WASHINGTON – Five members of the Georgetown University men's soccer team earned United Soccer Coaches All-East Region honors on Tuesday.  All five earned first team nods including goalkeeper Giannis Nikopolidis and defender Rio Hope-Gund as well as midfielders Jacob Montes, Dante Polvara and Sean Zawadzki.

Rio Hope-Gund
Sr. | D
New York, N.Y. / Friends Seminary

• He was named the BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year and earned a nod to the BIG EAST First Team.
• Hope-Gund appeared in eight games with as many starts.
• His season was cut short as he was called into preseason camp with Orlando City of Major League Soccer.
• This past preseason, Hope-Gund was voted the BIG EAST Preseason Defensive Player of the Year as well as All-BIG EAST.
• In his final week on the Hilltop he earned his first-career weekly award after two nods to the honor roll.
• Earlier this year, Hope-Gund was named to the TopDrawerSoccer.com Team of the Week.
• This is his first-career regional award.

Giannis Nikopolidis
Jr. | GK
Athens, Greece / Nea Genia Zirdi

• He was selected the BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year for the second-consecutive season and also earned a spot on the BIG EAST First Team.
• Nikopolidis started 12 games with six shutouts in 1,341 minutes in goal.
• The junior had a record of 8-2-1 overall.
• He had 26 saves and a 0.61 goals-against average for the season.
• Nikopolidis was named the BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Week on 3/15 and 4/12 as well as earning one nod to the weekly honor roll.
• Nikopolidis is currently ranked fourth on the program's all-time shutout list.
• This is his second-career regional honor being named to the first team a season ago.

Jacob Montes
Sr. | M
Lake Worth, Fla. / Beaverton [Ore.]

• The senior was a First Team All-BIG EAST selection.
• He appeared in eight games with as many starts scoring two goals with three assists for seven points.
• Montes departed for Europe for a Premier League tryout.
• He was selected as a finalist for the Senior CLASS Award.
• This preseason, Montes was named to the MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List and selected Preseason All-BIG EAST.
• This is his second-career First Team All-East Region selection.

Dante Polvara
So. | M
Pleasantville, N.Y. / Brunswick

• Polvara was a MAC Hermann Trophy semifinalist, the 2020 BIG EAST Midfielder of the Year as well as a First Team All-BIG EAST selection.
• He started all 14 games for the Blue & Gray and led the team in scoring with eight goals and two assists for 18 points.
• Two of his goals were game winners against Seton Hall and at St. John's.
• He was named the BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week on 3/1 and also earned two nods to the weekly honor roll this season.
• This is his first-career regional award.

Sean Zawadzki
Jr. | M
Olmsted Falls, Ohio / Olmsted Falls

• Zawadzki was named Second Team All-BIG EAST
• The midfielder started all 13 games he appeared in this past season.
• Zawadzki moved into the backline against St. John's to take the place of Hope-Gund.
• He was a Preseason All-BIG EAST selection.
• This is his second-career regional honor after being named to the third team a season ago.