Valck, Belluardo, Mehaya Headline Men’s Soccer’s Historic CNE Award Haul

CNE RELEASE 

BEVERLY, Mass. – On the heels of the winningest season in program history, Suffolk men's soccer captured 11 Conference of New England (CNE) honors including four major awards in CNE Offensive Player of the Year Francisco Valck, CNE Defensive Player of the Year Matthew Belluardo, who was CNE Scholar-Athlete of the Year as well, and CNE Rookie of the Year Mohamed Mehaya, the league office announced Thursday.  

Along with their major awards the trio of Valck, Belluardo and Mehaya garnered spots on the All-CNE First-Team alongside Diego Pierantozzi. Ricardo Feliciani and Nathan Harlow were selected to the All-CNE Second-Team and Ford Lee rounded out the award winners with a spot on the All-CNE Third-Team. 

Belluardo received an all-league nod for the third time in his career, while Harlow, Feliciani and Valck picked up their second. Lee, Mohamed and Pierantozzi are all first-time all-conference honorees. 

It was a historic award haul for Suffolk with a program-best 11 honors upstaging the previous mark of seven recorded in each of the last two campaigns. Rams garnered major accolades in the same season for the first time in program history and the major awards were the first in the Bill Maddock era, as well as the first CNE major awards in men's soccer's history.

The recognitions come after a regular-season in which the blue-and-gold assembled a 12-3-3 regular season ledger, the winningest mark in the squad's season-by-season record book that dates through 2001. Suffolk has produced the best conference record in a single-season as it went 7-2-1 in league play, good for the second seed in the CNE Tournament, which ties the highest league finish in program history with last season's squad.

Belluardo, a defender from Mahwah, New Jersey, became the program's first-ever conference defensive player of the year. The captain has been a staple in the backfield throughout his collegiate career and his senior season was no different as he started all 18 games as the cornerstone of the Rams' defensive unit. To go along with his efforts on defense, he supplied six points on two goals, including one game-winner, and two assists.  

On top of his athletic achievement, Belluardo was recognized as CNE Scholar-Athlete of the Year, which is given to a student-athlete who is either graduating or has exhausted their eligibility and has excelled both on the field and in the classroom. The undergraduate law major has compiled an impressive 3.965 GPA through six semesters and is the first Suffolk men's soccer player to take home the distinction. 

Valck is the second-ever Ram to be a conference's offensive player of the year, first since 2009 when Danny Lloyd scooped up the recognition from the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC). The junior forward has been a crucial cog to the blue-and-gold's 41-goal scoring machine with three markers and a team-best seven set-ups. Over the 18-game regular-season the Weston, Florida, native produced at least one point in nine contests and strung together an eight-game point streak from Sept. 30-Oct. 25. In that span he racked up six goals and six handouts.  

East Boston local Mehaya made headlines in his first collegiate campaign. On top of his program-best five weekly accolades, he is the program's tthird rookie of the year, first since the GNAC gave Jarrett Davis the nod in 2016. He is the youngest player in Suffolk's history to pick up a spot on a conference's first team as he earned the nod as a freshman. The forward sits atop Suffolk's squad in all offensive categories with 11 goals, and seven assists for a league-best 29 points.  

Pierantozzi rounded out the blue-and-gold's first-team selections as the senior forward from Weston, Florida provided seven goals and three helpers en route to his first all-conference recognition. 

Harlow took on the bulk of the work load in net. The junior started all 11 contests he appeared in and put together a 0.684 GAA and .850 save percentage in conference clashes with five shutouts. Overall, the London, Engalnd product holds a 0.82 GAA and .820 save percentage with six clean sheets. 

Feliciani, a native of Weston, Florida, held down the backline as the junior appeared in all 18 games, starting all, but one. He was instrumental to the Rams defense that limited league opponents to just 0.70 goals per game.  

Lee completes the all-conference honorees as the senior midfielder that calls Atlanta, Georgia, home added two goals, including one game winner, and two assists to Suffolk's attack. 

On top of the all-league awards, handed out the CNE Community Service Team award, which is presented to a student-athlete on each squad that demonstrates a commitment to their community. Suffolk's representative is Christian Garder. The sophomore midfielder also was recognized as the Elite 21 award winner prior to the CNE Semifinals Tuesday night as the student-athlete with the highest GPA competing in the 2025 CNE Men's Soccer Tourney. 

Suffolk's trophy shelf now features 32 CNE awards: one offensive player of the year, one defensive player of the year, one rookie of the year, one scholar-athlete of the year, 10 first-team, nine second-team and four third-team accolades. When combined with the vast GNAC honors, the Rams have 79 all-league acknowledgements including two offensive player of the year, two defensive player of the year, one scholar-athlete of the year, four rookie of the year, 19 first-team honors, 28 second-team selections and 23 third-team nods.  

2025 CNE MEN'S SOCCER POSTSEASON AWARDS
Offensive Player of the Year - Francisco Valck, Suffolk
Defensive Player of the Year - Matthew Belluardo, Suffolk
Goalkeeper of the Year - Eliot Panaccione, Roger Williams
Rookie of the Year - Mohamed Mehaya, Suffolk
Scholar Athlete of the Year - Matthew Belluardo, Suffolk
Coach of the Year - James Greenslit, Roger Williams

All-CNE First-Team
F - Tyler Jastrab, RWU
F - Mohamed Mehaya, Suffolk
F - Austin Murawski, Hartford
F - Diego Pierantozzi, Suffolk
M - Tyler Lewis, WNE
M - Shay O'Neil, WNE
M - Francisco Valck, Suffolk
D - Matthew Belluardo, Suffolk
D - Jack Leland, WNE
D - Brandon Rodriguez, RWU
GK - Eliot Panaccione, RWU

All-CNE Second-Team
F - Liam Blaisdell, RWU
F - Cole Casinghino, WNE
F - Ben RIley, WNE
F - Dylan Robbins, RWU
M - Chad Parente, JWU
M - Max Patenaude, RWU
M - Aidan Sheehan, Endicott
M - Benny Simpson, Gordon
M - Dylan Thomas, RWU
D - Ricardo Feliciani, Suffolk
D - Tim Lynch, Endicott
D - Brayden Tahiliani, Hartford
GK - Nathan Harlow, Suffolk

All-CNE Third-Team
F - Sam Cochran, Endicott
F - Cortez Cardone, Gordon
F - Conor Rooney, Endicott
F - Sylver Godines, Gordon
M - Alex Burnham, Wentworth
M - Ford Lee, Suffolk
M - Will Schiffer, RWU
D - Cody Dill, Gordon
D - Luke McCarthy, RWU
D - Nathan Starzl, Gordon
D - Jordan Thibodeau, JWU
GK - Ryan Lunn, Hartford

Community Service Team
Trey Cleary, Nichols
Jayden Castro, Hartford
Brenden Cunningham, Curry
Ryan Dunbar, Wentworth
Christian Gardner, Suffolk
Zach Hutt, Gordon
Matt Misiaszek, Endicott
Jayden Montagna, WNE
Alex Nardolillo, JWU
Max Patenaude, RWU
Nick Reffel, UNE