BOSTON – America East regular season champion Maine collected three of the six major awards and seven different programs had at least one first-team All-Conference recipient as the 2022 America East Field Hockey All-Conference awards were released on Wednesday afternoon.
All nine programs overall were represented, and seven different teams had at least two All-Conference honorees. After leading Maine to a perfect 8-0 conference mark, Chloe Walton was named the Offensive Player of the Year while teammate Poppy Lambert earned Defensive Player of the Year honors. Maine also took home Coaching Staff of the Year honors.
Vermont’s Sierra Espeland was selected as the Goalkeeper of the Year, and UAlbany’s Alison Smisdom was named Midfielder of the Year. Tasmin Cookman of New Hampshire earned Rookie of the Year honors.
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.
Complete Awards Listing
2022 #AEFH Major Award Winners
Offensive Player of the Year
Chloe Walton, Gr., Maine
- Scored 11 goals with six assists for 28 total points for the nation’s third leading offense (3.6 goals per game).
- Third Black Bear to be named Offensive Player of the Year and the first since 2012
Midfielder of the Year
Alison Smisdom, So., UAlbany
- Ranked third in the conference in goals (15) and second in game-winning goals with four.
- Dished off eight assists and finished the regular season with 38 points.
- Named 2021 Rookie of the Year.
Defensive Player of the Year
Poppy Lambert, Jr., Maine
- Led the league with 21 goals and ranked fifth nationally in goals per game (1.17)
- Instrumental as a member of Maine’s penalty corner unit
- She is the third Black Bear to earn Defensive Player of the Year honors
Goalkeeper of the Year
Sierra Espeland, Gr., Vermont
- Ranked second in the conference with a 1.359 GAA and second in save percentage (.771).
- Led the conference in shutouts (4) and also ranked fifth in saves (81).
- Second Catamount to be named Goalkeeper of the Year and first to win a major award of any kind since 2009.
Rookie of the Year
Tasmin Cookman, Fr., New Hampshire
- Second in the conference in both points (42) and goals (16), ranking seventh and eighth nationally in each category.
- Named Offensive Player of the Week twice and had a league-best three Rookie of the Week selections.
- Only freshman selected to the All-Conference First Team.
Coaching Staff of the Year
University of Maine
- This is the third straight Coaching Staff of the Year honor for Josette Babineau’s staff and fourth overall.
- Maine secured their third consecutive regular season title and earned the No. 1 seed for the second straight year.
- Led the league in scoring and ranked third nationally with 3.56 goals per game.
Maine and UAlbany led all schools with four all-conference selections. Vermont, meanwhile, had a league-best three first-team selections.
The All-Rookie Team featured 12 standouts from eight programs, including three from New Hampshire who also earned All-Conference recognition.
The All-Academic Team features 11 student-athletes own a cumulative 3.90 GPA and seven also earned All-Conference honors.
All games of the 2022 America East Field Hockey Championship will air on ESPN+ domestically and AmericaEast.TV internationally.
Maine will host the quarterfinal action on Thursday as No. 4 Vermont and No. 5 Stanford play at 12 p.m. while No. 3 UMass Lowell and No. 6 New Hampshire will square off at 3 p.m. Top seed Maine plays Vermont or Stanford in the Semifinals while UAlbany faces New Hampshire or UMass Lowell on Friday beginning at 12 p.m.
Semifinal winners will face off for the 2022 Championship at 12 p.m. on Sunday, November 6.
Stay up-to-date on the tournament by visiting Championship Central for streaming and live stats links as well as box scores, highlights and recaps following each round in addition to team information, tournament history and more.
Follow @AmericaEast on Twitter to get the real-time championship updates. Use the #AEChamps and #AEFH hashtags to join the conversation
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