Four MASCAC student-athletes earned Academic All-District recognition from CoSIDA on the Men's Soccer and Football teams that were announced by the organization earlier this month.

Benjamin Paine from Massachusetts Maritime and Kevin Roberts from Bridgewater State were both named to the CoSIDA Division III Academic All-District 1 team for men's soccer, while Bridgewater teammates David Coakley and Micheal Rosa were honored in football.

Paine, the 2021 MASCAC Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year, was a four-year starter on the Buccaneers soccer team and a three-time All-MASCAC honoree on defense.  He graduated with a 3.81 GPA and a degree in marine engineering with a minor in energy management. A MASCAC All-Academic Team member every season, Paine also earned spots on the President's List six times and the Dean's List once. He was also an Emery Rice Scholar, which is the highest academic scholarship available at MMA and is awarded to those in the top-five of the class.

Roberts just wrapped up his final semester as an undergraduate student at Bridgewater State with an overall grade point average of 3.65. He earned a Bachelor of Science in athletic training and was named to the Dean's List in each of his eight semesters at the school. He is also a four-time MASCAC Fall/Winter All-Academic Team selection. In his first three seasons with the Bears, Roberts appeared in 57 games (56 starts) and tallied 14 goals (four game-winners) and ten assists for 38 points. He was an All-MASCAC Second Team selection in 2018 and helped the Bears capture the MASCAC title and advance to the NCAA Division III Tournament that same season.

Coakley earned an overall grade point average of 3.99, while completing a Bachelor of Science in public health. Coakley, who transferred from Merrimack University, was named to the Dean's List in each of his six semesters at Bridgewater State and is also a three-time MASCAC Fall/Winter All-Academic Team selection. He was also selected to the 2021 National Football Foundation (NFF) Hampshire Honor Society and was recently named the co-recipient of the Peter Mazzaferro Scholarship Award. In two seasons on the BSU gridiron, Coakley appeared in 19 games and rushed for 150 yards and three touchdowns. He also caught one pass for 16 yards and returned two kickoffs for 24 yards. The Bears went 14-7 in David's two seasons with the squad including a 34-19 New England Bowl victory over Salve Regina University in 2018.

Rosa completed his Bachelor of Science in exercise science earning an overall grade point average of 3.48. He was named to the Dean's List six times at Bridgewater State and is also a four-time MASCAC Fall/Winter All-Academic Team selection. The University of Rhode Island transfer, started ten games for the Bears in 2018 and recorded 70 tackles (44 solo), 2 1/2 sacks, 5 1/2 tackles for loss and one interception to go along with one forced and one recovered fumble. He earned All-MASCAC Second Team honors in 2018 and helped the Bears post a record of 8-3 including a 34-19 victory over Salve Regina University in the New England Bowl.

To be eligible for all-academic honors, a student-athlete must be a starter or a key reserve, maintain a cumulative grade point average of 3.30 on a scale of 4.00, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standings at his/her current institution and be nominated by his/her sports information director. First-team Academic All-District honorees advance to the CoSIDA Academic All-America ballot. First, second and third team Academic All-America honorees will be announced in early July.

Portions of the this release courtesy of the Bridgewater State and Massachusetts Maritime Sports Information Departments.