BOSTON – Impressive individual performances highlighted the 2025 America East women’s soccer season and six players were honored for their strong seasons on Wednesday as the conference’s annual award winners were announced. The major award recipients came from five different schools as Binghamton, UMass Lowell, New Hampshire, NJIT and Vermont all took home a trophy, led by the Bearcats’ three.
Binghamton’s Anna Buckwalter earned Co-Midfielder of the Year honors along with New Hampshire’s Abbi Maier while the Bearcats also took home Defender of the Year (Sophia Gaofalo) and Coaching Staff of the Year honors. NJIT’s Briana Andreoli received Striker of the Year recognition and Vermont’s Kylee Carafoli earned the Goalkeeper of the Year nod. UMass Lowell’s Nora Belin garnered Rookie of the Year accolades.
Additionally, the All-Conference, All-Rookie and All-Academic Teams were also announced. All awards, with the exception of All-Academic, were voted on by the league’s head coaches who could not vote for their own team. All-Academic Teams were voted on by a committee of athletic administrators and faculty.
2025 America East Women’s Soccer Annual Awards
Striker of the Year
Briana Andreoli, Sr., Forward, NJIT
- Top scoring threat in America East leading the league with nine goals and 21 points.
- Four of her nine goals came in conference play, tied for the most in the conference.
- First-ever Highlander to win a major #AEWSOC awards.
- Also a first-team All-Conference selection.
Co-Midfielder of the Year
Anna Buckwalter, Jr., Binghamton
- Third time a Bearcat has been named Midfielder of Year in the last four years.
- Tallied three goals and three assists on the season.
- Also a first-team All-Conference selection.
Co-Midfielder of the Year
Abbi Maier, Sr., New Hamphire
- First Wildcat to earn Midfielder of the Year honors since 2015.
- Had six goals and a pair of assists this year.
- Tied for the league lead with four goals during conference play.
- Also a first-team All-Conference and All-Academic selection.
Defender of the Year
Sophia Garofalo, Sr., Binghamton
- First-ever Bearcat to earn the honor
- Anchored a defense that allowed just 15 goals in 16 games this season, including only seven in league play.
- Never left the field for the Bearcats, playing all 1,440 minutes they played.
- Also a first-team All-Conference and All-Academic selection.
Goalkeeper of the Year
Kylee Carafoli, Sr., Vermont
- Ranks second in the league in goals against average (.815) and recorded a .814 save percentage.
- Allowed just five goals in eight conference games.
- Recorded a league-best five shutouts during the regular season, including three in conference games.
- Just the second Catamount to be named Goalkeeper of the Year joining Lydia Kessel, who earned the honor in 2021.
Rookie of the Year
Nora Belin, Fr., UMass Lowell
- Third time in six years a River Hawk has earned Rookie of the Year honors.
- Paced all America East rookies with 13 points, which ranked seventh In the league overall.
- Tied for third with six goals,
- Named America East Rookie of the Week on 9/25.
Coaching Staff of the Year
Binghamton Bearcats
- Let Binghamton to 10-1-5 overall regular-season record and a 5-0-3 unbeaten mark in league play.
- Captured the America East regular-season crown for the third time in the last four years.
- Binghamton’s second Coaching Staff of the Year honor in the last four years.
Four teams placed players on the All-Conference first team led by four each from Binghamton and Vermont, the top two seeds in the America East Championship.
All six programs that qualified for the 2025 America East women's soccer championship were represented on the second team.
Belin led the 11-member All-Rookie team.
Six of the 10 All-Academic honorees were also All-Conference choices.
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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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