Castellanos, Klenofsky and Melitsanopoulos Claim Men's Soccer Weekly Awards
MAAC Sports
MAAC Offensive Player of the Week
Franklin Castellanos, Iona
MF, Sr., 5-6, 150, Dover, N.J./Dover
Iona College senior midfielder Franklin Castellanos posted three goals over two games to help the Gaels clinch a berth in the upcoming 2013 MAAC Men's Soccer Championship in wins over Saint Peter's and Canisius. In the 35th minute against the Peacocks, Castellanos tallied the game winner. Castellanos took a long ball in the box, passed his defender and then beat the keeper to give Iona the 1-0 win. Against Canisius, Castellanos would then tally his first career multi-goal game with two scores. In the 38th minute, Castellanos buried a free kick from just outside the penalty box to knot the score at 1-1. Castellanos bent a shot around the defensive wall and beat the Canisius keeper to the upper left corner of the net. The Maroon & Gold got a key insurance goal in the 85th minute. It was Castellanos again, scoring his eighth tally of the season to give Iona a 3-1 lead. Junior Michael Holzer one-timed a pass to Castellanos who settled the ball and made a nifty chip to himself past his defender before blasting a shot past the Canisius keeper for his second goal of the game. Additionally this week, Castellanos was named to the Capital One All-Academic District 1 First Team, as announced by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
MAAC Defensive Player of the Week
ERIC KLENOFSKY, Monmouth
G, Fr., 6-6, 170, Lincoln Park, NJ/DePaul Catholic
Klenofsky posted his sixth and seventh shutouts in the last eight games as the Hawks moved to 7-0-2 in MAAC play this week with a scoreless tie at Manhattan and a 2-0 win over Niagara on Saturday to clinch at least a share of the 2013 MAAC Regular Season Championship and the No. 1 seed in the MAAC Championships. The owner of six-straight clean sheets, the last time Klenofsky surrendered a goal was on Oct. 12 vs. Siena. He made four saves at Manhattan on Wednesday and two more against the Purple Eagles to push his goals-against average to a microscopic 0.20 which leads the nation and his saves percentage to .909 which ranks second nationally on the season. Against Manhattan, Klenofsky was tested early, diving to punch a shot over the crossbar in the ninth minute and sprawling to make another save in the 12th minute. Klenofsky also made the save on a point-blank opportunity from the Jaspers’ Tommy Amos in the 59th minute and stopped Dan Laguna Kennedy in the 65th minute. In the Niagara game, Klenofsky cleaned up a Nicholas Watson header in the first half and completed the clean sheet with a save of a Callum Willmott shot in the 83rd minute. His emergence as the Hawks’ starting goalkeeper is a major reason for Monmouth’s success in conference play, as the Hawks are a league-leading 7-0-2 in games he’s started between the posts this season.
MAAC Rookie of the Week
Andrew Melitsanopoulos, Manhattan
Defender, Fr., 6-2, Norwalk, Conn./Norwalk
Andrew Melitsanopoulos played a vital role in helping Manhattan pick up four crucial points in MAAC play. On Wednesday, he anchored a Jasper back line that faced 21 total shots from league leader Monmouth without conceding a goal. In 110 minutes of play the rookie deflected multiple shots and denied several scoring opportunities by clearing the ball away from the net to aide in the 0-0 draw. It was the third time this year Manhattan has shutout an opponent. He followed that up on Saturday with a surprising offensive outburst. Melitsanopoulos scored his first two collegiate goals just 1:17 seconds apart to help the Jaspers comeback and defeat Marist 3-2. His first goal came after he finished a cross in front of the net to knot things up before burying a loose ball following a free kick that proved to be the game winner.