BOSTON – Regular-season champion Maine collected the majority of America East field hockey annual awards including a trio of major honors.
All nine programs were represented on All-Conference Teams. Monmouth senior and the league’s leading scorer Annick van Lange was named Offensive Player of the Year to headline the major award winners. The major awards, All-Conference and All-Rookie teams were determined in a vote by the league's head coaches who were not permitted to vote for their own players. The All-Academic team was voted on by a committee of administrators from the conference’s member institutions.
Full awards listing
2021 #AEFH Major Award Winners
Offensive Player of the Year
Annick van Lange, Sr., Monmouth
- League-best 17 goals and 39 points on the season.
- Ranked 7th in Division I averaging 1.0 goals per game.
- Led the top offense in the conference which also ranked eighth nationally scoring 3.1 goals per contest.
- van Lange became the second Hawk to win a major award and first to be named Offensive Player of the Year.
Midfielder of the Year
Cassandra Mascarenhas, Gr., Maine
- Made the switch to the midfield after earning Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2019.
- Helped the Black Bears to a league-best +1.75 scoring margin in conference play.
- Started all 19 games, notching three assists on the season.
- Also named to the All-Conference First Team and All-Academic Team.
Defensive Player of the Year
Bloem van den Brekel, Sr., New Hampshire
- Was instrumental on UNH’s penalty corner unit, tallying nine goals this season.
- van den Brekel made a position change for the Wildcats after playing at midfield early in her career.
- First UNH student-athlete since 2013 and second overall to be named Defensive Player of the Year, joining Megan Bozek.
- Was named a First-Team All-Conference honoree for the third time.
Goalkeeper of the Year
Mia Borley, Sr., Maine
- Was the backbone that helped Maine allow 1.6 goals per game in conference play.
- Compiled a .699 save percentage to help Maine win the regular season for the fifth time.
- Borley is the first Black Bear to be named Goalkeeper of the Year.
- She was also a First-Team All-Conference choice.
Rookie of the Year
Alison Smisdom, Fr., UAlbany
- In her first collegiate season, Smisdom led the league in scoring during conference play with 10 goals and 21 points.
- Ranked second in the conference in total goals (16) and points (36) and eighth nationally in goals per game (.94).
- Smisdom was named Offensive Player of the Week twice and tied a league-high with three Rookie of the Week honors.
- The freshman was selected to the All-Conference First Team.
Coaching Staff of the Year
University of Maine
- This is the second-straight Coaching Staff of the Year honor for Josette Babineau’s staff and third overall.
- The Black Bears won their second-straight regular season title and earned the right to host the championship for the first time in history.
- The team’s high-powered offense led the league with 3.38 goals per game in league play and ranked 12th in the country with nearly three per contest overall.
- Babineau and Associate Head Coach Michelle Simpson lead the program.
Maine had the most All-Conference selections with five.
Eleven standouts from seven programs earned All-Rookie honors headlined by four All-Conference selections.
The All-Academic team holds an astonishing 3.91 combined GPA between the 12 student-athletes.
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