CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — All four teams competing for the 2010 America East Field Hockey Championship are represented in the league’s end of year hardware as announced this afternoon. Additionally, a large contingent of student-athletes from University at Albany, Boston University, University of Maine and University of New Hampshire make up the all-conference first and second teams. All of the awards were determined by a vote of the league’s six head coaches.
New Hampshire’s coaching staff, led by 20th-year head coach Robin Balducci, earned the Coaching Staff of the Year award. Maine junior forward Kelly Newton (Vancouver, British Columbia/Crofton House) took home the Offensive Player of the Year award, while a pair of sophomore Terriers in Nicole van Oosterom (Lower Hutt, New Zealand/Chilton Saint James School) and Jacinda McLeod (Whangarei, New Zealand/Whangarei Girls High School) earned the Midfielder and Defensive Player of the Year Awards, respectively. Albany freshman Corrine McConville (Lehighton, Pa./Lehighton) received the Rookie of the Year trophy, and teammate Kristi Troch (Lehighton, Pa./Lehighton), a sophomore, rounded out the individual awards as the Goalkeeper of the Year.
Balducci, the America East Coach of the Year in 2000 and 1998, and her staff led New Hampshire to its first regular season championship since 2002, and first outright since 2000. The Wildcats achieved their first undefeated league mark and will also be hosting the America East Championship for the first time under the mentoring of the coaches. The team compiled a 13-6 overall record en route to the top seed for the conference tournament, which included two wins over ranked opponents. In league play, the Wildcats led the conference in scoring average (3.00 gpg) and assists (3.00 apg). Balducci is assisted on the sidelines by Steve Simpson and Margaux Shute.
Newton is a prolific scorer and has already broken the school’s career scoring record as just a junior. Additionally with 43 points, Newton stands just two points away from the Maine single-season points record. She leads America East in points and goals (18), and is tied for first with four game-winning goals. Newton is a three-time first-team all-conference selection and was named the 2008 Rookie of the Year. Newton, who has led the Black Bears to their third straight trip to the America East Championship, is the first Maine player ever to win this award.
van Oosterom is third in points for Boston U. with 12 points, and ranks among the league’s leaders in shots with 45 this year (2.65 per game). The sophomore, an all-rookie choice last year, has four goals and four assists this year, with two goals and three assists coming against America East opponents. van Oosterom has two gamewinners on the year in victories over VCU and Dartmouth. The midfielder is a member of the all-conference first team this year after a selection to the second team as a freshman last season.
McLeod, another former Rookie of the Year, finished the regular season with the second-most points for the Terriers with 16 on six goals and four assists. She is an integral member of both penalty corner units, and the most recent of her two game-winning goals came on a penalty corner in overtime against Maine during the regular season finale. McLeod is part of a Terrier squad which allowed the fewest goals in the conference (1.24 per game), and led America East in scoring margin (1.84) in league play.
McConville may be just a freshman, but she is a large part of what makes the Great Danes run this year. The rookie leads the conference with 4.78 shots per game and she has converted eight goals this season, good for 10th in America East. Her first career multi-goal game came September 24 against Bryant as she scored two of the team’s three goals, including the gamewinner. McConville, the Rookie of the Week on September 27, is the first Rookie of the Year out of Albany since 2003.
Troch split time in net as a freshman in 2009, but came on strong to earn the number one spot this year as a sophomore. She leads the conference with a 1.14 goals against average and a .818 save percentage, which rank eighth and fourth, respectively, in the nation. Troch allowed just five goals in the five league games, making 21 saves with a .808 save percentage. One of her most outstanding efforts of the season came against conference foe Boston U. where she made 11 saves, plus three stops in penalty strokes.
Newton, van Oosterom, McLeod and Newton are all on the all-conference first team. Joining them are Albany’s Taylor Luke (Martinsville, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan) and Christina Patrick (Reading, Pa./Reading Catholic), Boston U.’s Allie Dolce (Jamestown, R.I./North Kingstown), Maine’s Stephanie Gardiner (Vancouver, British Columbia/Crofton House), New Hampshire’s Kara Connolly (Mohegan Lake, N.Y./Lakeland), Whitney Frates (Woodstock, Vt./Kimball Union Academy), and Kyle Lyons (White River Junction, Vt./Kimball Union Academy).
The players named to the second team are Albany’s Suzy Clephane (Auckland, New Zealand/Diocesan/Bethlehem), McConville, Boston U.’s Andrea Greene (Santiago, Chile/Universidad Diego Portales), Kate Murphy (Millbury, Mass./Notre Dame Academy), Fairfield University’s Marit Westenberg (The Hague, Netherlands/Maeriant Lyceum), Maine’s Maire Dineen (Toronto, Ontario/Michael Power-St. Joseph), Brittany Fleck (Vancouver, British Columbia/Crofton House), Jocelyn Mitchell (Kanata, Ontario/Earl of March Secondary), New Hampshire’s Kendall Deck (Bridgewater, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan), Hayley Rausch (Severna Park, Md./Severna Park), and University of Vermont’s Alana Izzo (Stowe, Vt./Stowe).
McConville, the only rookie on one of the two all-conference teams, is also on the all-rookie team alongside teammate Daphne Voormolen (Rotterdam, The Netherlands), Boston U.’s Madeleine Hackett (Shavertown, Pa./Wyoming Seminary), Ysabel Schieb (Molendinar, Australia/A.B. Paterson College), Kat Spring (Concord, Mass./Lawrence Academy), Fairfield’s Shealyn Testa (Derry, N.H./Pinkerton Academy), Maine’s Alexa Binnendijk (Den Haag, Holland/VCL) New Hampshire’s Megan Bozek (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y./Lakeland), Casey Pohlmeyer (Millersville, Md./Severna Park), Tori Welch (East Hampstead, N.H./Pinkerton Academy), and Vermont’s Sally Snickenberger (Wellesley, Mass./Wellesley).
Albany, Boston U., Maine and New Hampshire will take the field on Friday, November 5 for the 2010 America East Field Hockey Championship hosted by UNH at Memorial Field. No. 1 UNH will play No. 4 Maine at 3 p.m., and No. 2 Albany and No. 3 Boston U. will follow at 5:30 p.m. The two winners will face-off in the final on Saturday, November 6 at 4 p.m. The champion will host the Northeast Conference champion on November 9 for an NCAA play-in game.
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