General | 10/24/2023 4:36:00 PM
New York, New York - After capturing the program's 14th conference title and back-to-back championships for the first time since 2016 and 2017 including their first regular season title since 2018, four BMCC men's soccer players were selected to the 2023 NJCAA All-Region 15 team by the coaches last Friday. Freshmen Mamadou Diallo (Conakry, Guinea) and As Mouhamadou Ndiaye (Brooklyn, New York) received All-Region First Team accolades. Sophomore Ademola Opesanwo (Lagos, Nigeria) grabbed All-Region Second Team honors, and classmates Abdul Mumin Seidu (Bronx, New York) and Carlos Auquilla (New York, New York) were named All-Region 15 Honorable Mention. Aquilla also landed on the All-Region 15 Sportsmanship Team.
The nod is the second straight for Opesanwo and Mumin Seidu and the first for Diallo, Ndiaye, and Aquilla.
Diallo had a stellar debut season for the Panthers, becoming the fifth player in program history to receive CUNYAC Community College Rookie of the Year Honors, the first since Adrian Santos did it in 2018. The Conakry, Guinea native led BMCC with 28 points and 11 goals, scoring goals in eight of the Panther's 14 games with six goals in his last six games and a team-best three multi-goal games. Diallo was also the first Panther player to record a double-digit goal season since Seydou Diallo, 2019 Conference Player of the Year, did it with the same number of goals. His goal total was seventh most in a single season and 10th all-time program history.
He recorded a career-high five points twice in the opening on September 5, 2023, against Rockland Community College at home and on the road against Bronx Community College on October 5, 2023. In the 2023 CUNYAC Community College Championship, he helped spearhead the Panther's 3-2 comeback victory against Kingsborough Community College, assisting on Mohammed Alghanimi's (Brooklyn, New York) equalizer in the 53rd minute and scoring the game's second goal en route to BMCC repeating as Conference Champions for the first time since 2016 and 2017.
The two-time CUNYAC Honorable Mention and CUNYAC Rookie Of The Week also finished the season second on the team with six assists.
Ndiaye was a major leader on the Panther's backline, starting all 14 matches while recording four points on two goals and an assist.
Opesanwo had a solid second act in 2023 to follow up an outstanding freshman campaign, leading the Panthers with four game-winning goals, including the game-winner in the 2023 CUNYAC Community College Men's Soccer Championship and career and team-best 10 assists, which was third most in a single season. The Lagos, Nigeria native finished second on the team with 26 points and third with eight goals, both career bests. The CUNYAC Community College Player of the Week kicked off the season with a bang, posting a season-high five points with two goals and an assist against Rockland Community College at home on September 5, 2023.
Opesanwo finished his time at BMCC tied for second all-time in school history with 12 career assists and tied for sixth all-time in goals with 15 with seven career game-winning goals and two career multi-goal games.
Mumin Seidu, a two-time NJCAA Division III Goalkeeper of the Week, locked it down for the Panthers in the goal this season, making a team-high 52 saves and registering 1.76 goals against average and a .733 save percentage with a 7-4-0 record with one shutout and two shutouts combined. The Bronx, New York native posted a team-high two double-digit save games with his season-high 11 saves coming in the 2023 CUNYAC Community College Men's Soccer Championship in the Panthers 3-2 comeback victory to win back-to-back titles for the first time since 2016 and 2017. Mumin Seidu's effort garnered him the 2023 CUNYAC Community College Men's Soccer Championship Most Valuable Player.
He finished tied 12th in the country in victories with seven and 30th nationally in goals against average with a 1.76 mark while finishing his career with five career double-digit save games with a career-best 15 saves last year against Suffolk C.C. on October 13, 2022. He also finished with a 13-8-2 career record and stopped 138 career shots.
Aquilla was one the Panther's biggest vocal leaders during their back-to-back CUNYAC Championships, making 21 career starts in 25 career appearances with nine career assists. The New York, New York native recorded two assists twice, including two helpers this season against Westchester Community College on October 9, 2023, and assisted on the second goal in the 2023 CUNYAC Community College Men's Soccer Championship Game.
Below is the complete list of the 2023 All-Region 15 Team:
2023 Men's Soccer Region XV Player Of The Year
Marc Augustin, Nassau
2023 Men's Soccer Region XV Division III All-Region 15 First Team
Marc Augustin, Nassau CC
Cristian Parra Alvarez, Suffolk CC
Imari Harris, SUNY Ulster CC
Lorenzo Cali, Nassau CC
Kaanturk Akgul, Suffolk CC
Keithland Cesar, Kingsborough
As Mouhamadou Ndiaye, BMCC
Ashaasea Sankofa, SUNY Ulster CC
Mamadou Diallo, BMCC
Nicolai Peralta, Nassau CC
Kenny Chamo, Nassau CC
2023 Men's Soccer Region XV Division III All-Region 15 Second Team
Lorenz Utz, Monroe College - Bronx
Angel Perez, Suffolk CC
Ademola Opesanwo, BMCC
Silas Stewart-Caws, Nassau CC
Randall Ashong, SUNY Ulster CC
David Lamour, Nassau CC
Handell Dos Santos, Westchester
A. Yearance, Dutchess
Dantae McDonald, SUNY Ulster CC
Ryan Rush, Suffolk CC
Chris Ascencio, Suffolk CC
2023 Men's Soccer Region XV Division III All-Region 15 Honorable Mention
Mario Salguero, Suffolk CC
Owen Canjura, SUNY Ulster CC
Chrystian Hernadez, Nassau CC
Andy Nebblett, Kingsborough
Alejandro Vega, Westchester
B. Pettigrew, Dutchess
Carlos Auquilla, BMCC
Joseph Portanova, Rockland
Jefferson Cubias, Queensborough
Edward Celiz, SUNY Orange
Abdul Mumin Seidu, BMCC
2023 Men's Soccer Region XV Division III All-Region 15 Sportsmanship Team
Jesus Ochoa, SUNY Orange
Randall Ashong, SUNY Ulster CC
Rocco Dispinseri, Suffolk CC
Alan Quezeda, Dutchess
Daniel Bernal, Queensborough
Joseph Hoffman, Nassau CC
Joseph Balducci, Rockland
Yahyaa Doumbia, LaGuardia CC
Andrew Martinez, Westchester
Veron Owusu Ansah, Monroe College – Bronx
Carlos Auquilla, BMCC
Edwin Martinez, Bronx Community College
Kayia Requena, Kingsborough
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