Birrell, Ernst announced as ECAC All-Stars
NEWPORT, R.I. - Seniors Kaitlyn Birrell (Hope, R.I.) and Bobby Ernst (Needham, Mass.) represented the Salve Regina women's and men's soccer teams, respectively, as members of the 2012 Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III New England Men's and Women's Soccer All-Star Teams, which were announced on Friday morning.
Birrell and Ernst were two of just four total players from the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) to be selected to the teams, including two student-athletes from the men's side and two more from the women's side. Salve Regina was the only CCC school to have representatives on both the men's and women's teams.
Birrell captured her second consecutive CCC Offensive Player of the Year Award this season, leading the conference with 46 points, 21 goals, and four hat tricks. She finished her Salve Regina career as the program's all-time leader in nearly every offensive category including points (181), goals (74), assists (33), and game-winning scores (14). In addition to being selected to the ECAC DIII New England All-Star Team, she was also named to the All-CCC First Team and the NCAA DIII All-New England Team, and was selected to participate in the 2012 New England Women's Intercollegiate Soccer Association (NEWISA) Senior Bowl.
"I am so happy for Katie," exclaims women's soccer
head coach Kerri Scroope. "I don't think I will ever find the
right words to describe Katie or the impact she has made on this
program. She has been a coaches dream and I feel very privileged to
have coached her."
Ernst helped lead the Salve Regina men's soccer team to its most successful season in program history this year, as the Seahawks set a team record with 16 wins while also capturing their first CCC Championship since 2002. The senior paced the team in both points (18) and goals (7) while guiding the club to its highest end-of-year ranking in program history, finishing the season at No. 9 in New England. As a result, Ernst was named to the All-CCC First Team and the NCAA DIII All-New England Team, while also earning CCC Defensive Player of the Week, CCC Offensive Player of the Week, ECAC Offensive Player of the Week, and CIAO Classic Defensive MVP honors this season.
“It’s a tremendous accomplishment and honor for Bobby to be named to this New England All-Star team by the ECAC," states men's soccer head coach Craig O'Rourke II. "For him to be recognized as one of the top 14 players in the region is a real testament to what he has meant to our program these past four years. His graduation this spring will leave some huge shoes for us to fill… literally and figuratively.”