Seahawks haul three major awards, seven honorees in total
NEWPORT, R.I. - All seven institutions that sponsor field hockey in the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) were represented on the 2015 All-CCC Field Hockey Team. In addition to the all-conference team, winners of five major individual awards and a team sportsmanship award winner were also selected.
Salve Regina University senior Abigail Tepper (Foxboro, Mass.) was named Offensive Player of the Year, Endicott College senior Ashleigh Allen and Salve Regina University senior Allison Gold (Greenlawn, N.Y.) were named Defensive Players of the Year, University of New England freshman Kersey Boulay and Endicott College freshman Sophia Cogliano were named Rookies of the Year, and Gordon College's Collette Newcombe was named Senior Scholar-Athlete of the Year. In addition, Salve Regina head coach Jennifer Foster was selected as Coach of the Year and Gordon College was the recipient of the Team Sportsmanship Award
Voting for the All-CCC team and each of the major awards was conducted among CCC field hockey coaches.
Joining Tepper (forward), Allen (midfield), Gold (back) and Boulay (back) on the first team were forwards Morgan Bresnahan (Endicott), Nicole Matarozzo (University of New England) and Vonde Saunders (University of New England), midfielders Desirae LeBlanc (University of New England) and Lindsey Mazzola (Salve Regina - Upton, Mass.), back Emylee Wood (Endicott) and goalkeeper Holly Smith (University of New England).
Second team selections included forwards Cogliano, Meghan Curran (Roger Williams), Brittany DeLima (Western New England) and Marissa Gagnon (Salve Regina - Smithfield, R.I.), midfielders Jenna Clavette (Roger Williams), Erin Gendreau (Salve Regina - Sandwich, Mass.), Allison Jackson (Western New England) and Olivia Madore (University of New England), backs Bailey Balmer (Gordon), Alexandra Baxter (Roger Williams) and Brooke Marion (Nichols), and goalkeepers Shannon Hicks (Gordon) and Jessie Severino (Salve Regina - Branford, Conn.).
Tepper enters the 2015 CCC Championship as the most prolific scorer in the history of Salve Regina field hockey, holding program career records with 67 goals and 153 total points. This season, Tepper has recorded a career-high 28 goals and 64 total points, currently second and third, respectively, in NCAA Division III, while also collecting eight assists, one shy of her career-high. As a goal scorer this season, Tepper, who ranks third among all Division III players with 1.47 goals and 3.37 points per game, leads the CCC in goals, points and game-winning goals (6), while also ranking in fourth in the conference in assists. In CCC play, Tepper also tops all conference players with 17 goals, 38 points and four game-winners. She has earned four CCC Player of the Week Awards this season.
Gold has done an outstanding job anchoring the stout Salve Regina defense. Due in large part to Gold's leadership, the Seahawks concluded the regular-season tied for fewest goals allowed in the conference, as Salve has permitted opponents just 27 goals in 19 games played. Her solid play on defense is a large reason that Seahawk netminders have needed only to record a conference-low 91 saves and currently rank 38th in all of Division III with a stingy 1.42 goals against average. She was recognized as CCC Defensive Player of the Week on September 28.
In her ninth year guiding the Seahawks, Foster is being recognized for the first time as CCC Coach of the Year. She is certainly no stranger to CCC individual accolades, as she was a former CCC Rookie of the Year honoree at Nichols College, before transferring to Bryant College, where she played three seasons and advanced to two NCAA Division II Final Fours. Under her guidance this season, Salve Regina earned the second seed in the CCC Championship after posting a sensational 16-3 regular-season record, which included a 10-2 mark in CCC play, both program records. In 2015, the Seahawks have scored a CCC-high 89 goals – including a CCC-best 52 goals in conference play – while tying for the league lead with a CCC-low 27 goals allowed.
"To have six players named to an all-conference team with two of those being named player of the year at their respective position it is not only an honor for those individual players but also our entire team," said Coach Foster. "Without each other, no individual player's success would be possible. I'm extremely honored to receive the CCC Coach of the Year Award. I'm very fortunate to have my assistant Katie Bulk, great senior leadership and a close knit team. This award is a reflection of our team's commitment to each other and the goals we have set."