Men's Soccer | 11/18/2019 2:25:00 PM
TROY, N.Y. – The Liberty League has announced its weekly award winners from men's soccer and three Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) student-athletes have been recognized.
Dylan Confair and
Luke Brezak have been named Offensive and Defensive Player of the Week, respectively, while
Arik Duncan earned Rookie of the Week honors.
A senior midfielder out Williamsport, Pa., Confair helped the No. 12/14 Engineers to a 1-0-1 weekend in NCAA Tournament play, recording a pair of assists for two points in RPI's First Round victory (4-0) over Eastern Nazarene, including one on the eventual game-winning goal. He then played 94 minutes in Rensselaer's penalty kick shootout win (0-0) against Middlebury on Sunday, converting his chance from the spot to help send the Engineers through to the Sectional Round for the first time in program history.
Confair has played in 20 games this season (all starts), with three goals and three assists for nine points. Registering 23 shots (11 on goal), the former Williamsport Area High School standout had two goals and one assist for five points in nine Liberty League contests. He earned All-Liberty League Second Team honors, collecting 13 shots in conference play (5 on goal).
In 60 career games at RPI, including 52 as a starter, Confair has six goals and nine assists for 21 points. The multiple Liberty League All-Academic selection was recently named CoSIDA Academic All-District First Team, which makes him eligible for Academic All-America consideration.
A sophomore goalkeeper out of Camano Island, Wash., Brezak went 1-0-1 with a shutout and a combined shutout last week, helping the Engineers advance in the NCAA Tournament. Recording one save in 78 minutes against Eastern Nazarene on Saturday, he then stopped all five shots he faced in 110 minutes against Middlebury, before stopping a penalty in the fourth round of the shootout.
Starting 14 games this season, Brezak has a 10-0-4 record, with a 0.49 goals against average and an .860 save percentage. A graduate of The Overlake School, he has made 43 total saves, while allowing just seven goals with six clean sheets. Earning All-Liberty League Honorable Mention, he went 4-0-2 with a 0.47 goals against average and an .857 save percentage in six conference starts, with three shutouts.
Brezak has made 24 career appearances for the Engineers, going 14-2-4 with a 0.54 goals against average and an .846 save percentage. In 1988:41 minutes, he has 66 saves and has notched 10 clean sheets.
A freshman striker from Decatur, Ga., Duncan earned his third Rookie of the Week award after scoring a goal on five shots (3 on goal) in two games last week. He opened the weekend by tallying in RPI's 4-0 victory over the Lions on Saturday afternoon, before playing 98 minutes against the Panthers, in which the Engineers advanced on a penalty kick shootout, 5-3.
Duncan is second on the team in scoring with five goals and three assists for 13 points, despite playing in just 14 games (6 starts). Second on the club with 37 shots (16 on goal), he has two game-winning tallies. In five conference appearances, he had two goals and two assists for six points, garnering All-Liberty League Honorable Mention.
The Engineers have advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament, where they will face Messiah College, Saturday afternoon at Amherst College (1:30pm).
