Men's Soccer Sees Six Players Earn All-NEC Honors

SOMERSET, N.J. – The Merrimack College men's soccer team was recognized by the NEC as the Warriors were awarded six All-Conference in an impressive year for the team.

Three Warriors earned placement on the First Team All-NEC list, including senior forward Juri Schlingmann, senior midfielder Johan Feilscher, and graduate midfielder Stefano Pesenti. Three Warriors were also named to the Second Team All-NEC list, including graduate defender Alessandro Negri, sophomore defender Carlo Romei and sophomore goalkeeper Alvaro Rodriguez.

The Merrimack men's soccer team were picked to place fourth in the Northeast Conference (NEC) preseason poll, but has proven the doubters wrong as they earned a #2 seed in the Northeast Conference Tournament. The men's soccer program is the first Merrimack team to secure a spot in the NEC playoffs since being deemed eligible in the Division I reclassification process which started in 2019-20. The Warriors finished the regular season with an 8-6-2 overall record and a 5-2-1 mark in conference and 16 points in the standings.
 
All-NEC First Team: Juri Schlingmann
Schlingmann, a senior forward from Flensburg, Germany, was fantastic this season logging 1,276 minutes played across 16 games and 29 shots on goal, he led the team in goals with eight including two games scoring two goals and is tied for first in assists with four. He earned NEC Player of the Week honors twice this season for his performances against Howard, Stonehill and Sacred Heart. 
 
All-NEC First Team: Johan Feilscher
Feilscher, a senior midfielder from Bad Bramstedt, Germany, played 1,222 minutes in 16 games played and was also a lethal presence up front, taking second on the team with seven goals and three assists in both categories. He had a season high of five shots on goal, making two goals against UMass Lowell. 
 
All-NEC First Team: Stefano Pesenti
Pesenti, a graduate midfielder from Camisano, Italy, logged 1,301 minutes and started all 16 games of the campaign, Stefano had two goals and two assists, both goals came in Merrimack's 4-0 victory versus Hartford on 8-28 as he scored both the first and second goal of the match for the Warriors with three shots on goal, all being season-highs.
 
All-NEC Second Team: Alessandro Negri
Negri, a graduate defender from Noverasco, Italy, logged 1,039 minutes and started in all of his 13 appearances this season. He notched one goal and was tied for first on the team with four assists this season playing.
 
All-NEC Second Team: Carlo Romei
Romei, a sophomore defender from Rome Italy, played in and started 14 games this year, being on the field for a total of 1771 minutes, in games Carlo played Merrimack only conceded 12 goals, he also assisted on two goals this year.
 
All-NEC Second Team: Alavro Rodriguez
Rodriguez, a sophomore goalkeeper from Madrid, Spain, was integral to the warriors success this season, playing 1433 minutes, making 85 saves on the season, only conceding 13 goals and having six shut outs in the season. He earned NEC Player of the Week honors after being faced 42 shots on goal, recording 20 saves (twelve against Harvard, eight against St. Francis) while only allowing one total goal.