LOUDONVILLE, NY – A pair of Siena soccer seniors were recognized as Siena Athletics' first two recipients of the Leo Dufort Student Athlete of the Month for the 2020-21 academic year. Men's Soccer senior Jacob Pacheco and Women's Soccer classmate Darby D'Angelo were each honored for the month of September.
After transferring into Siena prior to last season, Pacheco served as a team captain in 2019, making 14 starts in 15 total appearances on the Saints' back line. He totaled 1,266 minutes on the year and attempted five shots, three of which were on-goal. Pacheco came to Siena from Pima Community College in Arizona, where he led his team to an NJCAA Division I National Championship.
A mathematics major, Pacheco was a member of the 2019-20 MAAC Academic Honor Roll. He holds a 3.5 cumulative GPA and took home a 3.64 mark for the Spring 2020 semester. He was also recently honored as the MAAC Male Student Athlete of the Week on September 23.
A consistent offensive performer during her first three seasons on the team, D'Angelo owns six career goals and eight assists for a total of 20 points. The midfielder has made 47 starts in 59 total appearances, with a pair of game-winning scores on her record as well. A MAAC All-Rookie Team selection and one-time MAAC Rookie of the Week in 2017, she was named to the 2018 MAAC All-Tournament Team while helping the Saints advance to that year's MAAC Championship Game.
A three-time MAAC Academic Honor Roll and two-time MAAC All-Academic Team honoree, D'Angelo is majoring in business and holds a 3.67 cumulative GPA, while displaying a 3.86 mark for the Spring 2020 term.
The Leo Dufort Student Athlete of the Month Award is presented nine times annually (September-May) throughout the academic year. The award recognizes exemplary achievements in both academics and athletics. The late Leo Dufort received a B.S. in marketing and management from Siena in August of 1977. His entire academic career was completed on a part-time basis beginning in the spring of 1961, as a married adult while at the same time raising five children. He passed away suddenly of a heart attack while cross country skiing in February of 1993. His wife Jeanine wanted to do something to immortalize his memory. The original plaque was donated to athletics and the department began the Leo Dufort Student Athlete of the Month Award to help carry out his legacy. Dufort graduated from Catholic Central High School in 1954 and was a Navy Veteran (USS Bennington) who worked for JL Hammett Co. at the time of his death.
