Stony Brook, N.Y. - Senior Leonardo Fernandes (North Babylon, N.Y.) has been named the America East Midfielder of the Year for the third consecutive season to headline seven Stony Brook men's soccer student-athletes who earned All-America East honors, the conference office announced Thursday. 

 

Fernandes was also named to the All-America East first team. On the second team are seniors Raphael Abreu (New York, N.Y.), Berian Gobeil Cruz (Montreal, Quebec) and Kyle Schlesinger and junior Marius Krathe (Saltnes, Norway). Freshmen Alejandro Fritz (Budapest, Hungary) and Martin Giordano (Weston, Fla.) were selected to the All-Rookie team.

 

Fernandes is the first player to win three consecutive Midfielder of the Year awards since the award's inception in 2004. He is just the second America East player to win a major award three years in a row, joining Binghamton's Graham Munro, who was named Defender of the Year from 2003-05.

 

Fernandes, who joins Michael Palacio (2004-07) as Stony Brook's only three-time first-team All-America East selections, leads the team in goals (8), assists (6) and points (22). Among his America East peers, he is second in points, fourth in goals and tied for third in assists, and he leads all midfielders in those categories. A nominee for the Hermann Trophy, Fernandes is two points away from becoming Stony Brook's all-time leader in the category.

 

Abreu earns second-team honors for the second time in his career (2010) as he posted five goals during the regular season, second only to Fernandes on the team. He has two game-winning goals this season, including two vs. New Hampshire just last week on Senior Night. 

 

Gobeil Cruz earns All-Conference honors for the second year in a row. Last season, he was America East Striker of the Year and first-team All-Conference. He has four goals and two assists this season and ranks in the top 10 in Stony Brook program history in career goals (24) and points (55).

 

Schlesinger earns his first All-Conference honors after a strong season in the midfield both offensively and defensively. He has four assists this season, two of them on game-winning goals. He has 11 assists in his Stony Brook career, which places him in the top 10 in program history. In addition, Schlesinger was named to the All-Academic team for sporting a 3.35 cumulative GPA as a Business major.

 

Krathe is in his first season after transferring from South Florida and has been solid on the back line for the Seawolves. He has been a part of a Seawolves defense that has allowed the second-fewest goals and recorded the second-most shutouts in the conference.

 

Fritz bursted onto the scene by scoring a goal on his first collegiate shot in the season opener and currently has three goals and five assists. His five assists lead all America East rookies.

 

Giordano has three goals and one assist in his rookie campaign, matching Fritz for the team lead among SB's freshmen. 

 

Stony Brook, under second-year head coach Ryan Anatol, is 10-5-1 overall and 4-3-0 in America East this season. The team will begin defense of its America East Championship this Saturday in a quarterfinal match at home against Binghamton at LaValle Stadium. The winner advances to the semifinals at UMBC next Wednesday.