Austin and Gonya selected for All-NECC Field Hockey Honors

ATTLEBORO, Mass. –  The NECC announced its 2017 Field Hockey All-Conference team and major award winners on Monday afternoon. The awards were voted on by the conference's four coaches following the conclusion of the regular season. All four of the conference schools are represented on the all-conference team, with Wheelock College leading the way.

Becker College forward Amy Cooper (Monument, Colo.) was voted the 2017 NECC Player of the Year. Wheelock's Cassidy Smith (East Providence, R.I.) was named Goalkeeper of the Year, while her teammate Mary-Kate Pereira(Barnstable, Mass.) earned Rookie of the Year honors. Wheelock head coach Erin Campbell was voted Coach of the Year.

Joining Cooper on the first-team in the midfield slot is Madison Gabel(Agawam, Mass.) of Elms College and Alexandria LeBlanc (Atkinson, N.H.) from Wheelock. The forward position saw two Wheelock Wildcats honored, Katie Frade (Dartmouth, Mass.) and Julia D'Onofrio (Salem, N.H.).  Becker's Jocelyn Lebel (Grafton, Mass.) and Elms' Madison Messier(Warren, Mass.) also earned first team honors. In the defender slot Anna Austin (Stafford Springs, Conn.) represented Bay Path University on the All-Conference team. Genevieve Dyer (Chebeague Island, Maine) of Wheelock and Alyssa Falvo (Wilbraham, Mass.) of Elms, also join as defenders. Goalkeeper of the Year, Cassidy Smith rounds out the team at the goalkeeper position.

NECC Player of the Year – Amy Cooper, Becker (So.,  Monument, Colo.)  

Despite an injury, Cooper played in three conference games for the Hawks, netting two goals, one of which was a game winner.  Becker earned the No. 3 seed in the 2017 NECC Field Hockey Championship.

NECC Goalkeeper of the Year – Cassidy Smith, Wheelock (Jr., South Berwick, Maine)  

Junior Cassidy Smith had a strong junior season in goal, playing in five conference games. Her play in goal led the Wildcats to a share of the NECC regular season title, and the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament.  She only allowed two goals, for a league best 0.40 goals against average. Smith also led the league with a .875 save percentage, while posting three shutouts.

 NECC Rookie of the Year – Mary-Kate Pereira, Wheelock (Fr., Shrewsbury, Mass.)  

In her rookie campaign, Pereira helped her team to a share of the NECC regular season title, and the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament.  In six conference games, she netted one goal, and added two assists. Pereira was a two time NECC Rookie of the Week selection (weeks ending 9/10/17 and 10/29/17).

Coach of the Year – Erin Campbell, Wheelock

In her fourth year at the helm of the Wildcats, Campbell led her team to a 5-1 regular season record, which was good enough for a share of the regular season conference title, along with the No. 1 seed in the NECC Field Hockey Championship. Wheelock led the conference in goals against average (0.98) and goals per game (4.5). This is Campbell's first NECC Coach of the Year Award.

All-NECC

F – Julia D'Onofrio, Wheelock (So., Salem, N.H.)

F – Katie Frade, Wheelock (Sr., Dartmouth, Mass.)

F – Jocelyn Lebel, Becker (Jr., Grafton, Mass.)

F – Madison Messier, Elms (Jr., Warren, Mass.)

M – Amy Cooper, Becker (So., Monument, Colo.)

M – Madison Gabel, Elms (So., Agawam, Mass.)

M – Alexandria LeBlanc, Wheelock (Sr., Atkinson, N.H.)

D – Anna Austin, Bay Path (Jr., Stafford Springs, Conn.)

D – Genevieve Dyer, Wheelock (Sr., Chebeague Island, Maine)

D – Alyssa Falvo, Elms (Sr., Wilbraham, Mass.)

GK – Cassidy Smith, Wheelock (Jr., South Berwick, Maine)

All-NECC Sportsmanship

Olivia Gonya, Bay Path (Jr., Blackstone, Mass.)

Emma Wood, Becker (So., Newton, Mass.)

Alyssa Falvo, Elms (Sr., Wilbraham, Mass.)

Alicia Hubbard, Wheelock (So., Chicago, Ill.)