FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

November 20, 2014

Click here for a PDF of release

LIU Post Margiotta, Crouse Selected as Player, Defensive Player of the Year

MANSFIELD, Mass. – LIU Post, the 2014 Northeast-10 Conference regular season conference champions, took home three of the league's major awards in the sport of field hockey. Keliann Margiotta was selected as the conference's Player of the Year, Dani Crouse, it's Defensive Player of the Year, and Raenee Savin the Coach of the Year.

The Pioneers finished the regular season with a mark of 15-2 overall, including 10-1 in Northeast-10 Conference play. LIU Post hosts American International College in one championship semifinal this afternoon.

For the entire list of student-athletes that were selected to the league's All-Conference teams, or the All-Rookie team, see below.

The league's Player of the Year, Margiotta, led the league in goals with 30 and was second in assists with 14 during her prolific 2014 regular season campaign. The unanimous First Team selection has posted 74 points for the Pioneers, which is currently 20 more then the second-place student-athlete in the Northeast-10.

Margiotta has scored at least one goal in 13 of LIU Post's 17 games, had only one game in which she was held scoreless. The senior forward registered five games in which she scored at least three goals and became the second Pioneers forward to be selected as the league's Player of the Year as Carlee Dragon was recognized with the honor last year.

Merrimack College's Taylor Simpson was named the league's Rookie of the Year following the head coaches' vote. Simpson finished the regular season fifth in the conference in goals scored with 15, and added four assists for a total of 34 points, which tied her for seventh in the NE-10. Simpson was also named to the Northeast-10 Conference All-Rookie Team.

The league's head coaches selected Margiotta's teammate Dani Crouse as the conference's Defensive Player of the Year. Crouse led a back line that has only allowed 19 goals in the team's 17 games so far this season, and has held the opposition scoreless six times so far this season.

Crouse pitched in on the offensive side as well, as she has scored eight goals and added seven assists in 2014. The veteran back was also named a First Team All-Conference selection.

Saint Michael's College Jackie Chisholm was voted as the league's Field Hockey Goalkeeper of the Year. Chisholm helped lead the Purple Knights to a 9-9 mark during the regular season, including 5-6 in NE-10 play. Splitting time with another all-conference selection in Sarah Healey, Chisholm started nine games between the pipes for Saint Michael's and only allowed 11 goals in those games.

Her .862 save percentage was tops in the league by a relatively wide margin, and her goals against average of 1.16 was second best in the league. Chisholm was also named to a First Team All-Conference selection.

For the second straight year, LIU Post's Raenee Savin was named the NE-10 Coach of the Year by her peers. In their second year as an associate member of the conference in the sport, Savin led the Pioneers to their second-consecutive league regular season crown. LIU Post completed the regular season with a 15-2 mark, and their NE-10 record of 10-1 earned them the top seed in the conference championship, which continues with the semifinal round later today.

Savin had three of her student-athletes named to the conference's First Team, while Margiotta and Crouse were selected for major awards following the season.

The Northeast-10 is an association of 15 NCAA Division II colleges and universities located in New England and New York that is committed to supporting balanced academic and athletic opportunities for more than 6,000 student-athletes.

Each year, 4,000 of those student-athletes compete in Conference championships in 23 sports, making the NE-10 the largest DII conference in the country in terms of sports sponsorship. Leading the way in the classroom, on the field and within the community, the Northeast-10 is proud of its comprehensive program and the experience it provides student-athletes.

2014 Northeast-10 Conference Field Hockey First Team All-Conference
Position, Name, School
M Molly Cuevas Adelphi
F Mary Plotas Adelphi
F Jenna Masionis American International
F Kiley Colucci Assumption
F Gina Lirange Bentley
F Dani Crouse LIU Post
F Keliann Margiotta LIU Post
F Lyn-Marie Wilson LIU Post
D Katie Bishop Merrimack
GK Jackie Chisholm Saint Michael's
F Cassaundra Davis Saint Michael's
F Erika Kelly Stonehill
F Emily Sideris Stonehill

2014 Northeast-10 Conference Field Hockey Second Team All-Conference
Position, Name, School
D Briana Rubenstein Adelphi
M Erica McLean American International
GK Ainslee Penfield American International
F Paige Anderson Assumption
D Tori Ellis Bentley
M Natalia Bachelder Franklin Pierce
M Christine Zubkus Merrimack
M Bridget Davis Saint Anselm
F Megan Deschaine Saint Michael's
GK Sarah Healey Saint Michael's
F Lauren Giordano Stonehill
M Elizabeth Thornton Stonehill

2014 Northeast-10 Conference Field Hockey All-Rookie Team
Position, Name, School
M Jamie Aherns Adelphi
M Samantha Nizich Adelphi
F Allison Sheahan Assumption
F Carly Canavan Franklin Pierce
F Kaycee Zelkovsky LIU Post
F Rylie Hammond Merrimack
F Taylor Simpson Merrimack
D Erin Collins Saint Anselm
F Allia Connolly Saint Anselm
M Jenna Deschaine Saint Michael's
M Marjolein Kerstjens Saint Michael's
M Amaris Taylor Southern New Hampshire
F Alex Sylvia Stonehill

Player of the Year – Keliann Margiotta, LIU Post
Rookie of the Year – Taylor Simpson, Merrimack
Defensive Player of the Year – Dani Crouse, LIU Post
Goalkeeper of the Year – Jackie Chisholm, Saint Michael's
Coach of the Year – Raenee Savin, LIU Post