Cortland head coach Steve Axtell and his assistants, Sean Streb and Drew Francisco, have been selected as the 2021 State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Coaching Staff of the Year.

In addition, seven Cortland players have been chosen to the All-SUNYAC team. Graduate student midfielder Blake Aronson (Huntington Station/Walt Whitman), sophomore forward Jack Coleman (Endwell/Maine-Endwell) and graduate student defender Scott Cebollero (Commack) were named the all-league first team. Senior forward Anthony Ruggiero (Holtsville/Sachem East), graduate student defender Nicholas Pfeiffer (Commack) and junior goalie Braden Melveney (Syracuse/Cicero-North Syracuse) were second team selections, and senior defender Ian Blugh (Staten Island/Curtis) was chosen to the third team. 
 
Axtell has led Cortland to a 16-2-1 record thus far this season. The Red Dragons won the SUNYAC regular-season title with an 8-1 league mark and won the SUNYAC tournament crown with wins over Buffalo State in the semifinals, 2-1, and Oswego in the finals, 6-0. Cortland earned the league's NCAA tournament automatic berth and will host a four-team regional this Saturday and Sunday. Axtell was previously named SUNYAC Coach of the Year in 2016. 
 
Aronson is an All-SUNYAC first team honoree for the third straight season; he also earned that recognition in 2018 and 2019 (the 2020 season was canceled). A starter in all 17 games in which he's appeared, Aronson leads Cortland with 13 goals and shares the team lead with 26 points. He's tied for first nationally in Division III with eight game-winning goals. He scored in both of Cortland's SUNYAC tournament wins to earn SUNYAC Tournament MVP honors, and he registered six goals during the conference regular season. 
 
Coleman has played in all 19 games, 16 as a starter. He's scored five goals and leads the Red Dragons with eight assists. Coleman scored three times in a 4-1 win over Merchant Marine Academy, had a goal and an assist in a win at Fredonia, and assisted on two goals in a victory at Buffalo State. 
 
Cebollero, in addition to his contributions as one of the team's top defenders, also has registered a goal and an assist in 19 starts. He scored in the Red Dragons' victory at Buffalo State during the regular season and assisted on the game-winning goal in a 2-1 home victory over Hobart. He was chosen to the SUNYAC all-tournament team. 
 
Ruggiero is an All-SUNYAC choice for the third time; he previously was on the second team in 2018 and 2019. In 19 games this fall, 15 as a starter, he has amassed 10 goals and six assists for a team-high tying 26 points. Five of his goals have been game winners. He recorded two goals and an assist in Cortland's regular-season win at Buffalo State, scored twice in a regular-season win over Oswego, and scored the overtime game winner in a victory at eventual Liberty League champion St. Lawrence. 
 
Pfeiffer has played and started in 18 games this fall and has two goals and an assist for five points. He notched a goal and an assist in a regular-season win at Buffalo State and scored a goal in a 2-0 home win over New Paltz that clinched the SUNYAC regular-season title for the Red Dragons. He also earned a spot on the SUNYAC all-tournament team. 
 
Melveney has started all 19 games in goal and has a 0.67 goals-against average, an .831 save percentage and 10 shutouts. He's tied for second nationally in Division III in shutouts and ranks in the top 40 nationally in both GAA and save percentage. Melveney made nine saves in a win at Buffalo Stat and seven saves in a home victory over Oneonta. 
 
Blugh has started 14 games this fall, and in all 14 of his appearances Cortland has allowed one goal or less, including eight shutouts.