GANSEVOORT, N.Y. – The North Eastern Athletic Conference has announced that head coach David Castellanos has been named the NEAC Coach of the Year after a phenomenal season for the Nittany Lions, while Andrew Costa (Philadelphia, Pa.) was named the NEAC Defensive Player of the Year for his outstanding efforts on the back line.
 
With back-to-back NEAC Coach of the Year awards, the team broke the single-season wins record with 13, after a 1-0 win against Wilson College in the NEAC Tournament First Round. Over the past two seasons Castellanos has earned a record of 25-10-1 and 20-2-1 in the conference.
 
Costa was named NEAC First Team and Defensive Player of the Year after he led the backline to a first-place finish. He helped his team limit its opponents to just 21 goals the and the lowest goals against in the NEAC with a 1.21 average, the best in school history.
 
Freshman forward Jose Palomeque (Upper Dublin, Pa.) was also named to the NEAC First Team after his productive year.  Palomeque dazzled in the attack, leading the Nittany Lions with six goals and three assists for the year. Palomeque was the only other freshman to join the first team outside of the NEAC Rookie of the Year Brandon Valverde.
 
Sophomore defender Jake Kemery (Bensalem, Pa.) earned Second Team All-Conference for his first time in his career. As an outside back, Kemery helped the Nittany Lions with their phenomenal goals-against average, while chipping in a goal this year.
 
Another sophomore, Ty Morris (Flemington, NJ) joined the Second Team All-Conference in the goal for his outstanding season.  Morris only gave up 13 goals in his 15 games played, and earned a 10-3 record throughout the season.  Making 48 saves the sophomore was able to keep three clean sheets for the year.
 
Freshman midfielder Michael Albers (Southampton, Pa.) was named to the Third Team All-Conference after a great first season. Albers finished tied for second on the team in goals with four for the season, including the game winning goal against Wilson College to send the Nittany Lions to the NEAC Final Four this year.
 
Finally, sophomore defender Justin Tobin (Langhorne, Pa.) was the final member of the NEAC Third Team All-Conference for his outstanding season on the backline. Alongside of Costa and Kemery, Tobin was a dominate physical presence to help anchor the NEAC's best defense.
 
The men will look to continue their record-breaking season when they host the NEAC Final Four on Saturday. Game one will feature the Nittany Lions and No. 4 Penn College at 11:30 a.m.