ECAC Honors Several Soccer Stars With Long Island Connections

Several Long Island college soccer players were honored by the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) including Stony Brook’s Martieon Watson, who was named the Division I Offensive Player of the Year.

Watson tallied seven assists to go along with two goals in the 2018 campaign, giving the defensive midfielder 11 total points. His season got off to a quick start when he dished out three assists in the team’s first two games.

He picked up a season-high three points in the Seawolves’ 2-1 win over Binghamton on October 6 when he scored the game-winning goal in the 85th minute.

This isn’t the first honor Watson has received this season. The Trinidad native earned the America East Midfielder of the Year Award and was named to the First Team All-Conference and All-Academic Team. He was also a member of the All-America East Tournament Team.

In Division II, Adelphi’s Paolo Marciano was named the ECAC Rookie of the Year. He started in all 23 games for the Panthers as he tied for the team lead in goals with 12. Marciano led the team in game-winning goals with five and scored two goals in three separate games throughout the season. He was also named Northeast-10 Rookie of the Year.

At Division III, Hauppauge’s Kristen Ritter of Misericordia University was named ECAC Defensive Player of the Year. Playing more than 1,800 minutes this past season, she anchored a defense that allowed 0.55 Goals Against Average. Ritter also helped lead the Cougars to an NCAA Elite 8 appearance.

For her efforts during her senior season, she was named Second-team United Soccer Coaches All-American, First-team United Soccer Coaches All Mid-Atlantic Region, MVP of the MAC Freedom Tournament and MAC Freedom Defensive Player of the Year.

The ECAC is a college athletic conference comprising of schools that compete in 15 sports. It has 220 member institutions in NCAA Divisions I, II, and III, ranging in location from Maine to South Carolina and west of Missouri.