Posted: Nov 24, 2014

ECAC NorthEast Most Outstanding Player: Steven Wilken

Steven Wilken passed for 215 yards on 22 completions which included five TDs equalling his own school record.

NORTHFIELD, Vt. - Salve Regina University senior quarterback Steven Wilken (Ringwood, N.J.) completed 22 passes for 215 yards and five touchdowns to earn Most Outstanding Player honors in the 2014 ECAC NorthEast Bowl after leading the Seahawks to a 48-21 victory over Norwich University on Saturday.

Most Outstanding Player - After trailing 21-14 in the second quarter, Wilken led the Seahawks to 34 unanswered points. His first TD target was Alex Leddy (Warwick, R.I.) who made his second catch of the year, a seven-yarder, in the first quarter to tie the score at 7-7.

Salve Regina took its first lead in the second quarter on a blocked punt returned by Garrett Rupe (Peckville, Pa.) for a touchdown. The Cadets had the next two scores, a 21-yard run and a 13-yard pass to culminate nearly identical seven-play drives in the second quarter.

Wilken then engineered five more scoring drives, four of which ended with TD passes to Matthew Traynor (Secaucus, N.J.), one for 37 yards, and another for 20 yards, and Alex Hulme (Hopkinton, Mass.), one for 15 yards, and another for six yards.

His five-touchdown day equalled his own school record, first set in last year's ECAC NorthEast Bowl when hosting Western Connecticut State (Nov. 23, 2013), and then equalled this season again at Gaudet Field when the Seahawks defeated the Bison of Nichols College, 48-7 (Oct. 4, 2014).

Wilken's performance also helped him set season records for pass completions (211) and passing yards (2,438). He had already surpassed his previous record of 23 passing touchdowns in a season, set in 2013, and raised the new record total to 31 with his five TD passes Saturday.

Salve Regina competed in its third ECAC Bowl game in the last four years. Wilken appeared in two games as a freshman, one of them was the 2011 ECAC NorthEast Bowl Championship against Worcester State (Nov. 19, 2011), a 26-6 victory at Gaudet Field. The Seahawks have posted a 31-13 record (.705) over the last four seasons.