Men's Soccer 11/8/2023 12:00:00 AM

Abington Sweeps Volt Division Major Awards; Seven Earn All-United East Honors

Latham, N.Y. – The Penn State Abington men's soccer team cleaned up when the United East Conference (UEC) announced its end of the year awards for the Volt Division on Wednesday afternoon. The Nittany Lions swept the major awards and had seven players earn All-United East honors tying the mark for most all-conference selections since the team had seven earn All-NEAC accolades in 2018.

Junior Eljo Agolli highlighted the list of honorees as he was named the United East Volt Division Player of the Year. Senior goalkeeper Matt Sheldon was selected the division's Defensive Player of the Year, while freshman Hugh Nungessor was tabbed the Volt Division Rookie of the Year. In addition, fourth-year head coach Pat Morris was voted the Volt Division Coach of the Year by his peers.

Agolli and Sheldon also were named to the All-United East first team as well as juniors Arsene Bado and Christian Cardenas. Nungessor was selected to the All-United East second team in addition to senior Mike Thomas and junior JT Stone.

Agolli is the third player in program history to earn Player of the Year honors and the first since Hernando Villamil was tabbed the NEAC's top player in 2019. It was a career season for Agolli as he totaled 27 points in 18 games ranking third in the conference. He also set a career-best with 11 goals to go along with five assists; one shy of his career-high.

Agolli was named the United East Offensive Player of the Week twice during the course of the season and scored multiple goals in three games, including a hat-trick versus Gallaudet University.

The two-time All-United East first team selection will enter his senior season ranked fifth all-time in program history with 65 points. Agolli has 24 career goals, which is tied for fourth most in the program's record book and his 17 career assists are ranked third.

Sheldon is just the second player in program history to earn Defensive Player of the Year honors joining former standout Andrew Costa who received the recognition in 2017. Sheldon is also earning All-United East accolades for the first time in his career.

Sheldon, one of the top goalkeepers in Nittany Lions' history, had a stellar 2023 campaign. He set career marks in goals against average (1.05), save percentage (.803) and shutouts (4). He allowed just 15 goals all season and finished the year with 61 saves. Sheldon tied his career-high with eight wins in net. His 1.05 goals against average is the second lowest in the United East and his 15 goals against is tied for the fewest allowed in the conference.

Sheldon was named the United East Defensive Player of the Week five times during the course of the season; the most by any defensive player in the conference. In the team's 2-0 victory at Rutgers University-Newark, Sheldon set a career-high with nine saves. He finished the regular season without allowing a goal in the final four games, resulting in two shutouts and two combined shutouts.

Sheldon finished his career ranked second all-time with 190 career saves. In addition, his 47 games played in net are tied for the most by a Nittany Lions goalkeeper. Sheldon also ranks second in career victories (19), shutouts (9) and save percentage (.772).

Nungessor is the program's first-ever conference Rookie of the Year. In his first season of collegiate action, Nungessor played in all 18 games, including 11 starts. He finished the season with 16 points on seven goals and two assists. He registered his first career multi-goal game with both goals in the team's 2-1 victory at Neumann University. Nungessor was selected the United East Offensive Player of the Week following that performance.

Bado is earning All-United East first team honors for the second year in a row. He finished the 2023 season with a career-high 26 points after scoring double-digit goals for the second straight season. Bado totaled 10 goals; one shy of his career-high to go along with a career-high six assists.

Down the stretch of the season, Bado scored eight goals in three games all in which went down as victories for the Nittany Lions. He totaled a career-high four goals against Gallaudet University becoming the first player in program history to score that many goals since Guy Sikpa did so against Penn State Berks in 2013.

Bado, named the United East Player of the Week two times during the year, will enter his senior season ranked eighth all-time with career 51 points. He currently has 21 goals and nine career assists.

Cardenas is earning All-United East honors for the first time in his career. A key and versatile component to the Abington defense, Cardenas surpassed 1,300 minutes on the field this season. He helped make the Nittany Lion defense one of the toughest teams to score on this season as Abington allowed the second fewest goals in the regular season (18). The team also had the second-lowest goals against average at 1.06. The Abington defense also registered the third-most shutouts in the United East with six.

Thomas is also receiving All-United East honors for the first time in his career with second team recognition. His final season in a Nittany Lion uniform was one of his best in his career as he totaled 18 points on four goals and a career-high 10 assists. His 10 helpers set a new single-season program record for most assists in a season breaking the previous mark of nine.

During the season, Thomas had a stretch of four straight games in which he recorded an assist, including two in the 2-1 victory at Neumann. Abington went 3-0-1 during that stretch. Thomas also scored in three straight games in mid-October resulting in three straight wins.

In 72 career games, the most played-in by any other Nittany Lion, Thomas has totaled 52 career points with 17 goals and 18 assists. His 18 assists are second most in program history.

Stone is earning All-United East second team honors for the first time in his career. Another significant piece to the Abington defense, Stone started 17 games and set a career-high in minutes with 1,122. He totaled two assists on the year tying his career-high. Stone's first assist of the season came in the upset victory over nationally ranked Montclair State University. Stone assisted on what turned out to be the game-winning goal in the team's 2-1 victory over the Red Hawks.

Morris is just the second head coach in the program's Division III era to earn Coach of the Year honors and the first to do so since David Castellanos was tabbed the NEAC's top coach in 2017. Under Morris' guidance, the Nittany Lions finished with nine victories, the most in his tenure at Abington, and finished nearly unblemished in United East play with a 5-0-1 mark. The team earned the top-seed in the Volt Division and claimed their first regular season title since 2018. In addition, the Nittany Lions defeated their first-ever nationally ranked opponent as previously mentioned. Abington shocked then No. 3 Montclair State, 2-1, on October 3 at Memorial Field handing the Red Hawks their first loss of the season. Abington advanced to the United East semifinals for the third straight season.

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Players Mentioned

#9 Eljo Agolli: M; 6' 0"; Junior

#14 Arsene Bado: F; 6' 1"; Junior

#15 Christian Cardenas: D; 5' 10"; Junior

#00 Matt Sheldon: GK; 6' 1"; Senior

#26 JT Stone: D; 5' 9"; Junior

#10 Mike Thomas: M/F; 5' 10"; Senior

#2 Hugh Nungessor: M; 5' 10"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#9 Eljo Agolli
: 6' 0"; Junior
: M

#14 Arsene Bado
: 6' 1"; Junior
: F

#15 Christian Cardenas
: 5' 10"; Junior
: D

#00 Matt Sheldon
: 6' 1"; Senior
: GK

#26 JT Stone
: 5' 9"; Junior
: D

#10 Mike Thomas
: 5' 10"; Senior
: M/F

#2 Hugh Nungessor
: 5' 10"; Freshman
: M