CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - The two top teams
in the America East women's soccer regular season, the Boston University
Terriers and University of Hartford Hawks, each earned three major awards while
the University of Maine earned its first major award since 2009, the conference
office announced Wednesday along with the announcement of the All-Conference
and All-Academic teams. The major award winners, along with the all-conference
teams, were determined in a vote by the league's head coaches.
The Terriers, who won their sixth-straight
America East regular-season title, were led by a strong defense. Senior Jessica
Morrow earned Defensive Player of the Year, while junior Emma Clark was named
Midfielder of the Year. For the Hawks, who earned the No. 1 seed in the America
East Championship, senior forward Amelia Pereira was named Striker of the Year
and junior Erin Quinlan earned Goalkeeper of the Year for the second-straight season.
Maine, which is the No. 2 seed for the first time since 2005, freshman Charlene
Achille was named the conference's Rookie of the Year. Hartford and Boston
University split the honor of Coaching Staff of the Year. It is the ninth such
honor for the Terriers' staff led by head coach Nancy Feldman, and the third
for Hartford and head coach John Natale.
Pereira, a senior forward, is the first Striker of the Year for Hartford since
Meagan Riemer earned the honor is 2005. Also a unanimous All-Conference First
Team selection, Pereira led the America East in goals (12) and points (30). The
12 goals tie her for 21st in the country, while her five game-winning goals are
the most in the America East and the eighth-most in the nation. Pereira was a
two-time America East Player of the Week selection and was also voted the
America East Fans' Choice Player of the Year. She is now a three-time
All-Conference First Team selection.
Quinlan became the first player to earn America East Goalkeeper of the Year
honors twice in her career in the short history of the award. Quinlan ranks
first among goalkeepers in the America East in goals against average, allowing
just 0.73 per game which has helped Hartford rank 33rd in the nation in that
category. She has anchored the Hawks' defense to the best shutout percentage in
the conference (.471) and the lowest goals against average.
Morrow continued the tradition on great Boston University defenders, becoming
the sixth-straight Terrier to be named Defensive Player of the Year. The center
of the Boston U. defense, Morrow was key in helping the Terriers lead the
conference in America East games with a 0.49 goals against average, shutting
out five teams in eight games. The senior, who also earned an All-Conference
First Team nod, contributed on the offensive end, dishing out five assists to
rank fourth in the conference and tie for first on the team.
Clark also continued a Terrier tradition, becoming the sixth Boston University
midfielder to be named Midfielder of the Year in the nine years the award has
been handed out. More of a defensive-minded midfielder, Clark controls the pace
of play for the Terriers and helped them to their third-straight undefeated
season in America East play. She scored four goals on the year, including the game-winner
late in the second half against Hartford that put Boston U. alone in first
place in the league. Clark also was an All-Conference First Team selection.
Achille is the first major award winner from
Maine since Laura Martel was named Striker of the Year in 2009, and is the
first Rookie of the Year from the school since 2004. Also an All-America East
Second Team selection, she finished the year with two goals and three assists
while helping the Black Bears to the No. 2 seed for the first time since 2005.
Hartford and Boston University earned
Co-Coaching Staff of the Year honors, making the second time in the last four
years that two coaching staffs have tied for the award. Natale, who's in his
ninth year at Hartford, earned the honor for the second-straight year. He
helped the Hawks secure the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament while also
leading the team to its second-straight 10-plus win season.
Feldman continued her tradition of
excellence with the Terriers, leading Boston University to its sixth-straight
America East regular-season crown and third-straight unbeaten conference
season. The Terriers have won 32-straight games against America East opponents
and Feldman has recorded double-digit wins in each of the last 10 years.
Other than Hartford's Pereira and Quinlan, all of the other members of the
All-Conference First Team are earning the honor for the first time. Joining Pereira
among the first-team forwards are Albany's Shayla Bergeron and Boston
University's Madison Clemens. Bergeron finished second in the conference behind
Pereira in goals with 11, notching two hat tricks this season. Clemens was the
leading scorer for the Terriers. Clark is joined on the first-team midfield by
Albany's Chelsea DeVerna, along with Stony Brook's Sa'sha Kershaw and
Hartford's Caroline Dixon. DeVerna and Kershaw were second team selections a
year ago.
On the defensive side, Morrow earned the
first team honor with Hartford's Shealagh Begley and Vermont's Haley
Marks. Quinlan was the All-America East First Team goalkeeper.
The second-team forwards are made up of
Stony Brook's Larissa Nysch, Binghamton's Sarah Furminger and Boston U.'s Anna
Cuffia. Furminger is the first All-Conference selection from the Bearcats since
2009. In the midfield is the Rookie of the Year Achille, along with Boston U.'s
Megan McGoldrick, Hartford's Caitlin Alves and Vermont's Kerry Glynn. The back
line consists of the Terriers' Erin Mullen, New Hampshire's Elizabeth Curry and
Stony Brook's Ahriel Fernandez. UMBC's Lauren Kadet earned All-America East
Second Team goalkeeper honors after leading the conference and ranking 19th in
the country in saves with 105.
The all-rookie team consists of 11 players regardless of position and includes
Achille, along with Hartford's Sidney Spremullo, New Hampshire's Kirstyn Corder
and Stony Brook's Tessa Devereaux, all of whom were unanimous selections to the
America East All-Rookie Team. Joining those four were Boston U.'s Claire
Pleuler and McKenzie Hollenbaugh, Hartford's Morgan Berry, Maine's
Noelle Leon-Palmer, UMBC's Amira Walcott, Stony Brook's Raven Edwards and
Vermont's Ally Ramos.
The conference also announced the
all-academic team with both Hartford and New Hampshire earning three spots on
the team. The America East All-Academic team is made up of 11 student-athletes
regardless of position that achieved a 3.3 GPA or higher while participating in
at least 50 percent of the team's games. The team is voted on by an
administrator from each of the nine schools.
Major award winners Pereira and Quinlan from
Hartford, along with Morrow from Boston U., each were voted to the team.
Second-team selection, Alves from Hartford, also earned a nod. New Hampshire
had goalkeeper Erica Correa, along with Elizabeth Curry and Kristi Zarrilli
earn selections. Joining Morrow from Boston U., was sophomore forward Taylor
Krebs. Rounding out the selections were Binghamton's Emma Kurth, Maine's Nikki
Misener and UMBC Aly Gazarek.
Twenty-two all-conference and all-rookie honorees will compete in the 2012
America East Women's Soccer Championship, which begins on Thursday with two
quarterfinal contests. Visit
Championship Central for up-to-date
tournament information.
All-America East First Team
Shayla
Bergeron, Sr., F, Albany*
Madison
Clemens, Jr., F, Boston U.
Amelia
Pereira, Sr., F, Hartford*
Chelsea
DeVerna, Sr., M, Albany
Sa'sha
Kershaw, Sr., M, Stony Brook
Caroline
Dixon, Sr., M, Hartford
Emma
Clark, Jr., M, Boston U.*
Shealagh
Begley, Sr., B, Hartford
Haley
Marks, Jr., B, Vermont
Jessica
Morrow, Sr., B, Boston U.
Erin
Quinlan, Jr., GK, Hartford
All-America East Second Team
Larissa
Nysch, Jr., F, Stony Brook
Sarah
Furminger, Sr., F, Binghamton
Ana
Cuffia, So., F, Boston U.
Megan McGoldrick,
Jr., M, Boston U.
Caitlin
Alves, Sr., M, Hartford
Charlene
Achille, Fr., M, Maine
Kerry
Glynn, So., M, Vermont
Erin Mullen,
Jr., B, Boston U.
Elizabeth
Curry, Sr., B, New Hampshire
Ahriel
Fernandez, Jr., B, Stony Brook
Lauren
Kadet, Jr., GK, UMBC
All-Rookie Team
Claire
Pleuler, Fr., M, Boston U.
McKenzie
Hollenbaugh, Fr., B, Boston U.
Sidney
Spremullo, Fr., M, Hartford*
Morgan
Berry, So., B, Hartford
Charlene
Achille, Fr., M, Maine*
Noelle
Leon-Palmer, Fr., B, Maine
Amira
Walcott, Fr., B, UMBC
Kirstyn
Corder, Fr., F, New Hampshire*
Tessa
Devereaux, Fr., M, Stony Brook*
Raven
Edwards, Fr., F, Stony Brook
Ally
Ramos, Fr., GK, Vermont
Striker of the Year
Amelia
Pereira, Sr., F, Hartford
Midfielder of the Year
Emma
Clark, Jr., M, Boston U.
Defender of the Year
Jessica
Morrow, Sr., B, Boston U.
Goalkeeper of the Year
Erin
Quinlan, Jr., GK, Hartford
Rookie of the Year
Charlene
Achille, M, Fr., Maine
Coaching Staff of the Year
Boston
University, Head Coach Nancy Feldman
University
of Hartford, Head Coach John Natale
All-Academic Team
Emma
Kurth, Binghamton
Taylor
Krebs, Boston U.
Jessica
Morrow, Boston U.
Caitlin
Alves, Hartford
Amelia
Pereira, Hartford
Erin
Quinlan, Hartford
Nikki
Misener, Maine
Aly
Gazarek, UMBC
Erica
Correa, New Hampshire
Elizabeth
Curry, New Hampshire
Kristi
Zarrilli, New Hamsphire
*unanimous
selections