NEW HAVEN, Conn. - - Heading into the postseason, the Wilmington University men's soccer team collected four Major Awards and seven All-Conference selections as the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference released its annual awards on Monday morning.
The orchestrator of it all, head coach Nick Papanicolas was voted as the CACC Coach of the Year by the league's sports information directors, guiding the team to a 15-2-1 overall record, a share of the CACC Regular Season title, a national ranking all season long, and atop the NCAA Division II Super-Region 1 rankings. It is the sixth time in his career that he has been named the CACC Coach of the Year, and third straight season that the Wildcats have taken part in (2018 and 2019).
The defense swept the Major Awards for the Wildcats, as graduate student centerback Carson Talboys was named the CACC Defensive Player of the Year. Freshman right back Richard Thompson was voted the CACC Rookie of the Year, and by virtue of being voted First Team All-CACC, freshman netminder Konstantinos Parisis was named the CACC Goalkeeper of the Year. The All-CACC teams and major awards are voted on by the league's head coaches.
In addition to Talboys, Thompson, and Parisis on the First Team, teammates Shawn Genus and Yohan Kim were also named First Team All-CACC. Hakim Williams and Marius Skattum Dahl were voted Second Team All-CACC as well, making it seven All-Conference winners and eight total Wildcats mentioned.
Carson Talboys (Huntersville, N.C.) joined the Wildcats this season after his career at Catawba and has made an impact immediately. He has helped anchor a defense to only allowing 0.81 goals per game, earning eight shutouts on the season. He is also tied for ninth in the CACC with six goals, adding two assists for 14 points. He scored two goals and added an assist at Jefferson and had two goals against Georgian Court. He becomes the team's fourth Defensive Player of the Year, joining Adrian Tash (2015), Elliot Johnson (2018), and Joe Bell (2019).
Richard Thompson (Montego Bay, Jamaica) has been another defensive stalwart in his first season as a Wildcat. He has also helped anchor the defense to allowing 0.81 goals per game while getting in on the offense as well. He is tied for second in the CACC with 10 assists, ranking tied for 16th with 14 points as well. He scored at Millersville and against Holy Family, and had a season high three assists at Caldwell. He becomes the program's third Rookie of the Year, joining assistant coach Anthony Allison (2006), and Lorne Bickley (2016).
Konstantinos Parisis (Thessaloniki, Greece) is a freshman starting goalkeeper for the Wildcats. He has started all 18 games, and leads all CACC goalkeepers with at least 10 games played with an 0.83 goals against average and 15 goals against. He has collected seven shutouts on the year, ranking 11th in all of NCAA Division II. His .727 save percentage is second in the CACC by goalkeepers with more than 10 games played. He had a season high five saves at Dominican. He becomes the third Wildcat to earn CACC Goalkeeper of the Year, joining Vinny Tasca (2018) and Gabriel Prgomet (2019).
Shawn Genus enters the postseason ranked second in the CACC with 17 goals, which is fifth in NCAA DII. His 40 points is also second in the CACC and fourth in the country. But his six game-winning goals is tops in all of NCAA Division II heading into the playoffs. He recorded two hat tricks this yar, first against Southern Connecticut State on September 15 and at Dominican in a 3-2 victory on October 22. He also scored multiple goals against Bentley, Bloomfield, Holy Family, and Caldwell. It is the second time two seasons that Genus has been named First Team All-CACC.
Yohan Kim has been a consistent force in the midfield for the Wildcats all season long. His tenacity and hard work have won the Wildcats a number of set pieces, setting up scoring chances all season long. He has two goals and two assists on the year, with his goal against Southern Connecticut State going down as the game-winner. HE also scored against #16 Gannon and put up assists at Jefferson and at Caldwell.
Hakim Williams is second on the team with 19 points, scoring eight goals to go with four assists, as the other forward atop the Wilmington formation next to Shawn Genus. He finished strong with a goal at Caldwell and two goals against Chestnut Hill in the final two games of the season. He has two game-winners on the year, coming in back-to-back overtime games at Millersville and against Nyack.
Marius Skattum Dahl has played in all 18 games of the year, stepping in as a starting midfielder in the third game of the year after an injury. He finished the year with three goals and four assists for 10 points, scoring against Adelphi, West Chester and at Goldey-Beacom. It is the first time in his career that he has been named All-CACC.
Georgian Court' Louis Silva was voted the CACC Player of the Year after leading the CACC with 18 goals and 46 points. Chestnut Hill earned the final Major Award, earning the CACC Team Sportsmanship Award.
The five First Team All-CACC and seven total All-CACC selections are top in the conference.
2021 CACC Men's Soccer All-Conference Teams:
First Team:
F Shawn Genus (Wilmington University)
F Alvaro Sanchez (Post University)
F Louis Silva (Georgian Court University)
M Sergio Diaz (Post University)
M Yohan Kim (Wilmington University)
M Sergio Sanchez (Post University)
M Antonio Zhu Sanchez (Dominican College)
D Andrea Baleotto (Post University)
D Jonathan Firmino (Georgian Court University)
D Carson Talboys (Wilmington University)
D Richard Thompson (Wilmington University)
GK Konstantinos Parisis (Wilmington University)
Second Team:
F Marouf Barry (Dominican College)
F Eduardo Coimbra (Goldey-Beacom College)
F Mitchell Reed (Nyack College)
F Hakim Williams (Wilmington University)
M Maximino Casares Martinez (Dominican College)
M Andrey McIntyre (Chestnut Hill College)
M Javier Plaza (Nyack College)
M Marius Skattum Dahl (Wilmington University)
D Eric Affi (Dominican College)
D Niklas Laenger (Georgian Court University)
D Edgar Torres (Bloomfield College)
GK Marco Roessle (Nyack College)
2021 CACC Player of the Year: Louis Silva (Georgian Court University)
2021 CACC Rookie of the Year: Richard Thompson (Wilmington University)
2021 CACC Defensive Player of the Year: Carson Talboys (Wilmington University)
2021 CACC Goalkeeper of the Year: Konstantinos Parisis (Wilmington University)
2021 CACC Coach of the Year: Nick Papanicolas (Wilmington University)
2021 CACC Team Sportsmanship Award: Chestnut Hill College