The State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) announced its annual awards Tuesday and a record number of SUNY New Paltz men's soccer players were honored as All-SUNYAC selections.
 
After finishing the season third in the conference and ranked No. 6 in the region, the Hawks made history with the most postseason conference selections in its 62-year history. The previous high of four was reached 11 different times, the most recent being last season.
 
Named to the 2022 All-SUNYAC team includes second team selections Philip Varner (Berlin, NJ), Owen McGarrity (Massapequa Park, NY) and third-team selections Tim Kane (Staten Island, NY), Spencer Ryczek (Victor, NY), Ryan Hilliard (Congers, NY) and Christian Micheli (Carle Place, NY).

To view the full list of All-SUNYAC selections, click here.
 
Read more on each selection below:

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Second Team:

Owen McGarrity (junior, center back)
Massapequa Park, NY/Massapequa High School

McGarrity anchored a stingy SUNY New Paltz defense from his center back position, playing 705 total minutes in all nine SUNYAC games. He was a pivotal part in the Hawks' back line that allowed just 1.12 goals against all year on 147 shots.
 
The Massapequa, NY native didn't miss a start all season, appearing in all 17 games for the Hawks and logging 1,515 minutes played, second-most on the team only behind Micheli in net. McGarrity totaled 11 shots on the year and added one assist, which came in a 3-1 win over Oswego.
 
"Owen had a very consistent season, and showed a lot of improvement with his distribution this year," said SUNY New Paltz coach Kyle Clancy. "He's someone all forwards fear going against and was a key piece to our defensive success."




Philip Varner (senior, midfield)
Berlin, NJ/East Regional High School

Varner led the Hawks offensively all season long and proved himself as one of the best players in the conference as he paced the SUNYAC in game-winning goals, which came against Plattsburgh, Brockport and Potsdam.
 
The Berlin, NJ native played in seven of eight conference matches, totaling 604 minutes on the pitch against conference competition. He scored four goals in SUNYAC play, which landed him fourth in conference scoring.

"Phil had another excellent season, and showed a good ability to finish his chances in SUNYAC play," Clancy said. "He is a player that creates a lot and is heavily involved in developing chances in the final third with his movement off the ball and ability on the ball. He also is a rare 10 that works so hard defensively, which is a huge help to our team."
 
On the season, Varner totaled five goals on 33 shots, 19 on goal — both team-high's — while starting in all 16 games in which he appeared while logging 1,365 minutes played.
 


Third Team:

Tim Kane (junior, forward)
Staten Island, NY/Monsignor Farrell High School

Kane, who was a 2021 All-SUNYAC First Team selection and an All-Region pick at center back last season, was moved up to forward midway through 2022 to give the Hawks another offensive threat. As a result, Kane became the team's go-to scorer and was among league leaders in goals. He scored a career-high six goals on the season, four of which came against SUNYAC competition landing him 12th among conference scorers. Kane played in all nine SUNYAC games, totaling 632 minutes, while registering a season-high two goals in the Hawks 3-1 victory over Oswego Oct. 22.
 
The Staten Island, NY native led the team with 14 points on the year adding two assists with his team-leading six goals on the season, while starting in all 17 games and logging 1,332 minutes played.

"Tim did an excellent job transitioning to forward and was able to help us create more chances in a number of ways," Clancy said. "A great ball winner with a relentless work rate and a good ability to finish, he was a key piece to helping us develop a better attack."
 


Ryan Hilliard (senior, midfield)
Congers, NY/Saint Joseph Regional High School

The senior captain earned his second straight All-SUNYAC Third-Team selection in 2022, as he continued to solidify the No. 6 role for the Hawks this past season. Hilliard played in all nine conference games and totaled 612 minutes, scoring one goal in the team's tough 2-1 loss against nationally ranked Cortland earlier in the year.
 
Hilliard started all 16 games in which he played and logged 1,204 minutes with a goal and an assist, while recording eight shots, three of which were on goal.

"An underrated player in the middle, Ryan's work on both sides of the ball was a big part of our success this season," Clancy said. "Often his efforts aren't seen in the box score but without players like him, it is difficult for teams to be successful and he was a key piece of many of our wins this season."  

 


Christian Micheli (sophomore, goalkeeper)
Carle Place, NY/St. Anthony High School

Micheli took over starting goalkeeper duties from incumbent Marc DePasquale who earned a spot on the All-SUNYAC team last year.

In his second season, Micheli played every minute of every regular season game, including all nine conference matches. At season's end he stood in the top-10 of eight SUNYAC goalie categories: tied for first in games played and in games started, tied for first in minutes played with 810 minutes, sixth in goals against (10), fourth in goals against average (1.11), third in total conference saves with 34, fifth in save percentage with .773, tied for first in conference wins with six and tied for fourth in conference shutouts with three.

"Christian stepped up big this year to fill a hole left by Marc's departure," Clancy said. "He showed a good level of confidence in goal and made some really big saves throughout the year to keep us in games or lead us to victory. This is a well-earned honor for him."
 
The Carle Place native finished the season 9-5-3 overall with six shutouts and 59 saves on 146 shots faced. His 1.12 goals against average was seventh best in single-season history, while his .756 save percentage tied for 12th best in single-season history.

 
Spencer Ryczek (graduate student, right back)
Victor, NY/Victor Senior High School

Ryzcek came back for his fifth year to help the Hawks to their third-straight SUNYAC Tournament appearance. The second-year captain helped solidify SUNY New Paltz's back line along with McGarrity, establishing himself as one of the best right backs in the conference.
 
Ryczek was one of six players, joining fellow All-SUNYAC members McGarrity, Kane and Micheli, to start all 17 games for the Hawks as he logged 1,269 minutes of action with one assist on the year, which came in a 3-1 win over Oswego Oct. 22. Ryczek played 80-plus minutes seven times while logging 90 minutes twice in 2022, as he helped SUNY New Paltz to six clean sheets and allowed just less than nine shots against per game.

"I'm happy to see Spencer get recognized this year," Clancy said. "It was his best season yet on the ball, both in helping us build out of the back and creating in the final third. His experience defensively was crucial, as was his leadership on and off the field."



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