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 Athlete of the Year, it was announced today by the league.

Vera becomes the 12th Lyon to be named the NEWMAC Athlete of the Year and the third Wheaton men's soccer player to be selected in the past four years. 

In addition, the sophomore was also named to the NEWMAC All-Conference First Team.

Vera is currently tied for the league lead with nine goals, while ranking third with 23 points and five assists. The Marketing major has done most of his damage against conference foes, topping the conference with six goals and 13 points in eight NEWMAC matches. Vera has notched at least one point in 11 different games and strung together a streak of five straight matches with a goal to match the longest goal-scoring streak for a Lyon since 2016. The Oakmont Regional High School graduate earned Offensive Athlete of the Week honors twice and preserved Wheaton's unbeaten record in league play with a goal late in the second half to give the Lyons a 1-1 tie at United States Coast Guard Academy on October 25. Vera's uncanny ability to create space for himself has resulted in 1.79 shots on goal per outing to place him 50th among the most accurate shooters in NCAA Division III.

For his career, the forward has started 28 of 36 matches, while netting 11 goals to go with six assists to give him 28 points.

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.