GGC Athletics
LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. – Georgia Gwinnett College freshman Alejandro Contrera has been named Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year among Continental Athletic Conference men’s soccer honors for the 2024 season. Five Grizzlies earned first all-league team awards, while another four players were second-team and honorable-mention honorees.
The team and special honors were selected by voting of league head coaches.
Contrera scored 10 goals and provided five assists from the forward position to lead the Grizzlies. He scored four match-winning goals and found the back of the net in nine different matches. Contrera tallied goals in five consecutive matches, including three against fellow CAC opponents.
Joining Contrera as first all-conference team selections were junior Toufik Najem and freshmen Amadou Diop, Kevin Diaz and Hugo Luengo. Juniors Ciro Damine and Dagoberto Romero joined freshman Juan Hermenegildo in receiving second-team all-conference honors, while sophomore Chris Stafford received honorable mention accolades. Freshman Cesar Rojas was named to the CAC’s Champion of Character team.
Najem stood third on the Grizzlies with 15 points after having a team-best seven assists and four goals in 16 matches this fall. Diaz started all 17 matches he appeared in and tallied three goals. Diop and Luengo also each found the back of the net three times from their positions on the defense.
Damine scored his eighth goal of the season in GGC’s double-overtime victory against Florida National University in Monday’s semifinal match of the CAC tournament. The forward also contributed three assists. Hermenegildo registered a hat trick in a victory against CAC opponent Wiley University (Texas) to stand second on the team with six goals. Romero started 17 matches in front of the GGC goal, recording 42 saves and posting a 1.30 goals against average.
Stafford started all 16 matches he appeared in this season as a defender, helping the Grizzlies post six shutouts.
GGC will play top-seeded Bellevue University (Nebraska) in the championship match of the 2024 CAC tournament on Wednesday, November 13, at 4 p.m. at the Grizzly Soccer Complex in Lawrenceville, Georgia.
Here is a list of the Grizzlies’ 2024 Continental Athletic Conference specialty award winners, all-conference team selections, and Champion of Character honorees:
Player of the Year: Alejandro Contrera
Newcomer of the Year: Alejandro Contrera
First Team
Forward – Alejandro Contrera
Midfielder – Kevin Diaz
Midfielder – Toufik Najem
Defender – Amadou Diop
Defender – Hugo Luengo
Second Team
Forward – Ciro Damine
Defender – Juan Hermenegildo
Goalkeeper – Dagoberto Romero
Honorable Mention
Defender – Chris Stafford
Champion of Character
Cesar Rojas