O’Neill Highlighted Defensive Player of the Year, Two Other Named to All-CCC Team
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (November 9, 2022) – The Western New England men's soccer team landed three on the All-CCC list, as announced by the conference office on Wednesday afternoon. WNE senior Sean O'Neill picked up CCC Defensive Player of the Year, while Sam Riley and Sean Lanzillo also landed on the list for WNE.
O'Neill, the transfer student out of Merrimack College, earned CCC Defensive Player of the Year after holding opponents to under a goal and a half per game while holding off opponents to just five shots on goal per game. O'Neill also contributed on the offensive end for Western New England, dialing up a goal and six assists on the season. O'Neill scored the eventual game winning goal in the home conference opener against Nichols College, sailing a free kick from distance into the back of the net. The Belchertown, Massachusetts native guided WNE into the third seed in the CCC tournament, which recently wrapped up for the Golden Bears in the semifinal round. Over his two-year career with WNE, O'Neill scored three goals and added eight assists, playing in 37 games, making 35 starts. To go along with Defensive Player of the Year, O'Neill was also named to the All-CCC First Team.
Sophomore Sam Riley earned All-CCC Second Team honors for the 2022 season for WNE. The WNE defender locked up his opponents all season long, playing in all 20 games for the Golden Bears. Riley scored the game winning goal at Gordon College in CCC play on October 8th off a header in the 54th minute to secure the victory for the Golden Bears. The Ludlow, Massachusetts native helped Western New England to the third seed in the CCC tournament, winning their first CCC playoff game since 2017.
Sean Lanzillo, who captained the Western New England men's soccer team this season, earned All-CCC third team at the midfield position. The senior played in 18 games this season for WNE, making 17 starts. Lanzilloscored four goals, including a playoff game winning goal in the CCC Quarterfinal game in a 2-1 win over Nichols College. Lanzillo registered a season best three points in that contest, putting together 11 total points on the season. Over his career with WNE, Lanzillo scored six goals and added three assists, good for 15 points. The Mansfiled, Massachusetts native took 34 shots, placing 16 on goal, while scoring three game winning goals over his career.
Western New England men's soccer finished the season with a 10-7-3 record, going 6-3 in CCC play.
