GENESEO, N.Y. - The Empire 8 announced its All-Conference awards on Tuesday, Nov. 10, and the SUNY Geneseo men's soccer team picked up three major awards and landed seven student-athletes on All-Conference teams. Charlie Sorensen was named the Defensive Player of the Year after leading the Knights defensive efforts all season long, Ferenc Bagi earned Rookie of the Year honors, and Mark Howlett was named the Coach of the Year.

Sorensen was the leader of a stout Geneseo defense that allowed just eight goals in 11 Empire 8 regular season games, while helping the Knights post three straight shutouts in tournament play to win their second consecutive Empire 8 Championship. The Knights have recorded nine clean sheets, while riding a 10-game winning streak heading into the NCAA Tournament. Sorensen has also added a goal and two assists in 2026. He joins former teammate Joe Vogt (2024) as Empire 8 Defensive Players of the Year from Geneseo.

Bagi, a forward, has appeared in 15 games for the Knights in 2026 and has tallied 11 points on five goals and an assist, while helping lead Geneseo to its second straight E8 title. He had four goals and an assist with one game-winning tally in 11 E8 regular season contests. Bagi is Geneseo's first student-athlete to earn E8 Rookie of the Year accolades.

Howlett was named the Doug May Coach of the Year for the second straight season after leading the Knights to their second consecutive Empire 8 Championship and trip to the NCAA Tournament in 2026. SUNY Geneseo also won the 2026 E8 Regular Season Championship and earned top seed in the Empire 8 Tournament, while entering the NCAA Tournament with a 15-4-1 overall mark, riding a 10-game winning streak. The Knights went 9-2 in league play, out-scoring opponents, 22-8. He coached seven 2026 All-E8 selections.

Joining Sorensen on First-Team All-Conference was Eric Carnes and Aidan Lodie. Michael Ruggiero and Ali Shabani picked up Second-Team honors, while Bagi and Owen Burke rounded out the All-Conference honors on Third-Team. The Knights will head to the NCAA Tournament for the second-straight season, and will face Weselyan on Saturday, Nov. 14 at 11 a.m.

One member of each team was named that institution's representative on the 2026 Men's Soccer Tomorrow's Leaders Team. This team honors a student-athlete who has emerged as a leader not only on the field of play, but in the classroom and in the community. In addition, they "compete with honor and integrity" and have distinguished themselves and consistently exhibit the critical traits as outstanding sportsmen, and Amir Bonseu earned the honor for the Knights.