1 victory at UMass. 

Krystian Nitek, So., M, FDU
Netted the game-winning score in the 88th minute of the Knights' thrilling win over the Minutemen. 

Shane Antao, Sr., GK, NHVN
Made 15 saves last week during 180 minute of play between the posts. Stopped a career-high nine shots at Yale on Tuesday night, while making six saves in New Haven's conference opener against LIU where the Chargers were victorious, 3-1. Finished the week with a 1.50 GAA and a .833 save percentage. 

Andres Lazo, Sr., F, NHVN
Totaled three points off a goal and an assist in New Haven's 3-1 win over LIU on Sunday. Scored the game-winning goal in the 80th minute as the Chargers were locked in a 1-1 stalemate with the Sharks late in the match. Tied for second in the NEC with four goals on the year.

Nate Monteiro, Jr., F, STO
Scored two goals for the Skyhawks at Holy Cross on Wednesday night. Tied for fifth in the league for total goals (three). 

2026 NEC MEN'S SOCCER WEEKLY AWARD WINNERS

NEC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Aug. 24: Killian Doherty, STO
Aug. 31: Jeremie Pelade, FDU
Sept. 8: Luke Ayaz, FDU
Sept. 14: Andres Lazo, NHVN
Sept. 21: Wyatt Dupell, LEM
Sept. 28: Santiago Marin Gutierrez, CCSU
Oct. 5: 

NEC ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Aug. 24: Killian Doherty, STO
Aug. 31: Max Beech, MU
Sept. 8: Pol Bota Gutierrez, NHVN
Sept. 14: No Nominations
Sept. 21: Christoffer Kalkar, MU
Sept. 28: Dante Orellana, FDU
Oct. 5: