New Haven, Conn. - (11/2/2015) – Guiding Chestnut Hill College to a 6-4-2 league finish and the fourth seed in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) Championship Tournament, senior midfielder Nicholas Jaffe (Sao Paulo, Brazil) and junior goalkeeper James Jackson (Sewell, N.J.) were recognized with Second Team selections on the CACC All-Conference Team. Regular-season champion Wilmington University cleaned up most of the major awards, offering the league's Player of the Year in junior midfielder Clifford Nwechefom (Port Harcourt, Nigeria), the Defensive Player of the Year in senior Adrian Tash (Toronto, Ontario), and the Coach of the Year in Nick Papanicolas. Nyack College freshman midfielder Simon Kraemer (Wentorf, Germany) was honored as the CACC Rookie of the Year, while Felician College was awarded the Team Sportsmanship Award.
 
The announcement preceded the opening of the CACC Championship Tournament this afternoon, where the fourth-seeded Griffins will play host to fifth-seeded Philadelphia University at 2:00 p.m. Chestnut Hill College is making its third straight postseason appearance, and will aim for its first-ever conference playoff win when it meets the defending CACC champion for the second time in four days. The Scarlet and Gold locked up the No. 4 seed and a home playoff game with Thursday's 2-0 victory over the Rams. The winner will face either No. 1 Wilmington University or No. 8 Goldey-Beacom College in Saturday's semifinals, hosted by Post University. On the other side of the bracket, No. 2 Post plays host to No. 7 Concordia College (NY), and No. 3 Dominican College (NY) entertains No. 6 Bloomfield College.
 
With Papanicolas directing from the sidelines, Nwechefom ranked second in the CACC in points (35) and goals (16) to lead the Wildcats to a 10-2 record (13-4 overall) and pole position for the CACC Championship Tournament. He led the conference in shots (65) and netted six game-winning goals during the fall, scoring multiple goals four times.
 
A First Team honoree for the second straight season, Tash made 15 starts at the head of a defense that conceded only 13 goals in 17 contests, only eight of which came in conference play. The Wildcats posted eight shutouts (seven in CACC action). Tash proved dangerous on the attack as well, tying for fourth on the team with four assists.
 
Kraemer sparkled in his rookie campaign, notching 11 goals (5^th, CACC) for a 22-point campaign (7^th). He finished with three multi-goal efforts, including a hat trick against Goldey-Beacom College on October 13.
 
On the heels of a First Team season a year ago, Jaffé again served as one of the league's premier playmakers. The senior star ranked inside the CACC's top 10 in shots (64, 2^nd), goals (10, 7^th), and points (24, 6^th) while recording a trio of game-winning goals. Jaffé scored both goals in the Griffins' 2-0, season-ending shutout of Philadelphia University, and was a three-time CACC Honor Roll mention (9/8, 9/15, 9/22). He is the first Griffin to earn back-to-back all-conference laurels since Gavin Reid '12 garnered Second Team nods in 2010 and 2011. Jaffé currently sits third in Chestnut Hill College history in points (46), goals (17), and assist (12).
 




Jackson, meanwhile, blossomed in his third season as the starting keeper, finishing fourth in the conference in saves (83), seventh in shutouts (2), and 10^th in goals against average (2.02). He was the CACC Defensive Player of the Week on the league's September 15 report and earned Honor Roll recognition on the September 22 report. Jackson is tied for the program's all-time lead with 12 shutouts, matching the total put forth by current assistant coach Michael Goldstein '13.
 





A listing of the CACC major award winners and complete All-CACC roster is provided below:
 
CACC Men's Soccer Player of the Year: Clifford Nwechefom (Wilmington University)
CACC Defensive Player of the Year: Adrian Tash (Wilmington University)
CACC Rookie of the Year: Simon Kraemer (Nyack College)
CACC/BSN Sports Coach of the Year: Nick Papanicolas (Wilmington University)
CACC Team Sportsmanship Award: Felician College
 
All-CACC First-Team
GK – Michael Hartmann (Caldwell University)
F – Lance Berry (Wilmington University)
F – Paulo Claudio (Bloomfield College)
F – Anthony Asante (Post University)
M – Clifford Nwechefom (Wilmington University)
M – Javier Alvarez-Vispo (Concordia College - NY)
M – Juan Bernal (Wilmington University)
D – Angelo Dambalas (Philadelphia University)
D – Adrian Tash (Wilmington University)
D – Lukas Nordin (Dominican College – NY)
D – Joe Woodley (Wilmington University)
 
All-CACC Second-Team
GK – Frank Hall (Wilmington University)
GK – Jon Hanlon (Post University)
GK – James Jackson (Chestnut Hill College)
F – Tiago Martins (Post University)
F - Ishmaiah Calwrie (Philadelphia University)
F – Kenny Monfort (Felician College)
M – Nicholas Jaffe (Chestnut Hill College)
M – Simon Kraemer (Nyack College)
M – Armando Filho (Post University)
D – Joe Woodley (Wilmington University)
D – Jacob Butler-Bowdon (Post University)
D – Chris Kulczytsky (Philadelphia University)