WASHINGTON – The Georgetown University men's soccer team led all BIG EAST Conference squads with two major awards and nine total all-conference honors on Monday when the league announced its postseason awards. Additionally, the Georgetown staff received BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year honors.

Junior captain Dante Polvara earned Midfielder of the Year honors for the second-consecutive season, while senior captain Sean Zawadzki captured Defensive Player of the Year. Polvara and Zawadzki joined junior Will Sands on the All-BIG EAST First Team. The Blue & Gray tied for the most first team selections with three honorees.  Juniors Stefan Stojanovic and Daniel Wu earned spots on the second team. GU boasted a league-high four people on the third team including seniors Zach Riviere and Giannis Nikopolidis along with sophomores Chris Hegardt and Kenny Nielsen.

After winning the regular season crown last week marking GU's seventh in program history, the Hoyas will stay at home for the BIG EAST Championship semifinal game on Thursday, November 11.

Dante Polvara
Two-Time Midfielder of the Year, First Team All-BIG EAST

• Polvara has started all 16 games for the Blue & Gray and is currently second on the team in scoring with four goals and five assists for 13 points.
• Two of his goals were game winners against Dartmouth and at Butler.
• His five assists sit him among the top 10 in the league.
• Polvara was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll on 8/30.
• Was named Preseason All-BIG EAST and to the MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List.
• This is his second-consecutive postseason honor being named the league's Midfielder of the Year a season ago as well as to the first team.
• No Hoya has ever won back-to-back BIG EAST Midfielder of the Year honors and it is only the second time in league history.
• It marks Georgetown's third-consecutive BIG EAST Midfielder of the Year award after Jacob Montes won it in 2019.

Sean Zawadzki
Defensive Player of the Year, First Team All-BIG EAST

• Zawadzki has started all 16 games he has appeared in this season with one goal and four assists for six points on the season.
• He was a Preseason All-BIG EAST selection.
• Zawadzki was named to the all-freshman team as a rookie, was Second Team All-BIG EAST as a sophomore and earned a spot on the first team last season.
• He was named to the TopDrawerSoccer.com Team of the Week on 9/14.
• This is Georgetown's fourth-consecutive BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year award.
• He is also a Senior CLASS Award finalist.

Will Sands
First Team All-BIG EAST

• The junior has appeared in all 16 games with 15 starts to his credit.
• He has three goals and as many assists for nine points on the year to rank third on the team in scoring.
• His goals against Seton Hall and Xavier were game winners.
• Sands is a two-time BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week (10/11 & 10/25) and was named to the TopDrawerSoccer.com Team of the Week on 10/25.
• This is his second postseason honor after earning a spot on the third team as a sophomore.

Stefan Stojanovic
Second Team All-BIG EAST

• Stojanovic leads the Hoyas in scoring with seven goals and one assist for 15 points.
• This ranks him third in the league in goals per game and fourth in points per game.
• He has started all 16 games for the Blue & Gray.
• The junior has a BIG EAST-best three game winners coming against Fordham, Maryland and DePaul.
• Stojanovic was named the BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week on 10/4 and to the honor roll on 10/18.
• This is his first-career honor on the Hilltop.

Daniel Wu
Second Team All-BIG EAST

• Wu has started all 16 games on the backline for the Hoyas.
• He has one goal and two assists for four points on the year.
• The goal came against Seton Hall.
• Wu was named to the College Soccer News Team of the Week on 9/14 as well as being selected as the BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week on 9/13. He was also tabbed on the honor roll on 9/27.
• This is his first-career honor on the Hilltop.

Giannis Nikopolidis
Third Team All-BIG EAST

• Nikopolidis has started nine games with four shutouts in 810 minutes in goal.
• The senior has a record of 8-1 overall.
• He has 19 saves and a 0.89 goals-against average which ranks him fourth in the BIG EAST Conference.
• Nikopolidis was named to the all-freshman team as a rookie, was a two-time First Team All-BIG EAST selection including twice being named the BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year.
• He was a Preseason All-BIG EAST selection.
• Nikopolidis is currently ranked second on the program's all-time shutout list.

Chris Hegardt
Third Team All-BIG EAST

• Hegardt has appeared in 15 games with 14 starts for the Hoyas.
• He has three assists for three points on the year.
• This is his first-career honor on the Hilltop.

Kenny Nielsen
Third Team All-BIG EAST

• Nielsen has started all 13 games he has appeared in on the backline for the Hoyas.
• He has one goal for two points on the year.
• The goal came in a win over Villanova.
• This is his first-career honor on the Hilltop.

Zach Riviere
Third Team All-BIG EAST

• Riviere has started all 16 games for the Hoyas.
• He has three goals and three assists for nine points on the year to rank third on the team in scoring.
• He scored the game winner against Villanova.
• This is his first-career honor on the Hilltop.

BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year

• Head Coach Brian Wiese, Assistant Coaches Mike Casper and Connor Klekota and Volunteer Assistant Coach Brian Bouhl were named the BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year by the league's coaches.
• This is the seventh time in Georgetown history that GU has earned the honor and the fifth time under Wiese (2019, 2015, 2013, 2010).

How to Watch
Kickoff on Thursday is scheduled for 11 a.m. at Shaw Field against fifth-seeded Villanova. The game will be broadcast live on the BIG EAST Digital Network presented by SoFi on FloSports with Georgetown alums Dan Helfrich and Tom Greaser calling the action. Live stats will be available at GUHoyas.com.