Pitman, NJ- Montclair State men's soccer seniors IAN CHESNEY and OSBIN MENDEZ both earned New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) major awards to highlight seven All-NJAC selections for the Red Hawks as announced by the conference office on Wednesday afternoon.
 
Along with their first team selections, Chesney was named Defensive Player of Year while Mendez was honored as the Midfielder of the Year. Joining the two of them on the first team list was OWEN MURPHY. SAMUEL EPITIME and JUAN URIBE represented the Red Hawks on the second team list while GENE CARLO ALTAMIRANO and ALEXANDER VELASQUEZ were named Honorable Mention.
 
Chesney earns his second straight NJAC Defender of the Year title and becomes the first Red Hawk to win this honor for the second time. He also solidified himself on the All-NJAC First Team all four years of his playing career and started all 18 appearances for 1,450 minutes. He helped lead a Montclair State defense that is at the top of the conference in goals allowed (11) and goals against average (.611). the senior defender also contributed offensively with two goals on the year.
 
Mendez earns his first major award and his second First Team All-NJAC selection after starting all 17 games of his appearances this season for 1,157 minutes. Mendez led the NJAC this season in assists with eight and added five goals for 18 points, which finished seventh best in the conference. The senior midfielder also notched two game-winning goals and was a perfect three-for-three on his penalty kicks this season.
 
Murphy collect his second First Team All-NJAC selection and his third recognition to the All-NJAC list after making it to the second team in 2022. Last seasons NJAC Midfielder of the Year started all 19 appearances on the pitch for 1,398 minutes. On the season he tallied a goal and an assist for four points including a game-winning goal that he secured on the road during a 2-0 win against Alvernia.
 
Epitime was named to the All-NJAC Second Team in his lone season playing for the Red Hawks. The West Point transfer made 14 appearances with 11 starts and racked up 992 minutes for Montclair. He led the team this season in goals with nine and points with 20 while also assisting two goals this season. He ranked tied for fifth in the NJAC in goals and sixth in points, as well as seventh in shots on goal with 21.
 
Uribe earned his first All-NJAC honor from the conference with his Second Team selection this year. The senior defender logged 1,616, which ranked second on the team and started all 19 games for the Red Hawks. He helped lead a Montclair State defense that is at the top of the conference in goals allowed (11) and goals against average (.611).
 
Altamirano earned his third All-NJAC honor and his second Honorable Mention selection after starting all 17 of his appearances on the pitch for the Red Hawks for a total of 1,315 minutes. The senior defensive midfielder played his role in the success of the Montclair State University defense that is at the top of the conference in goals allowed (11) and goals against average (.611). He also scored a goal during the teams 8-0 rout against John Jay on September 23.
 
Velasquez earns All-NJAC Honorable Mention in his first year as a collegiate goalkeeper. The freshman keeper logged the most minutes on the team with 1,665 and started all 19 games between the pipes. He posted the lowest goals against average (.703) and was second in the league in saves percentage (.817) and tied for second in shutouts (8).
 
The Red Hawks were tied with Rowan for the most student-athletes that were landed on the list and second on the league behind Rowan in First Team honorees
 
Montclair State University fell in their NJAC Semifinals matchup last night to third-seeded Stockton, 2-1 and will now await the selection of the NCAA Tournament to see if they can secure on at-large bid to the tournament.