CAMBRIDGE, Mass.-- The highly successful 2010 America East field hockey season came to a close, but not without more recognition for the teams and student-athletes. The conference's five senior all-stars competed at the final four, two student-athletes were tabbed 2010 Longstreth/NFHCA Division I All-Americans, and the final RPI report shows outstanding progress for the conference.
The National Field Hockey Coaches' Association (NFHCA) tabbed two America East student-athletes as All-Americans on Monday afternoon. University of New Hampshire junior Whitney Frates received second-team recognition, while University of Maine junior Kelly Newton, the America East Offensive Player of the Year, was a third-team selection. Both were named first-team All-Region selections last week.
Frates, named to the America East All-Conference first team, tied for the team lead in goals (11) and ranked second in points
(30) as well as fourth in assists (eight); both the goal and point
totals marked personal bests. In other statistics, Frates tied for the
team lead in game-winning goals (three), had a team-best .297 shooting
percentage and ranked fourth in shots (37). In the America East
conference, she was fifth in assists per game, tied for sixth in points
per game and tied for seventh in goals per game.
Newton had a record-setting season for the Black Bears as she finished
her career year with 45 total points, tying the all-time school-record
for points in a season when she notched a goal in the America East
Championship semifinal game against New Hampshire. In only her junior
year, with a goal towards the end of the season at Vermont, Newton
notched her 106th career point which broke the school-record for points
in a career. Newton currently stands at 112 points in her career. Newton set career highs in goals (19) and points (45). She was also a
unanimous selection to the All-America East First Team, her third year
in a row that she has been named to the All-America East First Team.
This past weekend, five seniors from America East participated in the NFCHA Division I Senior Game held in conjunction with the NCAA Final Four on the University of Maryland's campus in College Park, Md. Those participating included University at Albany's Suzy Clephane, New Hampshire's Kara Connolly, Boston University's Amanda Smith and Allie Dolce, and Maine's Maire Dineen. The Senior All-Stars played an exhibition match with the U.S. National Team and represented America East well.
Finally, following the Final Four, the NCAA produced the final RPI report, with four teams placing high, and two teams in the top 20. Albany, the 2010 America East Champion and NCAA Championship participant, finished 13th in the final RPI, while New Hampshire, the regular-season champion, ranked 19th. Boston U. and Maine finished 21st and 24th, respectively. The Great Danes and Terriers were ranked 15th and 20th in the final Division I NFHCA Top 20 Poll.
America East Senior All-Stars Suzy Clephane, Kara Connolly, Amanda Smith, Allie Dolce, and Maire Dineen