CLEVELAND – Nick Markanich (Bourbonnais, Ill./Bradley-Bourbonnais) of the Northern Illinois University men's soccer team has been named Mid-American Conference Player of the Year for the second consecutive season and Huskie head coach Ryan Swan has earned the Gary V. Palmisano Coach of the Year award as the MAC announced its all-conference teams and specialty award winners on Wednesday (Nov. 10). 

Nick Markanich was also named to the All-MAC First Team, where he is joined by Anthony Markanich (Bourbonnais, Ill./Bradley-Bourbonnais), Pepe Martinez (Sant antoni de vilamajor, Spain/Western Michigan) and Martin Sanchez (Bloomington, Minn./Kennedy). 

With his second-straight player of the year award, Nick Markanich becomes just the third player in conference history to claim the honor twice, joining Jamal Shteiwi of Kentucky (2003, '04) and Bryon Carmichael of Marshall (2000, '02).

The NIU senior forward is tied for third in the country with 14 goals and ranks fourth nationally with 32 points. His five game-winning goals, including the conference regular season clincher against Akron, are tied for fourth-most in the nation.

"It is certainly something that we are proud of as a program, and I know that Nick is as well," said Swan of Nick Markanich's Player of the Year award. "If you just look at his statistics this year, and over his career here, they are just fantastic. Regardless of who the opponent is he finds a way to get himself in good scoring positions and he is lethal when he gets there. It is well deserved and being a repeat winner doesn't happen often, so it is a fantastic accomplishment."

In guiding NIU to a 12-2-2 overall record, a 4-0-2 mark in league play and the conference regular season crown, Swan becomes just the second coach in Huskie history to earn MAC Coach of the Year honors, joining Steve Simmons who collected the award twice (2004, '06). This is the second time Swan has earned a coach of the year honor during his career, he was named the Great Lakes Valley Conference Coach of the Year in 2009 while at Drury University.

"It is a great honor, but it is representative of our staff," said Swan. "Andrew (Bordelon) and Tyler (Doll) have been working tirelessly throughout the year and it is a recognition of the staff as a whole. It is also a recognition of the success the team has had; it might as well be a team award. We are delighted to have it, but we are not getting caught up on the individual side of things. Winning the regular season trumps all of this and we have a big goal to try to win on Thursday and win on Sunday as well."

In addition to being named MAC Player of the Year, Nick Markanich was named to the All-MAC First Team for the third consecutive season. Anthony Markanich also claimed first team all-league honors for the third-straight year as the pair join Peter Agrimson (2000-02) as the only three-time First Team All-MAC honorees in program history. 

From his left back position, Anthony Markanich is tied for ninth in the MAC with five goals, tied for fifth in the league with six assists and tied third in the league with 16 points. 

"It is so difficult to get into the all-conference teams, there are so many good players and good teams in our league, so just getting in is a huge achievement, to do three years in the first team is fantastic," Swan said of the Markanich's accomplishment. "I think they are pro level players; I think they will go on beyond NIU and ply their trade for a number of years after this. It shows that they are at the top end of one of the top conferences in the country and I hope, and expect, them to show that level in years to come."

Martinez is making his second-straight All-MAC Team; he was a Second Team selection last year while at Western Michigan. This season, Martinez is tied for third in the MAC with six goals and tied for sixth with 14 points. Sanchez is earning All-MAC honors for the first time and becomes the first Huskie goalkeeper to claim the honor since Jordan Godsey was named to the All-MAC First Team in 2011. Sanchez has eight shutouts this season, tied for seventh-best nationally, and ranks 10th in the country with a 0.71 goals against average. 

"It is always tough when you see the all-conference team come out because I'm delighted for the four guys getting first team, they were well deserved, at the same time, I'm always looking at the names that are missing that I think are deserving of it," said Swan. "It is a great honor, and we are delighted. As nice as this is, our guys are still tuned in to the bigger picture and, rather than getting caught up in individual accolades, looking at what is on the table for the next few days (in the MAC Tournament)."

NIU will be hosting the MAC Tournament beginning with the semifinals on Thursday, Nov. 11. West Virginia will meet Georgia State in the first semifinal at 3 p.m., while the Huskies will face Bowling Green in the second contest at 6 p.m. The winners of Thursday's two semifinals will square off in the conference championship game on Sunday, Nov. 14 at 12 p.m. 

Tickets for Thursday's doubleheader are $10 while Sunday's final will be $5, available at the gate on gameday, all seating is general admission. Students from the participating schools will be admitted free of charge with a student ID. All three matches will also be live streamed free of charge on NIUHuskies.com.


2021 MAC Player of the Year
Nick Markanich, NIU
 
2021 MAC Freshman of the Year
Alberto Anaya, Bowling Green
 
2021 Gary V. Palmisano Coach of the Year
Ryan Swan, NIU
 
First Team All-MAC
Diogo Pacheco, Akron, Forward
Ryan Kingsford, Akron, Forward 
Zach Buescher, Bowling Green, Midfielder
Jacob Erlandson, Bowling Green, Defender 
Adam Davie, Georgia Southern, Forward
George Proctor, Georgia State, Defender
Gunther Rankenburg, Georgia State, Goalkeeper
Pepe Martinez, NIU, Midfielder
Anthony Markanich, NIU, Defender 
Nick Markanich, NIU, Forward
Martin Sanchez, NIU, Goalkeeper
Luke McCormick, West Virginia, Midfielder
 
Second Team All-MAC
Dyson Clapier, Akron, Midfielder 
Malik Henry, Akron, Defender
Joey Akpunonu, Bowling Green, Defender
Alberto Anaya, Bowling Green, Midfielder 
Ross Finnie, Georgia State, Midfielder 
Ethan Sassine, Georgia State, Forward
Daniel Nimick, Western Michigan, Defender
Charlie Sharp, Western Michigan, Forward
Dylan Sing, Western Michigan, Midfielder 
Ciro Bourlot Jaeggi, West Virginia, Forward
Kevin Morris, West Virginia, Defender 
Steven Tekesky, West Virginia, Goalkeeper