Conlon, Nikolai Earn Major Awards, Joined by Larsson on All-Sun Belt Teams

NEW ORLEANS – Junior Sebastian Conlon and sophomore Luca Nikolai brought home major awards for James Madison men's soccer and were joined by junior Kevin Larsson on the All-Sun Belt Conference Teams as the league announced its end-of-season awards on Friday afternoon.

Conlon was named the Goalkeeper of the Year while Nikolai was tabbed the Defensive Player of the Year in the league, with both being selected to the All-Sun Belt First Team. Larsson earned All-Sun Belt Second Team honors.

The Dukes have won a major award for the first time since 2020, with that season also marking the last time JMU has taken home multiple major awards.

Conlon earned his first career All-Sun Belt nod and became JMU's first ever Goalkeeper of the Year, as the Sun Belt is the first league the Dukes have been a member of to offer the award. The Reston, Va. native led the league in save percentage (.791) and minutes played (1507:23) and tied for the lead in shutouts (seven) while ranking second in goals against average (.836), tied for second in saves (53) and third in shutouts per game (.412). He allowed the third lowest goals, with two of his 14 being own goals, while playing in twice as many matches. With the seven shutouts in the season, he raised his career tally to 16 that sits him tied for ninth in a JMU career while his current 1.10 career GAA has him in solo possession of ninth.

The third player in program history to win a defensive major award and first since TJ Bush was named the CAA Defender of the Year in 2020, Nikolai repeated on the All-Sun Belt First Team after getting the nod last season. The defender was named a Preseason Third Team All-American by TopDrawerSoccer before being ranked 20^th in the outlet's Midseason Top 100 list. He helped anchor a backline that ranked second in the Sun Belt in goals against average (.824), shutouts (eight) and goals allowed (14). Offensively, Nikolai contributed four goals and two assists for a total of 10 points to lead all defenders in goals and be one of two defenders to hit 10 points.

Larsson earned his second consecutive All-Sun Belt Second Team laurel, as he recorded four goals and an assist for a total of nine points. All four goals came in league play, as he notched his second and third career braces in the process of scoring. The midfielder's assist came on the game-winner against then-14^th-ranked Georgetown as the Dukes won that contest 1-0.

The trio lead JMU into the Sun Belt Championship beginning on Sunday, Nov. 10, as it takes on third-seeded UCF at 7 p.m. in the quarterfinals in Huntington, W.Va.

Calendar