MARLBOROUGH, Mass. – Wheaton College (Mass.) men's soccer player Gael Vera (Westminster, Mass.) was named the New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference Men's Soccer Offensive Athlete of the Week for the week of October 13-19, it was announced today by the league.
Vera joins senior Leao Nelson (Bar Harbor, Maine), who was named the NEWMAC Defensive Athlete of the Week, to earn weekly conference awards this week and bring Wheaton's school-record total to seven weekly honors for the season. Junior Declan Rhatigan (Holderness, N.H.) was named the top offensive player for the weeks of September 29 to October 5 and August 25-31, while seniors Baden McLaughlin (Yarmouth, Maine) (September 1-7) and Aidan Doyle (Kinston, Mass.) (September 22-28) both received the offensive honor this season as well. The five offensive accolades also mark the most in a campaign for a Lyon men's soccer team.
Vera tallied two goals in two matches with one in each game for Wheaton. The forward netted the second goal of the afternoon in a 3-0 win at Union College on October 14 and capped the week by scoring the final marker of a 3-0 victory at NEWMAC rival Massachusetts Institute of Technology on October 18.
For the season, the sophomore has tallied 15 points on five goals and five assists to rank among the top five in assists (second), points (third) and goals (fifth) in the NEWMAC this season. A graduate of Oakmont Regional High School, Vera has currently netted at least one goal in three straight matches and has notched at least one point in eight contests this season. The second-year player has started all 14 matches for the Lyons.
The Marketing major has started 24 of 31 career games, while netting seven goals to go with six assists to give him 20 points during his time in Norton.
Wheaton is currently one of 18 unbeaten teams in the nation with an 11-0-3 mark and is among five schools to begin the season without a loss in their first 14 matches. The Lyons are also ranked 10th in the most recent United Soccer Coaches national poll. Wheaton is tied for eighth among NCAA Division III teams with a gaudy .893 winning percentage and its unbeaten streak to begin the season is the longest in school history. The Lyons are currently sixth in the nation in goals per game (3.28), first in total goal differential (37) and 23rd in goals against average (.642).
Wheaton returns to action on Wednesday, October 22 when it hosts NEWMAC foe Worcester Polytechnic Institute on Keefe Field at 3:30 p.m.
