LOUDONVILLE, NY – Siena Athletics will once again recognize student athletes from each athletic program as the Leo Dufort Male and Female Student Athletes of the Month during the 2021-22 school year. The first awards of the season were given to women's soccer senior Emily McNelis and men's soccer senior Greg Monroe.
With 32 career points to her name, McNelis has consistently produced offense for the Saints at the midfield position, with 12 career goals and eight assists. A member of the All-MAAC Team during the 2020-21 season, she tied for second in the MAAC in both points (10) and goals (4) en-route to winning MAAC Tournament MVP honors and helping Siena to its third MAAC Championship in program history. She currently leads the team in scoring this season with three goals and two assists, and has done so in three of four years.
A 2020-21 United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-Region Second Team selection, the Northport, New York native holds a stellar 3.99 cumulative GPA as a health science major and has been a member of Siena's 4.0 Club on multiple occasions, as well as a member of the MAAC All-Academic Team and the MAAC Academic Honor Roll. McNelis was recently recognized as the MAAC Female Student Athlete of the Week, and was her team's nominee for the prestigious Senior CLASS Award.
A four-year starter and team captain during his sophomore season, Monroe has played the third-most minutes in-goal in program history, has appeared in the fourth-most matches among goalkeepers (58), and is currently tied for fifth in career wins with 16. The Clifton Park, NY native owns 240 career saves, including a MAAC high 46 this season, and has posted seven shutouts, with two coming during the Fall 2021 campaign. Monroe took home a MAAC Defensive Player of the Week nod during his sophomore season in 2019, and recently compiled a career-high 11 saves in the Saints' 2-2 draw at Vermont.
Monroe holds a 3.62 cumulative GPA as a finance major, and has consistently made the MAAC All-Academic Team and the MAAC Academic Honor Roll throughout his collegiate career. A member of Siena's Student Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC), he was the men's soccer team's nominee for the prestigious Senior CLASS Award.
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.
