STANDISH, Maine – The New England Soccer Journal has released lists for NCAA DIII men's soccer top players and most underrated players in the region and two Saint Joseph's College athletes have garnered recognition.
Junior forward Brett Mattos (Mahopac, N.Y.) is ranked ninth in the preseason player rankings while junior keeper Blake Mullen (Manchester, Conn.) is listed third on the New England underrated players docket.
Mattos, a First Team All-Conference selection last fall, has tallied 19 goals – including eight game-winners - with eight assists for 46 total points over 42 career games. A gifted athlete, the junior captain is capable of highlight-reel plays, as evidenced by his last-second, game-winning bicycle kick score versus Johnson & Wales last fall, an effort that garnered national attention on ESPN's Top 10 Plays.
Mullen leaped onto the national stage last season and capped his first season as a starter ranked third in NCAA DIII Men's Soccer in goals against average (0.35), save percentage (.877), and minutes (2,038). For his efforts, the 6'7 netminder garnered Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Goalkeeper of the Year and First Team All-GNAC accolades.
Mattos and Mullen were key contributors for a Monks side that went 15-2-6 overall, including an 8-0-1 mark in GNAC play, en route to claiming a GNAC Championship and subsequent NCAA Tournament berth last fall. St. Joe's defeated Babson College in PK's on their home turf to earn the program's first-ever NCAA tourney triumph before falling at the hands of Brandeis University, which advanced all the way to the NCAA Final Four.
Saint Joseph's, selected by a vote of conference coaches to repeat as GNAC Champions in a preseason poll released last week, kicks off the 2017 campaign with a non-conference contest at Husson University tomorrow at 7:00 PM.
CLICK HERE to view release (scroll down for Mattos listing)
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Saint Joseph's College is Maine's only Catholic liberal arts college, providing a supportive, personalized and career-focused education for more than 100 years. From its 474-acre campus on the shores of Sebago Lake, the College offers more than 40 undergraduate programs to a population of approximately 1,000 students. Saint Joseph's College Online provides certificates, undergraduate and advanced degrees for working adults through an online learning program. For more, visit www.sjcme.edu.
