Men's Soccer 11/12/2015 6:05:00 PM By Brian Bohl

MSOC: Holland Named Player Of The Year; Nuttall Earns Coach Of The Year Honors From CAA

Hempstead, N.Y. – Hofstra junior midfielder Joseph Holland was named the Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Year and Richard Nuttall was selected as the Coach of the Year. The awards were chosen by a vote of the league's head coaches and announced Thursday night ahead of the CAA Championship to be held at Hofstra Soccer Stadium from Nov. 13-15.

Holland and junior defender Harri Hawkins were named All-CAA first-team selections. Senior goalkeeper Patric Pray made the All-CAA second-team while sophomore forward Mani Walcott and junior defender Rory Murphy were third-team picks. Freshman defender Sean Nealis garnered an all-rookie team selection and senior defender Daniel Grundei was an all-academic team pick.

Elon's Nathan Diehl was the CAA Defender of the Year and William & Mary's Marcel Berry and UNCW's Ben Fisher were the Co-Rookies of the Year.

Nuttall is in his 27th season as Hofstra's head coach and earned his first-ever CAA Coach of the Year award. Despite winning three straight CAA titles and earning NCAA Tournament appearances from 2004-06, Nuttall earned his first end-of-season award from the league after his stewardship of the Pride this season that resulted in three wins over ranked teams. Nuttall is a two-time NSCAA Division I regional Coach of the Year winner but did not win the conference coach of the year award previously when Hofstra was a member of the CAA, the America East or the North Atlantic Conference. He last won a Coach of the Year award in 1993 when Hofstra was part of the East Coast Conference.

Nuttall credited his assistant coaches Gary Book and Brian Edwards, as well as former Hofstra player and volunteer assistant coach Graham Radcliffe, for helping him earn the award.

"Congratulations to my players, who all played so well to deserve these honors, and especially to Joseph for being named the Player of the Year," Nuttall said. "I regard this as a staff award, and it is a testament to the hard work of my coaches, who make up one of the best staffs in the country. Gary and Graham have been with me for years and Brian has brought great expertise and passion to the job in his first season here. It's a privilege to coach with them and I owe my success to their hard work."

Holland lead Hofstra in goals (6), assists (8), points (20) and shots (63) in the regular season, helping the Pride go 11-7 overall and 6-2 in CAA play as the Pride won the league's regular season title and the right to host the CAA Championship semifinals and finals. The London, England native was the 2012 Rookie of the Year. Following a season away from the program in 2013, Holland returned and built on a stellar 2014 campaign in which he led the CAA with nine assists by earning his second consecutive first-team pick in 2015.

This season, Holland ranks in the league's top-5 in goals, assists, points and shots. He recorded at least one point in 10 of his team's 18 contests and posted the game-winning goal in victories over Army and Northeastern. In just three seasons, he has already moved into sixth place on the school's career assists chart with 19. Holland, who was the CAA Rookie of the Year in 2012, becomes the third Hofstra player to earn CAA Player of the Year accolades, joining Michael Todd in 2006 and Chris Griebsch in 2013.

Hawkins is a first-team selection for the second straight season. The Cambridge, England native has also been an offensive contributor by scoring a career high two goals and adding his first career assist.

Pray earned his first career CAA award in his final collegiate season by posting six shutouts and notching a .788 save percentage in playing every second in net for the Pride. Pray, who is in his third season after transferring from Washington before the 2013 campaign, has a 1.12 goals-against-average and his 17 career saves is second-most in program history. The Chandler, Arizona product allowed just 21 goals in 18 regular-season games.

Walcott, from Beltsville, Maryland, built on a great freshman season in which he made the All-Rookie team by netting a career-high three goals, which all went for game-winners. His eight points are third on the team. Murphy, from Windlesham, England, was another key part of Hofstra's formidable back line that blanked six teams this year. Murphy is also Hofstra's featured player on set pieces and registered four assists in 16 games. It is Murphy's first career third-team selection. He was a 2013 All-Rookie team pick.

Nealis, a freshman from Massapequa, New York, emerged as a starting defender in his first season and contributed a goal as well. Grundei, a team captain, is a finance major.

Top-seeded Hofstra will host JMU in the CAA Championship semifinals on Friday at 7 p.m. from Hofstra Soccer Stadium.

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Players Mentioned

#27 Daniel Grundei: D; 6' 2"; Senior

#22 Harri Hawkins: D; 6' 2"; Junior

#10 Joseph Holland: M; 5' 10"; Junior

#7 Rory Murphy: M/D; 6' 1"; Junior

#1 Patric Pray: GK; 6' 1"; Senior

#17 Mani Walcott: M; 6' 3"; Sophomore

#15 Sean Nealis: D; 6' 4"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#27 Daniel Grundei
: 6' 2"; Senior
: D

#22 Harri Hawkins
: 6' 2"; Junior
: D

#10 Joseph Holland
: 5' 10"; Junior
: M

#7 Rory Murphy
: 6' 1"; Junior
: M/D

#1 Patric Pray
: 6' 1"; Senior
: GK

#17 Mani Walcott
: 6' 3"; Sophomore
: M

#15 Sean Nealis
: 6' 4"; Freshman
: D