NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – The Atlantic 10 announced Monday that Massachusetts junior Alec Hughes repeated as the Atlantic 10 Men’s Soccer Offensive Player of the Year while Saint Louis’ Diego Konincks was named Defensive Player of the Year. Additionally, Duquesne’s Ask Ekeland garnered Midfielder of the Year laurels while Loyola Chicago’s Aidan Crawford earned Goalkeeper of the Year. Regular Season Champion VCU earned the final two major awards, as Andrey Salmeron was selected as Rookie of the Year and Dave Giffard as Coach of the Year.

The Atlantic 10 released the six superlative awards along with the All-Conference, All-Rookie and All-Academic teams Monday. The major honors, All-Conference Teams and All-Rookie Team were voted on by the A-10 men’s soccer head coaches while the All-Academic Team was selected by the men’s soccer communications directors.

Hughes, who was also A-10 Co-Offensive Player of the Year in 2022 and Rookie of the Year in 2020-21, he finished the 2023 regular season with league-leading 14 goals and an assist, which also tied for the national lead. Ranked 13th on TopDrawer Midseason Top 100 list this season, the senior from Glastonbury, Conn., also earned a spot on the United Soccer Coaches Forwards to Watch List in 2023.

The defensive anchor on the Billikens' back line, Konincks was part of a defense that posted an impressive 0.99 goals against average and seven shutouts. The fifth-year from Montfoort, Netherlands, also contributed on the offensive side of the ball with four goals, including the game-winner in the 1-0 win against La Salle.

Ekeland, a sophomore from Stavanger, Norway, led Duquesne and ranked second in the A-10 in goals (12) and points (27). He registered five game-winning goals this season, which tied for the league lead. He averaged 2.78 shots per game, which was top 10 in conference and he was the third most efficient shooter at Duquesne.
 
Crawford recorded five solo shutouts and two combined shutouts and allowing just 13 goals. The redshirt freshmen from Wilmette, Ill., played in all but one match for the Ramblers, logging an 8-1-5 record between the posts. He allowed just .95 goals per match and had a .711 save percentage with 32 stops. He earned A-10 Defensive Player of the Week in October following a shutout of Fordham.

Salmeron scored three goals and one assist to rank fourth in points at VCU. His three goals ranked him tied for second at VCU. A freshman from San Jose, Costa Rica, he also led VCU in shots with 37.
 
Giffard led VCU to a 7-6-5 overall record and a 5-1-2 mark in league play, capturing the Rams second A-10 Regular Season title. The Rams also have been receiving votes in the United Soccer Coaches Poll. This is the second A-10 Coach of the Year for Giffard, who is in his 14^th year at the helm for VCU men’s soccer.
 
FIRST TEAM
Forwards
Denis Krioutchenkov, Davidson
Kenji Mboma Dem, Dayton
Alec Hughes, Massachusetts
 
Midfielders
Ask Ekeland, Duquesne
Florian Deletioglu, Fordham
Marc Torrellas, Loyola Chicago
Christian Buendia, Saint Louis
                 
Defenders
Diego Konincks, Saint Louis
Geraldo Castillo, VCU
Moussa Ndiaye, VCU
 
Goalkeeper SECOND TEAM
Forwards
Bennage Vincent, Davidson
Jayden Da, Duquesne
Oscar Dueso, Loyola Chicago
Blake Driehuis, Saint Joseph’s
 
Midfielders
Joseph Melto Quiah, Dayton
Daniel D'Ippolito, Fordham
Jonathan Kanagwa, VCU
 
Defenders
Hummrich Timo, Fordham
Luis Maestre, George Mason
Aidan Kelly, Massachusetts
 
Goalkeeper
Jeremi Abonnel, Saint Louis
 
ALL-ROOKIE TEAM
Maadir Ayman, Davidson
Miles Bonham, Dayton
Hjalti Sigurdsson, Dayton
Janssen Kelly, George Mason
 Petar Janjic, Loyola Chicago
Aidan Crawford, Loyola Chicago
Noel Hansson, Loyola Chicago
Carlos Leatherman, Saint Louis
Tanner Anderson, Saint Louis
Andrey Salmeron, VCU
Leonel Vergara, VCU
 
ALL-ACADEMIC TEAM
Ekeland Ask, Duquesne
Florian Deletioglu, Fordham
Timo Hummrich, Fordham
Tim Neumann, George Washington
Alec Hughes, Massachusetts
Nick Zielonka, Massachusetts
Vetle Nilsen, Rhode Island
Andres Javitt, St. Bonaventure
James Fletcher, Saint Joseph's
Christian Buendia, Saint Louis
Diego Konincks, Saint Louis