STANDISH, Maine – The United Soccer Coaches All-Region awards have been announced and three Saint Joseph's College men's players have been honored. Junior forward Brett Mattos (Mahopac, N.Y.) and junior defender Dalton Gaumer (Corona, Calif.) have claimed First Team All-New England accolades and junior goalkeeper Blake Mullen (Manchester, Conn.) has earned Second Team honors.
Saint Joseph's is one of four teams – Bowdoin, Brandeis and Springfield are the others – to have three players honored and Tufts, with four individuals earning accolades, is the only program with more than three athletes listed. The three Monks are the only players from the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) to be recognized on this year's All-New England docket.
Mattos, the 2017 GNAC Offensive Player of the Year, earns regional acclaim for the first time in his career after scoring 20 goals with 10 assists for 50 total points this fall. The third-year starter and team tri-captain set new SJC single-season records for goals and points and broke the program's career record for goals (39), points (96), and game-winning goals (15) during his junior campaign. Mattos finished the season ranked second in the nation in points, fifth in goals, seventh in points per game (2.38), and ninth in goals per game (0.95).
Gaumer, the 2017 GNAC Defensive Player of the Year, also collects his first New England honor after leading the Monks to one of the finest defensive seasons in collegiate soccer. The team tri-captain anchored a back line that posted the lowest goals against average (0.047) in NCAA Men's Soccer history as St. Joe's yielded just one goal and outshot opponents by a collective 478-133 margin this fall. The Monks also set new NCAA Men's Soccer records for longest shutout streak (19 games) and consecutive shutout minutes (1,802:54).
Mullen, the 2017 GNAC Goalkeeper of the Year, shattered the Monks' goalkeeping record book and also etched his name in the NCAA record books during his junior season. The 6'7 keeper started all 21 games and logged 1,796 minutes in goal while posting a 0.05 goals against average, a .981 save percentage, and 12 shutouts this fall. The first-time All-New England honoree established new NCAA Men's Soccer records for consecutive shutout minutes (1,706:09) as well as the single-season goals against average and save percentage marks and broke the Monks' career records for victories (39) and shutouts (28) during the 2017 campaign.
Under the watch fourth-year Head Coach Adrian Dubois this fall, Saint Joseph's posted the finest season in the 29-year history of the SJC men's soccer program. The Monks went 19-0-2 with a 9-0-1 record in GNAC play and, for the second-consecutive year, captured the conference championship and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. In the first round, St. Joe's clinched the first national tourney win in team history with a 2-1 triumph over Mitchell College and held defending national champion Tufts University scoreless before falling to the Jumbos – on their home field - in penalty kicks in the second round.
The Monks capped the regular season ranked 17th in the D3Soccer.com national poll and sixth in the United Soccer Coaches regional poll and currently lead NCAA DIII Men's Soccer in goals against average (.047), won-lost-tied percentage (.952), and save percentage (.983). Saint Joseph's is also second in the nation in shots per game (22.76) and shots on goal per game (11.57), fifth in assists per game (2.95) and total assists (62), and sixth in points per game (9.33), total goals (67), and total points (196).
Saint Joseph's looks to resume the program's 21-game unbeaten streak when the team begins play next fall.
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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.
