Erskine Named GNAC Student-Athlete of the Year Finalist

WINTHROP, Mass. – Emmanuel College men's soccer grad Alec Erskine (Coventry, Conn.) has been named one of eight finalists for the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) 2022-23 Athlete of the Year award for men's sports. The nominees are also their respective school's institutional nominees for the 2023 NCAA Man of the Year.

The GNAC Athlete of the Year award is modeled after the NCAA Man of the Year award. It recognizes graduating student-athletes who have distinguished themselves throughout their collegiate careers in the areas of academic achievement, athletics excellence, service and leadership. Each nominee also had to submit a personal statement for consideration.

This year's finalists, who are also their respective school's institutional nominees for 2023 NCAA Man of the Year are:

• Declan Ryan, Albertus Magnus
• Jarrod Marifiote, Anna Maria
• Finn Husband, Colby-Sawyer
• Brian Dovidio, Dean
• Alec Erskine, Emmanuel
• Elisio Nascimento, Lasell
• Santiago Pedraza Novak, Regis
• Michael Torres, University of Saint Joseph (Conn.)

A Business Management major, Erskine graduated Emmanuel College this May finishing with a 3.064 GPA. He appeared on the Dean's List at Emmanuel for three years from 2020-2022. Athletically, he was named on the 2022   United Soccer Coaches All-Region Team (Second Team), a 3x GNAC All-Conference Member, 4x Emmanuel Team MVP, was selected as the GNAC Player of the Week once as well as the GNAC Rookie of the Week three times in his campaign.

He holds six records in Emmanuel's soccer program as he owns the career goals (33), points (76), and game winning goals (13) record as well as setting those records in a single season with the same feats   at 12, 27, and 6 respectively. In addition, he is the NCAA D-III Men's Soccer record holder for fastest consecutive goals, with a time of 0:08 seconds. Outside of the soccer field, Erskine was a youth soccer referee and clinician.

Erskine is just the second Emmanuel male student-athlete to be nominated for the conference honor joining Morgan Mercier '21 as the only two student-athletes to earn a GNAC Athlete of the Year nomination for male sports.

Personal Statement:

"I would like to start this statement off by thanking Emmanuel College for being nominated for this amazing award, and especially the Athletic Department. The gratitude I have for this nomination is immense and it is well and truly valued by me and my family.

What has influenced me the most in my time at college, off the field, was being able to help out at Mission grammar, an elementary school not too far from Emmanuel. Being given the opportunity to go there once a week to help out with the kids and shine a positive light on their lives is something that I will never forget. As children, they were looking for people to look up to, and it didn't take long to make a strong connection with them. That tremendous experience empowered me to always do my best to make an impact on children's lives for the better.

I only played 3 years of collegiate soccer at Emmanuel. My freshman year was spent at Central Connecticut State University, where my love for soccer was starting to vanish. That school was by no means a good fit for me, and I knew I needed to find a school where my passion for the game would outshine everything else. With the help of some very close friends, I found Emmanuel and never looked back. My years as an athlete here were quite simply the time of my life. I was playing the sport that I love with a group of guys that I love. Every single one of my teammates are guys that I consider good friends, there is not a single person that didn't make my experience less memorable or enjoyable. The team bond we created was something I honestly never knew was possible, it built friendships for life, and I will always be in debt to Emmanuel Soccer for providing me with these.

Becoming the captain of the team for my senior season was something that I was ready to tackle. Leading this team, on and off the field, through the season and setting numerous school records will always be one of the top moments of my life. There were so many individual and team records that were broken during my last year here, and my only regret is not being able to give one more season to the team, to my coach Dan Roberts, and to the school. In a perfect world, I would have been able to have one last ride with all of my guys.

My coaches, teammates, and all of the friends that I have made along the way at Emmanuel have inspired me to be a better person every day. Every individual record or accolade I win/get nominated for; I consider as a team accolade because of everything they've done for me. They changed my life, in the best way possible, and I wouldn't have received this nomination if it weren't for all of them."

ABOUT THE GREAT NORTHEAST ATHLETIC CONFERENCE

The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 16 member institutions and over 4000 student-athletes across the New England region. Founded in 1995, the GNAC annually sponsors and administers 22 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunity and community involvement in an effort to enhance the student-athlete experience.

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*Release content courtesy of the GNAC Athletic Communications Office