The NEC Tournament will be hosted by regular season champion Fairleigh Dickinson and will kickoff with two semifinal matches on Friday, November 3. In the first semifinal, #1 seed Fairleigh Dickinson will take on #4 seed Quinnipiac at 11:00 am. The second semifinal will pit #2 seed St. Francis (NY) against #3 seed UMBC at 1:30 pm. The tournament will climax with the championship game on Sunday, November 5 at 12:00 pm. The winner of the NEC Tournament will face off with the Midwestern Collegiate Conference champion on Saturday, November 11 in an NCAA Play-In match.

One of the most prolific scorers in NEC history, Celenza joins Monmouth’s Joni Kallioinen (1990-91) and St. Francis (NY)’s Duke Shamo (1997-98) as the only two-time NEC Player of the Year award winners. The senior leads the NEC in points (44 points) and goals (18), and ranks fourth nationally in scoring and fifth in goals. A two-time JUCO All-American at Essex CC, Celenza has accumulated 42 goals, 18 assists and 98 points in two seasons with the Retrievers. Incredibly strong for his size and boasting amazing accuracy with his shot, Celenza is a two-time NEC Player of the Week selection this season, and has won the award six times in his career.

In one of the year’s most remarkable stories, Hurtado returned to the team after missing the entire 1999 season while recovering from a brain aneurysm. Showing no signs of rust, Hurtado developed into one of the NEC’s most dynamic rookies and lethal scoring threats. Hurtado is the league leader with nine assists, and ranks second in points (35) and goals (13). Also selected as a first team NEC all-star, his creativity with the ball opened up scoring opportunities for his teammates, as the Knights rolled through NEC competition with an 8-2 record.

Roland wins his first NEC Coach of the Year honor after guiding Fairleigh Dickinson to the NEC regular season title for the first time in his four year tenure. Slowly developing into a regional power, the Knights are currently ranked seventh in the NSCAA Mid-Atlantic Region poll. Since his hiring in 1997, Fairleigh Dickinson has posted an outstanding 25-6-4 record in NEC play and have qualified for four consecutive NEC Tournaments

Joining Celenza and Hurtado as a first team all-NEC forward is Quinnipiac sophomore Everson Maciel (Londrina, Brazil/Maxi). Maciel exploded onto the scene in 2000, carving a niche for himself in Quinnipiac’s offense. The first year player ranks second in the league in assists (eight) and third in goals (12) and points (32). Maciel’s presence - not to mention his four game-winning goals in league play - helped carry the Braves to their first NEC Tournament appearance.

The first team all-NEC midfield consists of Long Island junior Ignacio Pena (Madrid, Spain/Leonardo Da Vinci), St. Francis (NY) senior Agard Radoncic (Montenegro, Yugoslavia/Aleksa Santic) and two teammates from UMBC, senior Matt Gormley (Bethesda, MD/Walt Whitman) and junior P.J. Wakefield (Overlea, MD/Calvert Hall). The veteran of this group is the artful Radoncic. One of the league’s most creative players with the ball, Radoncic earns first team all-NEC honors for the third consecutive season. He leads the Terriers in goals (eight), assists (six) and points (22), and ranks fourth in the conference in scoring and fifth in goals. Radoncic is joined in the midfield by Gormley, who captures his second straight first team all-NEC nod after being named a second team all-star in 1998. A field general, Gormley contributed one goal and three assists for UMBC during the regular season. One of the NEC’s most improved players, Wakefield worked well with Gormley and shouldered more of an offensive burden this season for the high-scoring Retrievers. He is the fifth leading scorer in the NEC with his 20 points coming on six goals and eight assists. Pena, who was named to the all-NEC second team in 1999, tallied all five of his goals in conference play for the Blackbirds.

Leading a strong contingent in the backfield is UMBC junior Andy Wells (Essex, England/The Sweyne School), a three-time first team all-NEC award winner. Wells is joined by St. Francis (NY) senior Mersim Beskovic (Bronx, NY/John F. Kennedy) and Long Island senior Juan Diego Chavarini (Santa Fe, Argentina /Immaculada). The standard bearer for all NEC defenders, Wells is the heart of a UMBC defense that allowed just nine goals against NEC competition. After failing to earn all-star recognition last season, Beskovic picks up first team honors for the second time in his career. The veteran stopper led a stingy St. Francis (NY) defense that did not allow a conference opponent to score more than two goals in a game this season. Chavarini, who was named to the all-NEC second team in 1999, provided leadership and experience to a young Long Island squad.

Between the pipes is St. Francis (NY) goaltender Marcus Maurice (St. Augustine, Trinidad/El Dorado Secondary Comp.), who is the only freshman to be awarded first team all-star status this season. Known for his spectacular saves and consistent play, Maurice excelled against conference competition, posting a 6-1-1 mark and league-leading 0.73 GAA. On the season, Maurice tallied an 8-4-1 record with a 1.06 GAA and five shutouts.