BOSTON – Top Seed Vermont captured four major awards and led the league in all-conference selections as the 2025 America East Field Hockey All-Conference awards were released on Monday afternoon.
All six programs had at least one all-conference selection, led by the Catamounts with three apiece on the first and second teams. Vermont’s Sophia Lefranc was named the Midfielder of the Year while teammate Merle Vaandrager earned Goalkeeper of the Year honors and Veerle Nijhuis captured Rookie of the Year. Vermont was also named Coaching Staff of the Year.
New Hampshire took home Offensive Player of the Year honors for the third straight year, as Nicole Poulakis earned the award, while UAlbany’s Pilar Lorenzini was honored as the Defensive Player of the Year.
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.
2025 #AEFH Major Award Winner
Offensive Player of the Year
Nicole Poulakis, Sr., New Hampshire
- Leads the league in overall points (48) and goals (20) while ranking in the top five nationally in both.
- Helped New Hampshire secure a share of its first regular season title since 2013.
- Third straight season a Wildcat has won Offensive Player of the Year.
Midfielder of the Year
Sophia Lefranc, Sr., Vermont
- Ranks 6th in the conference in assists (8) and 7th in points with 22.
- Helped Vermont to its first regular season title team gave up a league-low six goals in league play.
- First Catamount to be named Midfielder of the Year.
Defensive Player of the Year
Pilar Lorenzini, Jr., UAlbany
- Sits 4th in the league in goals (12) and ranks 5th in points (25).
- Helped UAlbany lead the league in scoring defense, allowing just 1.3 goals per game.
- First Great Dane to secure Defensive Player of the Year honors since 2018.
Goalkeeper of the Year
Merle Vaandrager, So., Vermont
- Leads the league in shutouts (3) and ranks second in GAA (1.60).
- Allowed just one goal over the final four games of the regular season.
- Second Catamount to be named Goalkeeper of the Year in the past four seasons.
Rookie of the Year
Veerle Nijhuis, Fr., Vermont
- The midfielder has seven goals and two assists while starting all 17 games.
- Helped Vermont to its first regular season title as the team gave up a league-low six goals in league play.
- Second Catamount to be named Rookie of the Year, and the first since 2000.
Coaching Staff of the Year
Vermont
- Helped Vermont capture the program’s first-ever regular season title while going 4-1 in league play.
- The Catamounts went 10-6 overall ranking second in scoring defense (1.71) while only allowing three teams to score 3+ goals this season.
- Head Coach Kate Pfeifer is assisted by Marlee McClendon and Haley Buffenbarger.
The Catamounts and Wildcats each had three players earn First-Team All-Conference honors, while Maine and UAlbany had a pair.
For the second straight year Vermont had a league-high three All-Rookie Team selections
The All-Academic Team featured ten student-athletes, including eight first-time honorees.
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 X (Formerly Twitter) to get the real-time championship updates. Use the #AEChamps and #AEFH hashtags to join the conversation.
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Founded in 1979, the America East Conference is an elite NCAA Division I athletic conference that fosters an environment for student-athletes to become champions. Comprised of academically renowned, like-minded member institutions located in the Northeast region of the United States, America East is committed to broad-based excellence and progressive in its approach to supporting its more than 3,500 student-athletes across 18 sponsored sports. For more information, visit www.AmericaEast.com and follow the America East Conference and its social media channels, @AmericaEast.
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