FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 18, 2015
NE-10 Fall Student-Athletes Land All-America, All-Region Accolades
MANSFIELD, Mass. – Numerous fall student-athletes from the Northeast-10 garnered regional and national postseason accolades recently. The NE-10 was well represented on a number of All-Region and All-America teams for the fall sports of field hockey, football, soccer, volleyball and cross country.
For a breakdown by sport, please see below.
The conference had 13 student-athletes land first team All-America honors between field hockey, men’s soccer and football, while the NE-10 had strong representation on the All-East Region teams in men’s and women’s soccer, cross country and volleyball.
In addition to the league’s student-athletes earning All-Region and All-America honors, the NE-10 had a handful of individuals claim regional and national postseason awards, including one national player of the year.
FIELD HOCKEY: Longstreth/NFHCA All-America
Eleven NE-10 field hockey student-athletes were named Longstreth/NFHCA All-Americans by the National Field Hockey Coaches Association, including five on the first team. Adelphi’s Molly Cuevas, Assumption’s Kiley Colucci, Merrimack’s Christine Zubkus, and Stonehill’s Erika Kelly and Sarah Morse collected first team honors.
Adelphi had the most selections with three, while Assumption, Merrimack, Saint Anselm and Stonehill all had two apiece. Making up the All-America Second Team from the NE-10 were Adelphi’s Rachel Colvin and Lena Pollich, Assumption’s Allison Juneau, Merrimack’s Mary McNeil, and Saint Anselm’s Elizabeth Alie and Meagan Halligan.
Kelly was named the 2015 Longstreth/NFHCA National Player of the Year after leading all of NCAA Division II in points (65) and goals (27) this season. Kelly became the NE-10 career leader in goals scored this season with 98 over her four seasons with the Skyhawks. For more information on Kelly’s prestigious honor, click here.
Merrimack’s Anne Rounce was recognized as the 2015 4U Field Hockey/NFHCA East Region Coach of the Year after leading the Warriors to the NCAA National Championship Game before falling to East Stroudsburg, 1-0, in overtime.
Additionally, 14 NE-10 field hockey players were named All-Americans by Synapse Sports, including eight first team choices. Kelly was tabbed as the Offensive Player of the Year, while Merrimack’s McNeil was chosen as the Rookie of the Year.
FOOTBALL: CCA All-America | CCA All-Super Region 1
The Northeast-10 had one All-American in football, Assumption place kicker Cole Tracy, who was a first team selection by the Conference Commissioners Association (CCA). A vital piece to the Greyhounds’ NE-10 Championship team, Tracy leads NCAA Division II with 1.69 field goals per game. He connected on 22-of-26 field goal attempts and was 51-of-53 on extra points for a total of 117 points this season.
Eleven NE-10 football student-athletes were recognized with CCA All-Super Region 1 plaudits. All three of New Haven’s selections were first-teamers, while Assumption had a pair of first team honorees. Assumption, Merrimack and New Haven each had three earn All-Region status, while LIU Post and Bentley each had one.
Most recently, Assumption’s Bob Chesney was voted as the HERO Sports Division II National Coach of the Year. Chesney’s Greyhounds topped New Haven, 17-14, in the NE-10 Championship Game and defeated Bowie State, 51-29, in the first round of the NCAA Championship before suffering a two-point defeat to Slippery Rock in the second round.
MEN’S SOCCER: NSCAA All-America | CCA All-America | NSCAA All-Region | CCA All-Region
Six NE-10 men’s soccer student-athletes were recognized as All-Americans by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) and four earned the honor from the CCA as well. Three claimed first team laurels from the NSCAA, all coming from Southern New Hampshire in Nick Zucco, Dominic Samuel and Sofiane Tergou. Zucco and Samuel also earned a first team nod by the CCA.
Overall the Penmen had four All-Americans, Merrimack had a pair and Le Moyne had one. Earning third team honors from the NSCAA were Southern New Hampshire’s Sebastien Stezewski and Merrimack’s Joseph Briers and Augusto Silva. Tergou, the NE-10 Player of the Year, was a third team choice by the CCA and was joined by Le Moyne’s Cal Filtch.
Fifteen from the NE-10 garnered NSCAA All-Region accolades, including eight on the first team, while nine also collected All-Region honors from the CCA to include six first-teamers. Southern New Hampshire had the most selections with five, all landing on the NSCAA All-Region First Team. Merrimack and Adelphi each had three, Le Moyne had two, and Franklin Pierce and Southern Connecticut had one apiece.
WOMEN’S SOCCER: NSCAA All-America | CCA All-America | NSCAA All-Region | CCA All-Region
A trio of women’s soccer student-athletes from the Northeast-10 collected All-America recognition from the NSCAA and CCA. All three came from NE-10 Champion Adelphi – Taylor Groth, Laura Gomez and Victoria Antonino. Groth was a second team selection by the CCA and a third team choice by the NSCAA. Gomez, the NE-10 Player of the Year, was selected as a third team All-American by both. Meanwhile, Antonino garnered honorable mention accolades from the CCA.
The NE-10 had a large number of women’s soccer players land on the NSCAA and CCA All-Region teams as well. There were 17 from the NE-10 on the NSCAA All-East Region teams and 11 on the CCA All-Region teams. Adelphi had the most selections with five, including four first-teamers. Saint Rose had four honorees, American International had three and Assumption had two, while Merrimack, New Haven, Pace and Southern New Hampshire each had one.
Gomez was also selected as the CCA East Region Player of the Year. She scored the Panthers’ lone goal in a 1-0 win over Saint Rose in the NE-10 Championship Game to give Adelphi its first-ever NE-10 women’s soccer title. Gomez then scored Adelphi’s only goal in a 1-0 win over Philadelphia in the second round of the NCAA Championship before the Panthers fell to Bridgeport, 2-1, in the third round.
VOLLEYBALL: AVCA All-America | CCA All-Region | AVCA All-Region
The NE-10 was represented on the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-America teams with a duo from Adelphi. NE-10 Player and Setter of the Year Megan Manierski and NE-10 Championship MVP Shelby Stoner received honorable mention recognition from the AVCA.
Six NE-10 volleyball student-athletes garnered All-Region honors from the AVCA and four were honored by the CCA. Adelphi led the way with four honorees, including all four NE-10 representatives on the CCA All-East Region First Team, while American International and Franklin Pierce each had one AVCA honoree.
Adelphi’s Danielle MacKnight was honored as the AVCA East Region Coach of the Year. MacKnight led the Panthers to their second straight NE-10 title and a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Championship. Adelphi went 27-5 overall and a perfect 14-0 in conference play this season, having won 22 straight matches before falling to NYIT in the NCAA Regional Semifinals.
CROSS COUNTRY: USTFCCCA All-America | All-Region | Regional Awards
Two Northeast-10 Cross Country student-athletes collected All-America status from the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) based on their finishes at the NCAA Championships back in November. The pair of All-Americans were NE-10 Women’s XC Athlete of the Year Nicole Borofski of Stonehill and NE-10 Men’s Rookie of the Year Leakey Kipkosgei of American International.
The conference swept the major regional awards, as Borofski and NE-10 Men’s Athlete of the Year John Chirchir of American International were tabbed East Region Athletes of the Year, while Stonehill’s Karen Boen and Bentley’s Kevin Curtin were honored as the region’s coaches of the year. In total, The NE-10 had 36 student-athletes earn All-Region accolades with 20 on the men's side and 16 more on the women's side.
ABOUT THE NORTHEAST-10
The Northeast-10 Conference 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 6,500 student-athletes.
Each year, 4,500 of those student-athletes compete in conference championships in 24 sports, making the NE-10 the largest DII conference in the country in terms of sport 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.
