CAMBRIDGE, Mass.-- University of New Hampshire’s Michelle Sheehan (Belmont, Mass./Belmont) was chosen the America East Striker of the Year, while teammate Caitlin Whelan was named the Midfielder of the Year and the Wildcats’ coaching staff was named Coaching Staff of the Year as determined in a vote by the league’s head coaches and announced this afternoon. Boston University’s Casey Brown (Natick, Mass./Natick) was tabbed Defender of the Year while Terriers’ goalkeeper Christina Reuter (Madision, Wis./LaFollette) was selected Goalkeeper of the Year and Albany’s Teresa Boring (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfeild) was named Rookie of the Year. Additionally, 11 members of the all-conference squad were named to the America East Women’s Soccer All-Academic team.
Click here for complete release.Sheehan, who was named America East Player of the Week on September 4 and October 8, tied for the conference lead in points (20) and goals (9), and was first in game-winning goals (4). She helped lead the Wildcats to the top seed for the America East Championship and a share of the regular-season title.
Whelan ranked third among conference leaders with 16 points, tied for second with six assists and tied for fourth with five goals. Whelan, who earned Player of the Week honors on September 10, helped UNH go 6-1-1 in conference play.
Head coach Michael Jackson leads a New Hampshire staff that earns the America East Coaching Staff of the Year. Jackson, who is in his 13th year at the helm, was named the conference’s Coach of the Year in 1998 and 2002. The Wildcats captured a share of the league’s regular-season crown and top seed for the tournament. He is assisted by Kelly Martin, John Conlon and Yvonna Rowinski.
Reuter, who also earned first-team all-conference accolades, led America East with a 0.57 goals against average and a .901 save percentage. She posted four shutouts for the Terriers, who allowed just 10 goals in 18 games this season.
Brown, a second-team all-conference selection in 2006, led a Boston U. defense that surrendered only two goals against conference opponents. Despite being a defender, Brown tied for the team lead in goals with four and recorded those tallies on just eight shots.
Boring tied for the league lead in points with 20 and goals with nine. She was named America East Rookie of the Week in consecutive weeks on September 10 and 17.
Sheehan is joined at forward on the all-conference first team by Hartford’s Meagan Riemer (Ellington, Conn./Ellington/Sacred Heart) and Maine’s Laura Harper (Nepean, Ontario/Mother Teresa), both of whom were first-team selections in 2006. Riemer, last year’s Striker of the Year, led the defending-champion Hawks to the third seed for this year’s tournament. She tallied eight points on three goals and two assists. Harper helped Maine earn the No. 5 seed for the America East Championship and tied for fourth among league leaders with four goals.
Whelan is joined in the midfield by Marisha Schumacher-Hodge (Pittsburgh, Pa./Schneley), who was named Midfielder of the Year in 2006. The Terrier’s Emily Pallotta (Andover, Mass./Andover) and Stony Brook’s Brook Barbuto (Syracuse, N.Y./Corcoran) rounded out the selections.
Brown is joined at defender on league’s top team by New Hampshire’s Caitlyn Serafine (Canandaigua, N.Y./Canandaigua) and Stony Brook’s Jackie Timmes (Mastic, N.Y./William Ford), a second-team selection a year ago. The Terriers and Seawolves finished one and two in goals allowed, respectively.
The second-team forwards consist of Boston University’s Farrell McClernon (West Chester, Pa./Merion Mercy), a second-team selection in 2006, Kim Povill (Massapequa, N.Y./Massapequa) of Binghamton and Laura Martel (Lewiston, Maine/Lewiston) of Maine.
Second-team midfielders include, Hartford’s Sara Flowers (Santee, Calif./Santana/Cal Poly Pomona) and Laura Guigli (North Stonington, Conn./Stonington), Binghamton’s Mandi Casares (Rahway, N.J./Rahway) and New Hampshire’s Marianne Rivard (West Kingston, R.I./LaSalle Academy).
Hartford’s Kellie Leyland (Merseyside, England/Women’s Int. Football), a second-team selection in 2005 and a first-team choice in 2006, headed the second-team defenders. She was joined by teammate Becky Flowers (Santee, Calif. /Santana) and Maine’s Anjelica Hodgson (York, Maine/York).
Elizabeth Cook (Halifax, Nova Scotia/Halifax Grammar) of Hartford was the second-team goalkeeper after compiling a 0.68 goals against average. She was a first-team selection in 2006.
The all-rookie team is made up of Boring, Stefani Knopick (Endwell, N.Y./Maine-Endwell) of Binghamton, Angelina Cords (Leonardtown, Md./Leonardtown) and Stephanie Croghan (McLean, Va./Potomac) of Boston U., Mary Beth Hamilton (Columbia, Conn./Mercy) from Hartford, Erin Johnson (Norristown, Pa/Methaction) and Morgan Warrington (Magnolia, Del./St. Thomas Moore Prep) of UMBC, Amy Avitabile (Pembroke, Mass./Pembroke) and Marika Posehn (Duncan, British Columbia/Cowichan Secondary) from New Hampshire, Sarah Dwyer (Laureal, MD./Reservoir) of Stony Brook and Jessica Becker (Woodbridge, Conn./Amity Regional) from Vermont.
The All-Academic squads are a product of the June 2005 Athletics Director meetings. Faculty representatives and athletics directors from each of the conference’s nine member institutions decided to honor some of the league’s top athletes that are also quality students.
Sheehan, the Striker of the Year, leads the All-Academic honorees. She is joined by Barbuto, Cook, Guigli, Harper, Hodgson, Pallotta, Povill, Schumacher-Hodge, Serafine and Timmes.
The All-Academic Team has been selected based on the student-athlete’s academic and athletic accomplishments. Academic achievement for consideration requires student-athletes to have a minimum cumulative grade-point average of 3.00 entering the season. Athletically, student-athletes are required to be a nominee on the post-season awards ballot, which is determined by the league’s head coaches. Team size for team sports is based on the number of athletes that participate in a contest at one time (e.g., 11 on the field for soccer). Freshmen are not eligible for the all-academic teams and grade-point averages are taken from the semester prior to the competing athletic season.