Nick Hamasian and Alex Zapata, both of Hamden, Conn., have been selected as recipients of two prestigious Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) yearly honors, as announced by the league office on Monday. Hamasian has been chosen as the 2012 GNAC Defensive Player of the Year, while Zapata earns Rookie of the Year honors.

Hamasian, who was tagged as a 2012 All-Conference First Team member along with four other Falcon teammates, earns the Defensive Player of the Year honor for the second time in his career as he is the only Albertus Magnus men's soccer player to receive that title since the award began in 2008.

The senior defender has registered 13 points this season with six goals and one assist as his goals tally is a career high. Hamasian's 23 shots also mark a career high in a single season for the senior as well.

His 2012 First Team honor adds to his long list of career accolades as he is the first Falcon to earn All-Conference honors all four years of his career since Michael Abbey (2000-03) made the First Team in four-consecutive years while at Albertus. Hamasian's 2012 honor marks the third-straight year in which he was named to the All-Conference First Team while in 2009 he was tagged as a Third Team member.

With the 2012 GNAC Rookie of the Year honor, Alex Zapata becomes the fifth Albertus Magnus men's soccer player to earn that recognition since 1997. Zapata was named to the 2012 All-Conference Second Team for his efforts as he currently has 20 points with nine goals and two assists. His eight goals during the regular season was a league-best among all freshmen in the GNAC.

Along with nine goals, he tallied two game winners and was named the GNAC Rookie of the Week three times during the season.