MARLBOROUGH, Mass. – Wheaton College (Mass.) men's soccer player Leao Nelson (Bar Harbor, Maine) was named the New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference Men's Soccer Defensive Athlete of the Year, it was announced today by the league.
Nelson becomes the first Lyon to be named the NEWMAC Defensive Athlete of the Year since the award was introduced in 2016.
The senior was also named to the NEWMAC All-Conference First Team.
Nelson is the backbone of Wheaton's vaunted defense that has allowed just 11 goals in 19 matches for a minuscule 0.579 goals against average. The Bridgton Academy product helped the Lyons limit their opponents to one or fewer goals in all but one match this season, while posting 10 shutouts. Wheaton's defense ranks 11th in the nation in goals against average and stands 23rd in NCAA Division III in shutout percentage. Nelson is the center back of a defense that was especially suffocating in conference games, holding opponents to just one goal in 720 minutes for a remarkable 0.125 GAA, while posting seven blank sheets in eight contests. To punctuate his contributions to the Lyons this season, he was named NEWMAC Defensive Athlete of the Week twice in 2025. The Business and Marketing major netted a pair of goals against Husson and contributed an assist on the lone goal of an important 1-0 victory over Emerson College on October 4. The Maine native has started all 18 matches that he's appeared in, while showing invaluable leadership as the top defender in the conference for Wheaton.
Nelson has started 60 of 72 matches during his time in Norton, while scoring six goals and adding a pair of assists for 14 points. He has two game-winners to his credit for the Lyons.
Wheaton is currently 14-1-4 on the season and ranked eighth in the most recent United Soccer Coaches poll. The Lyons' only blemish on their record was a 1-0 loss to Worcester Polytechnic Institute in the NEWMAC Championship Tournament Semifinals on November 6. Wheaton won the regular season crown and earned a berth in the NCAA Championship Tournament. The Lyons take on Neumann University in the tournament's first round and will host the Knights on Saturday, November 15 at 1:30 p.m. on Keefe Field.
