Sydor Named Player And Newcomer Of The Year; Seven Land On All-PSUAC Teams

MEDIA, Pa. -- Penn State Brandywine sophomore Alex Sydor (White Plains, N.Y./Ardsley) earned top honors from the Penn State University Athletic Conference as he was named Men's Soccer Player and Newcomer of the Year on Monday. Seven members of the Brandywine men's soccer team were selected all-conference by the league's coaches.

Joining Sydor on the all-conference first team are senior Joey Cairy (Aston, Pa./Sun Valley), junior Axel Ayllon-Ortiz (Kennett Square, Pa./Kennett), sophomore Christian Zavala (Kennett Square, Pa./Kennett) and freshmen Elijah DeBooth (West Lawn, Pa./Wilson) and Ethan Harper (Douglassville, Pa./Daniel Boone). Freshman Raymond Kelly (Middletown, Del./Middletown) earned All-PSUAC Second Team accolades.

Sydor led the PSUAC and United States Collegiate Athletic Association in goals (25), assists (10) and total points (60) during 21 games this fall, becoming the first Brandywine men's soccer play to earn player of the year laurels since 2016.

Sydor scored in nine of Brandywine's 11 matches against PSUAC competition with six multi-goal efforts in those games. Overall, he tallied four three-goal performances. He finished the season strong with goals in eight of the Lions' final 10 matches, while adding assists in five of the final seven.

In Brandywine victories over Bryant & Stratton, Penn State Mont Alto and Penn State Hazleton, Sydor tallied seven-point performances with three goals and one assist. He collected a season-best three assists in a win at Penn State New Kensington and netted two goals in Brandywine's PSUAC semifinal victory over Penn State Beaver.

Cairy, now a three-time First Team All-PSUAC standout, was the Lions' second-leading scorer with 30 points. In addition to ranking 10th in the conference in total points, Cairy tied for sixth with eight assists and 10th with 11 goals.

Entering Wednesday's PSUAC Championship, Cairy owns a seven-match scoring streak with eight goals and five assists during that span. He notched his second-career hat trick with three goals as Brandywine clinched the conference's regular-season title on Oct. 23 at Penn State New Kensington and had two-assist showings in wins over Penn State Beaver and Penn State Hazleton in October.

Now a two-time First Team All-PSUAC selection, Ayllon-Ortiz contributed two goals and six assists from his defensive midfield position. Three of his assists came in a season-opening win at Washington Adventist.

During 13 matches played, Ayllon-Ortiz aided Brandywine defensively in producing six shutouts. The Lions yielded 13 goals in those 13 matches.

Zavala was Brandywine's fifth-leading scorer after tallying 18 total points. He tied for fourth on the team with seven goals and added four assists.

Four of Zavala's goals came against PSUAC competition, including two scores in a win at New Kensington in late October. He also tallied three-point nights against Hazleton and Valley Forge with a goal and an assist in each match.

DeBooth played in 15 matches with four starts in goal for the Lions. In nearly 900 minutes between the pipes, DeBooth surrendered just four goals, only one of which came against a PSUAC opponent, while making 18 saves.

The PSUAC leader in goals-against average (0.41), DeBooth also led the league with a .818 save percentage and tied for fourth with six victories. He recorded one solo shutotut at Thiel College in September and combined on seven more.

Harper played in all 21 games and made 18 starts as a freshman defender. In addition to helping Brandywine post a league-high 12 shutouts, Harper contributed two goals and eight assists offensively.

Harper, whose eight helpers matched Cairy for third on the team, registered three of those assists in the Lions' semifinal win over Beaver on Saturday. He tallied goals in victories over Valley Forge and Penn State York.

Kelly joined Sydor as the Lions' only two players to start every match this fall. He appeared in 21 games as a center back, aiding the top-ranked defense in both the PSUAC and USCAA as Brandywine yielded less than one goal per game, the only team to accomplish the feat.

Kelly also chipped in four goals to the offense. He netted his first two collegiate goals in a home win over Penn State Scranton and added tallies in wins over Penn State Greater Allegheny and Penn State Beaver.

In addition, senior Brandon Rochester (Chester, Pa./The Christian Academy) received the John Fritz Sportsmanship Award. Named after former PSUAC Commissioner John Fritz, the sportsmanship award is given to one player from each team in the league who best displays the core values of the league and sportsmanship to teammates and opponents throughout the season. Rochester played in 12 matches, making seven starts, while adding one goal and three assists.

Top-seeded Penn State Brandywine faces No. 2 Penn State Lehigh Valley Wednesday in State College for the PSUAC Championship.