
BEVERLY, Mass. – Suffolk men's soccer had a program-record seven Rams collected All-CNE status for the second straight season the Conference of New England office unveiled late Friday afternoon.
Jack Phelps and Francisco Valck were named to the first-team, Taj Jensen, Matthew Belluardo, Tommy Handelsman and Nathan Harlow were selected to the second team and Ricardo Feliciani took a spot on the third-team.
The seven all-league honorees tie the most in a single season in the Rams record book with last season.
Handelsman and Phelps received an all-league nod for the third time in their careers, the first Rams to do so since Brady Sorensen secured three from 2021-23. Belluardo and Jensen secured their second all-conference honors in their careers and in as many years, while Harlow, Feliciani and Valck picked up their first all-league awards.
The accolades came in after Suffolk secured its highest league-finish in program history, second, behind a 6-1-2 league ledger, its most conference wins since 2016 when it went 6-3-0 against Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) counterparts. Overall, the Rams assembled a 9-6-4 record under fifth-year head coach Bill Maddock.
Phelps, a fifth-year senior defensive midfielder from Westborough, Massachusetts, has been instrumental to play on both sides of the ball throughout his career. Offensively he had added one goal and a pair of handouts this season, all of which came in conference contests. He put away the game-tying goal in the conference opener, a 1-1 tie, at Gordon Sept. 21 and went on to assist on the game-winning goals against the University of New England Sept. 28 and Western New England Oct. 16, both of which were narrow one-goal margins of victory.
Valck, a sophomore that hails from Weston, Florida, paced the blue-and-gold's 33-goal scoring unit with a team-best seven strikes to sit atop the squad in points (14). Two of the forward's tallies pushed the Rams to victories, in the season-opener, a 4-1 triumph over Emmanuel Aug. 30, and at Nichols, a 2-0 shutout, Oct. 12.
Jensen, a senior midfielder that calls Providence, Rhode Island home, contributed four points on one goal, the game-winner in a 1-0 shutout of WNE Oct. 16, and two assists, one of which was the handout on the game-tying goal in the 1-1 stalemate against Roger Willams (Oct. 26).
The Mahwah, New Jersey product Belluardo set-up two scores throughout the campaign from the backline, both of which came in conference contests.
The Woodberry Forest, Virginia resident Handelsman, the Rams' usual thrower on scoring chances, produced one goal and two assists. The standout showing from the senior came in the 2-1 win over UNE Sept. 28 when he tied a career-high three points after he assisted on the game-opening goal and netted the game-winner.
Harlow was the go-to goalie for Suffolk. The sophomore that brought his talents across the pond from London, England, started all 16 games he appeared including all nine league bouts. He compiled a 0.68 GAA and .846 save percentage in conference clashes with four shutouts. Overall, he boasts 0.95 GAA and .800 save percentage with six cleansheets.
Feliciani, a native of Weston, Florida was a staple on Suffolk's backline as the sophomore appeared in all 19 games, starting all, but two. He was instrumental to the Rams' defense that limited league opponents to just seven strikes, the second fewest among conference counterparts.
On top of the all-conference recognitions, the league is handing out the CNE Community Service Team award, which is presented to a student-athlete on each squad that demonstrates a commitment to their community. Suffolk's representative is Jensen, who has captained the squad the last two seasons.
Suffolk's trophy shelf now features 21 CNE awards: six first-team, seven second-team and three third-team accolades. When combined with the vast GNAC honors, the Rams have 68 all-league acknowledgements including one offensive player of the year, one defensive player of the year, three rookie of the year, 15 first-team honors, 26 second-team selections and 22 third-team nods.
2024 CNE Men's Soccer Postseason Awards
Offensive Player of the Year - Tiago Frazao, Endicott
Defensive Player of the Year - Tim Lynch, Endicott
Goalkeeper of the Year - Brady O'Toole, Endicott
Rookie of the Year - Tyler Jastrab, Roger Williams
Scholar Athlete of the Year - Hayden Laske, Endicott
Coach of the Year - Joe Calabrese, Endicott
All-CNE First-Team
F - Kellijah Morgan, Hartford
F - Aiden Watts, Curry
F - Sam Cochran, Endicott
M - Tiago Frazao, Endicott
M - Tim Lynch, Endicott
M - Jack Phelps, Suffolk
D - Codan Foley, Endicott
D - Jack Leland, WNEU
D - Hayden Laske, Endicott
G - Brady O'Toole, Endicott
At-Large - Francisco Valck, Suffolk
All-Conference Second Team
F - Conor Rooney, Endicott
F - Tyler Jastrab, Roger Williams
F - Tyler Lewis, WNEU
M - Taj Jensen, Suffolk
M - Jack Wildermann, Roger Williams
M - Dylan Thomas, Roger Williams
D - Matthew Belluardo, Suffolk
D - Noah Martin, Gordon
D - Tommy Handelsman, Suffolk
D - Brayden Tahiliani, Hartford
G - Nathan Harlow, Suffolk
At-Large - Jason Salley, Roger Williams
All-CNE Third-Team
F - William Pugliese-Savage, Nichols
F - Benji Wright, Gordon
F - Austin Murawski, Hartford
M - Keegan Reim, WNEU
M - Aidan Sheehan, Endicott
M - Benny Simpson, Gordon
D - Konrad Krysztoforski, Endicott
D - Brandon Rodriguez, Roger Williams
D - Luke Lindas, Gordon
D - Gilbert Daru, Gordon
G - Hogan Cain, Roger Williams
At-Large - Ricardo Feliciani, Suffolk
At-Large - Shay O'Neill, WNEU
Community Service Team
Naytik Vora, Curry
Carter McCoy, Endicott
Alex Diaz, Gordon
Trey Sadler, Hartford
Nathan Salamon, Nichols
Andre Caceres, Roger Williams
Taj Jensen, Suffolk
Sam Higgins, UNE
Zachary Redondo, Wentworth
Matt Spruill, WNEU