BOSTON ? University of Vermont senior Danielle Collins (Walpole, Mass./Walpole) and Boston University senior Sarah Hudak (Harleysville, Pa./Souderton Area) received the 2007 America East Field Hockey Offensive Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, respectively, at the annual field hockey championship banquet held Thursday night in Boston. Boston University freshman goalkeeper Kim Kastuk (Putnam Valley, N.Y./Putnam Valley) earned the 2007 Rookie of the Year, while Terrier veteran head coach Sally Starr was named 2007 Coach of the Year. All voting was conducted by the conference’s coaches. Click here for full release.
Collins, a senior forward at Vermont, has led the Catamounts in scoring every season of her collegiate career and broke several school records this season, including single-season and career records for goals and points. Through 18 games this season, Collins led America East in shots per game (3.94), points per game (1.89) and goals per game (0.83), and was second in game-winning goals with four on the season.
Hudak, a senior back at Boston U., finished the season with one defensive save, one assist and 20 starts playing nearly every minute of the Terriers’ regular season. Hudak, a 2004 America East All-Rookie, backboned a Terrier defense that gave up just 1.20 goals per game, 13th-fewest in the country.
Kastuk, Boston U.’s freshman goalkeeper, earned six shutouts and a 1.27 goals-against-average in her rookie campaign. She was named the conference’s rookie of the week four times in 2007, including three times during the conference-half of the season. Kastuk was Boston U.’s go-to goalkeeper, starting 18 of the team’s 20 games.
In her 27th season as head coach of the Terriers, Starr has now been recognized as America East Coach of the Year six times, including the inaugural award in 1989. This season, she guided Boston U. to the fourth perfect conference record in program history, a 15-5 overall record, and the regular season title for the fourth consecutive year.
The number one seed in the 2007 America East Championship, Boston University, placed a conference-best six players on the all-conference first- and second-teams. Albany had five all-conference team members, followed by New Hampshire with four, Maine and Vermont with three each, and America East associate member Fairfield with one.
Collins and Hudak are joined on the all-conference first-team by Albany’s junior goalkeeper Ashley Ross (Lancaster, Pa./Conestoga Valley), senior midfielder Michelle Simpson (Middlesbrough, England/University of Teesside), freshman forward Anouk Vandenberg (Groningen, Netherlands), Boston University’s senior forward Sarah Shute (Lincolnville, Maine/Somers (N.Y.)), senior back Pam Spuehler (Sudbury, Mass./Lincoln.Sudbury), Maine senior forward Amy Zdrojesky (East Greenville, Pa./Upper Perkomen), New Hampshire junior midfielder Brooke Bercari (Bordentown, N.J./Bordentown Regional), Vermont’s junior forward Kim Striegler (Whitney Point, N.Y./Whitney Point) and junior forward Maegan Luce (Hartford, Vt./Hartford).
Shute is tied for the conference lead in points (34) and goals (15), while Simpson is fourth in both categories with 30 points and 11 goals. Vandenberg and Spuehler each have 12 assists, tops in America East, but Luce and Simpson each have eight a piece and are tied for fourth in the conference. Ross is the first-team goalkeeper for the second consecutive year, racking up five shutouts and a 0.98 goals against average this season.
The all-conference second team includes Albany’s senior forward Kristen Holder (Toronto, Ontario/ASE #1), sophomore midfielder Nicole Savage (Wilkes-Barre, Pa./James M. Coughlin), Boston University’s sophomore back Suus Dekker (Rotterdam, Holland/Insula College (Thuredrecht)), senior forward Hayley Hamada (Escondido, Calif./San Pasqual), junior back Holly Wiles (Harare, Zimbabwe/Arundel School), Fairfield sophomore midfielder Carly McCullough (Queensbury, N.Y./Queensbury), Maine’s senior back Kristen Healy (Turner, Maine/Leavitt), senior midfielder Erin Reusch (Salem, N.H./Salem), New Hampshire’s sophomore forward Megan Shea (Melrose, Mass./Melrose), senior goalkeeper Margaux Shute (Norridgewock, Maine/Skowhegan) and sophomore back Kiera Williams (Dover, N.H./St. Thomas Aquinas).
Savage leads the conference with six game-winning goals and is second only to Collins with 1.72 points per game (31 points). Wiles and Dekker each have three gamewinners for third-best in America East. Hamada finished the season 10 goals and 25 points, good for fifth and sixth, respectively, in the conference. Margaux Shute made 112 saves on the year and 5.60 per game, while also earning five shutouts in 20 starts.
Kastuk and Vandenberg are joined on the All-Rookie team by Albany’s forward Suzy Celphane (Remura, Auckland, New Zealand/Bethlehem), midfielder Sam Daly (Canterbury, Vcitoria, Australia), Boston University’s back Maryette Stuart (Cumberland, Maine/Greely), Fairfield forward Jill Piacquadio (Brewster, N.Y./Brewster), Maine’s midfield Brittney Cummings (Belfast, Maine/Belfast), back Maire Dineen (Toronto, Ontario/Michael Power/St. Joseph), midfielder Courtney Veinotte (Canaan, Maine/Skowhegan), New Hampshire midfielder Johanna Stemmler (Leimen, Germany/Englinchen Institut Heidelberg), and Vermont back Jenna Horowski (Zionville, Pa./Emmaus).
Eighteen all-conference selections will take the field on Friday, November 2 at the 2007 America East Field Hockey Championship hosted by Boston University on MIT’s Jack Barry Field. No. 1 Boston University will play No. 4 New Hampshire at 12 p.m., and No. 2 Albany and No. 3 Vermont will follow at 2:30 p.m. The two winners will face-off in the final on Sunday, November 4 at 1:30 p.m. The winner of the tournament receives an automatic bid to the 2007 NCAA Field Hockey Championship.