Men's Soccer | 11/11/2026 7:35:00 PM

TRAFFORD, Pa. (pacathletics.org) - The Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) released its 2026 all-conference men's soccer teams and yearly award winners, as determined by vote of the league's 13 head coaches, Wednesday night. The awards were first revealed through an announcement show by the PAC Sports Network.

Headlining the award winners is Allegheny College senior midfielder Will Gruca, who collected PAC Offensive Player of the Year laurels. Geneva College freshman goalkeeper Eli Stasiowski was chosen as the conference's Newcomer of the Year. Grove City College claimed the last two awards and both were repeat winners.  Wolverine senior defender Colton Hudson was voted as the conference's Defensive Player of the Year for the second year in a row, while Grove City head coach Mike Dreves was chosen as the PAC's Coach of the Year, his second straight recognition.

This is the second time in three years an Allegheny player has earned PAC Offensive Player of the Year, as Gruca joins Brady Napolean, who was recognized in 2024. Gruca led the Gators with 12 goals and six assists for 30 points this season. Much of his damage was done in conference matches, as the midfielder notched eight of his goals and 19 points against PAC foes. All three of his game-winning goals were in PAC matches, including the only scores in 1-0 victories over Geneva and Chatham.

Gruca was a major factor in Allegheny winning its first PAC title since 1978. He scored a goal in the 3-2 double-OT Tournament semifinal win over Geneva and converted a penalty kick in the winning shootout decision over Grove City in the championship game. He was named the PAC Tournament's Most Outstanding Player following the Gators' championship run. 

Hudson becomes the first player to win the PAC Defensive Player of the Year award in back-to-back years and is the first player to repeat as a major award winner since Bethany's Arkangelo James was the league's Player of the Year in 2012-13. Hudson led a stout Grove City defense which allowed only 16 goals in 20 matches this season and registered nine shutouts. One of those clean sheets was a 6-0 triumph over Franciscan in the PAC semifinals when the Wolverines limited the Barons to only eight total shots, just three on goal.

In addition to his defensive work, Hudson contributed one goal and three assists through the season. His lone goal was the game-winner in a win over Chatham Oct. 2 and his final assist of the year was on the tying score, as Grove City rallied from an early deficit for a 3-1 win over Hiram Oct. 14.

Stasiowski becomes the second Geneva player to earn the Newcomer of the Year and first since Wil Dunda in 2022. His work in goal helped Geneva allow a PAC-low 12 goals for the season, including just five in 11 regular season conference matches. Stasiowski posted a PAC-leading seven shutouts during the year and his .769 save percentage ranked second in the conference. Six of his clean sheets came in league match-ups and Stasiowski set a career-high with eight saves in the PAC Tournament Quarterfinal against Waynesburg, which the GTs advanced via shootout.

This is the second consecutive PAC Coach of the Year award for Dreves and third in his tenure. By finishing with a 12-2-6 record this year, the Wolverines have won 12 or more games in three consecutive seasons and four of the last five years. In Dreves' 21 years leading the program, Grove City has 224 victories and a 123-32-15 PAC record.

By capturing this year's PAC tournament championship, Allegheny also received the conference's automatic qualifying bid to the NCAA Division III Championship, which is their second trip to the national tournament and first since 2004. Allegheny will take on No. 15 Hamilton Saturday at 11 am, which will be followed by Denison University and SUNY Plattsburgh, the pod's other first-round game, at 1:30 pm. The winners of those matches play in the second round at Hamilton's Love Field on Sunday at 1 pm.

The PAC also released its 2026 PAC Sportsmanship Team. The PAC Sportsmanship Teams were established to recognize student-athletes who have distinguished themselves through demonstrated acts of sportsmanship and ethical behavior and are an ongoing effort to recognize and encourage positive sportsmanship among all PAC teams.

PAC Award Winners
PAC Offensive Player of the Year: Allegheny senior midfielder Will Gruca 
PAC Defensive Player of the Year: Grove City senior defender Colton Hudson 
PAC Newcomer of the Year: Geneva freshman goalkeeper Eli Stasiowski
PAC Coach of the Year: Grove City head coach Mike Dreves
 

All-PAC First Team
Name	School	Position	Year	Hometown/High School
Noah Gray	Grove City	F	Sr.	Glen Mills, Pa./The Christian Academy
Andrew Goduti	Franciscan	F	So.	Naples, Fla./Barron Collier
Daniel Maddock	Saint Vincent	F	So.	North Huntingdon, Pa./Norwin
Msafiri Amisi	Geneva	F	So.	Lancaster, Pa./Lancaster Mennonite
Will Gruca	Allegheny	M	Sr.	Baden, Pa./Ambridge
Anthony Venditti	Franciscan	M	Sr.	Steubenville, Ohio/Steubenville
Sarpong Kwabiah	Waynesburg	M	Jr.	Odenton, Md./Meade
Colton Hudson	Grove City	D	Sr.	Murrysville, Pa./Franklin Regional
Theo Campbell	Grove City	D	Sr.	Robinson Township, Pa./Robinson Township
Jake Kimmich	Grove City	D	Sr.	Murrysville, Pa./Franklin Regional
Eli Stasiowski	Geneva	GK	Fr.	Mars, Pa./Mars