Eastbayri.com

PROVIDENCE — Senior midfielder Hector Espildora Fortuno (Malaga, Spain) headlined six Rhode Island College men’s soccer players who were named All-Little East Conference for the 2011 season.

Espildora Fortuno was named First Team All-Little East for the second consecutive season. He played in 14 games, starting all of them. Espildora Fortuno led the team with 20 points after posting a team-high seven goals to go along with six assists, which was good for second on the team.

Espildora Fortuno recorded five of his seven goals in the final two games of the season. With his team trailing, 3-1, at the half against Johnson & Wales on Oct. 26, Espildora Fortuno scored three goals, including the game-winner in overtime, to guide his team to a 4-3 victory over the Wildcats. In the Little East Conference Tournament semifinal match against Keene State on Nov. 2, Espildora Fortuno registered a pair of goals in RIC’s, 3-2, overtime loss to the Owls.

Senior forward Bruno Costa (Pawtucket, RI) was named Second Team All-Little East. Costa played in 16 games, starting in 12 of them. He totaled six goals and four assists for 16 points. Costa led the team with three game-winning goals, while ranking second in both assists and points.

Costa finished with a pair of goals in RIC’s, 4-1, victory over Framingham State on Sept 28, and also notched goals in four consecutive games from Oct. 19 to Oct. 29. During that stretch, Costa posted the game-winning goal in double-overtime to give the Anchormen a 2-1 win over Plymouth State on Oct. 22. Costa was a Second Team selection in 2010 and a First Team selection a year ago.

Senior forward Mike Patriarca (Warren, RI) was named Second Team All-Little East. He played in 19 games, starting 17 of them. Patriarca had six goals and one assist for 13 points. He was tied for second on the team in goals, while ranking fourth in points. Patriarca posted game-winning goals vs. Endicott on Sept. 14 and Western Connecticut on Oct. 8.

Sophomore midfielder Ignacio Cespedes (Fitchburg, MA) was named Second Team All-Little East. He played in 17 games, starting 15 of them. Cespedes had six goals and two assists for 14 points. He was tied for second on the club in goals, while ranking third in points.

Cespedes netted a pair of goals, including the game-winner, in RIC’s, 3-1, victory against Bridgewater State on Sept. 20. He followed that performance with another game-winning goal in the next match, as the Anchormen topped UMass Boston, 2-1, on Sept. 24, helping him earn Little East Conference Offensive Player of the Week honors.

Freshman defender Patrick LaRoche (Gardner, MA) was named Second Team All-Little East. He played in 18 games, starting in all of them. LaRoche led the team with seven assists to go along with one goal for nine points on the season.

Head Coach John Mello’s first-ever freshman captain, LaRoche was a huge asset for RIC’s defensive unit. His first career goal came in a 4-0 win over Southern Maine on Oct. 29. He was named Little East Conference Rookie of the Week in late October after recording three assists. LaRoche set up two goals in the Anchormen's, 4-1, win at Westfield State on Oct. 19, then helped RIC secure a 2-1 victory at Plymouth State as his free kick found Costa for the "Golden Goal" in the second overtime period on Oct. 22.

Senior defender Troy Silvia (Bristol, RI) was named Second Team All-Little East. He played in 19 games, starting all of them, and was one of the team’s three captains. Silvia tallied a pair of goals for four points, while his goal in the final two minutes of regulation against Plymouth State on Oct. 22 forced overtime, helping to guide RIC to a 2-1 victory over the Panthers. Silvia also scored on a penalty kick in a 4-0 win over Southern Maine on Oct. 29.

The Anchormen finished the 2011 season with an 11-8 overall record and a 5-2 (third place) mark in the Little East Conference. Rhode Island College qualified for the Little East Conference Tournament for the ninth consecutive season, but fell to second-seeded Keene State in overtime, 3-2, in the semifinal on Nov. 2. RIC also reached the 10-win plateau for the eighth time in the past 10 seasons.