BOSTON –
Chris Feifs was named America East Coach of the Year while a program record 12 Catamounts earned All-Conference honors to headline Vermont's representation on the league's all-conference teams. Postseason awards were announced this afternoon.
Those 12 Catamounts earned 14 All-Conference spots, breaking the previous record of 11 set just last season.
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AMERICA EAST ALL-CONFERENCE TEAMS
Chris Feifs is just the second UVM head coach to earn Coach of the Year status and first since 2015. Feifs – in his seventh season at the helm – has a record of 58-36 and 29-11 in America East play. He's won the second-most games all-time at UVM and has led Vermont to three straight America East Regular Season Titles and two straight appearances in the NCAA Tournament.
Senior faceoff specialist
Tommy Burke claimed spots on the All-Conference First-Team and All-Academic team for the third straight season to cap off a dynamite regular season. Burke won the ball at a .644-clip this season, which ranks 3
rd in the country and is tops in the league. He was even better during league-play winning at 70.9% against conference foes.
Former America East Rookie of the Year
David Closterman earned a spot on the All-Conference First Team for the second straight season. Closterman finished the regular season with 26 goals and 21 assists for 47 points and closed out the campaign with a four-assist game against UMBC. Against conference opponents this season, he averaged 4.14 points per game.
Senior LSM
Nick Alviti found himself on the First Team again in 2023. His 18 caused turnovers ranked third in the league. He tied the program record for career caused turnovers in the regular season finale at UMBC with 69. Alviti also pumped in four goals and five assists.
Jackson Canfield backed up his breakout 2022 season with another First-Team nod in 2023. He picked up 29 ground balls and caused 10 turnovers while drawing the opponents top offensive threat each weekend.
Junior Pat Murphy rounds out the First-Team selections for the Catamounts. Murphy stepped into the SSDM role last season and put together his best season as a Catamount in 2023. He dished out three assists, picked up 17 ground balls and caused six turnovers this season.
Senior attackman
Brock Haley landed on the Second Team in 2023 after leading the team in scoring this season. His 52 points (31G, 21A) ranked fourth among league leaders. In conference play, Haley averaged five points per contest which was tops in the America East. He was named America East Offensive Player of the Week four times this season.
Colin Sharkey earned his first-career all-conference selection with a spot on the Second Team. Sharkey's 25 ground balls ranked fifth on the team and first among the team's defensive midfield unit. He scored two goals and caused five turnovers this season.
Senior defensemen
Tim Manning also picked up his first postseason honor with his Second Team selection. Manning has started all 50 games of his career and finished the regular season with 18 ground balls and five caused turnovers while anchoring the UVM defense.
Matt Shaffer got his first consistent action between the pipes this year and turned it into a Second Team selection. He led the conference with a 7.83 goals against average and .583 save percentage in league play. He was named America East Defensive Player of the Week four times this year – the most by a UVM goalie since 2019.
Tristan Whitaker earned spots on the All-Conference Second Team and All-Rookie Team. He finished the regular season with 26 points – 22 during league play – on 16 goals and 10 assists which ranks third on the team.
Carson Boyle joined Whitaker on the All-Rookie team after stepping into the starting attack role for conference play. He scored 17 goals and dished out three assists for 20 points – all against conference foes – including a six-goal game at NJIT back in March.
Charles Huntley rounds out the honorees with an All-Rookie nod, respectively. Huntley ranked fifth on the team with 18 points on 12 goals and six assists. He posted a pair of hat tricks in his first season in Burlington.
The Regular Season Champion Catamounts (9-4, 7-0) take on the four-seed UAlbany Great Danes Thursday night in the America East semifinals at Virtue Field. First faceoff is set for 4 p.m. and the game will be streamed on ESPN+.
America East Coach of the Year
Chris Feifs
America East All-Conference First Team
David Closterman, Attack
Jackson Canfield, Defense
Nick Alviti, LSM
Pat Murphy, SSDM
Tommy Burke, Faceoff
America East All-Conference Second Team
Brock Haley, Attack
Tim Manning, Defense
Tristan Whitaker, Midfield
Colin Sharkey, SSDM
Matt Shaffer, Goalie
America East All-Rookie Team
Carson Boyle, Attack
Charles Huntley, Midfield
Tristan Whitaker, Midfield
America East All-Academic Team
Tommy Burke, Faceoff
