Correction: Elms was the recipient of the Institutional Sportsmanship Award. A previous version had the incorrect winner listed.
WINTHROP, Mass. – The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) announced its 2023 Field All-Conference Team and major award winners on Wednesday afternoon. Johnson & Wales' had the most honorees with seven.
Voting was conducted by the league's 13 field hockey head coaches following the regular season and did not take postseason play into account.
The Wildcats were also close to sweeping the major awards, taking home three of the four student-athlete honors. Haley Budenas was voted the Defensive Player of the Year playing in front of Sophia Brea was selected as the Goalkeeper of the Year. JWU freshman Ava Pontes was named the Rookie of the Year. Lasell's Abbey Playle took home the final student-athlete honor as the Offensive Player of the Year. JWU head coach Lisa Lopes earned Coach of the Year honors, while Elms was the recipient of the Institutional Sportsmanship Award.
The full list of All-Conference honorees, the All-Rookie Team, and the representatives on the All-Sportsmanship Team can be viewed below.
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OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR Abbey Playle, Lasell Playle was one of the top scorers in all of Division III this year, ranking in the top-10 nationally in goals per game and points per game. She scored 18 goals during the regular season and collected 13 assists giving her 49 points on the season. A lot of her damage was done in conference play as she ranked third in the GNAC with 14 goals and first in assists with 13. She recorded six multi-goal games including three hat tricks and had six instances in which she registered five or more points in a single game. Four of her tallies also accounted for game-winners. She was named Player of the Week in the weeks ending Setp. 3 and Sept. 18. |
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DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR Haley Budenas, Johnson & Wales Budenas is the centerpiece of the Johnson & Wales defense, which finished the regular season as one of the top defensive units in the country. As a team, they had the best goals-against average in all of NCAA Division III at 0.20 and produced 12 shutouts, which also led the nation. Budenas and her teammates made things easier on their goalkeepers, holding opponents shotless in six contests and having only two instances when Wildcat keepers had to make more than four saves. A lot of that success had to do with Budenas' play as she was often tasked with shutting down opponents top offensive players. |
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GOALKEEPER OF THE YEAR Sophia Brea, Johnson & Wales Brea concluded the regular season with the best goals-against average in all of Division III at 0.25 goals allowed per game. She surrendered only four total goals during the regular season and never allowed more than a single goal in a game. As a result, she produced a 14-2 overall record with five shutouts. In conference play, she allowed only two goals all year and had the league's second-best save percentage at .857. |
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ROOKIE OF THE YEAR Ava Pontes, Johnson & Wales Pontes really made an impact in her first collegiate season with Johnson & Wales. She was a top-10 scorer in the league, producing 12 goals and two assists for a 26-point total during the regular season. She found the back of the cage 11 times in conference play and registered 24 points, ranking her in the top-10 in those categories as well. She had three multi-goal games, including a hat trick against Elms. Her scores also accounted for the game-winner on five occasions. She was recognized by the conference as Rookie of the Week during the weeks ending Sept. 10, Sept. 24, and Oct. 8. |
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COACH OF THE YEAR Lisa Lopes, Johnson & Wales Lopes led Johnson & Wales to an 11-1 GNAC (14-2 overall) record during the regular season to claim the top spot in the 2023 GNAC Field Hockey Championship Tournament. Her squad was the best defensive team in the country, surrendering a microscopic 0.20 goals-against average to lead all of NCAA Division III. The strong defensive effort led to 12 shutouts during the year. However, it wasn't just defense that made JWU run as it also produced 3.56 goals per game, which was second in the conference. |
2023 Field Hockey All-GNAC Teams
ALL-CONFERENCE FIRST TEAM
F - Sheridan Blaha, Sr., Lasell
F - Drea Chin, Gr., New England College
F - Margaret Johnson, Gr., Johnson & Wales
F - Anna Tedeschi, Jr., Simmons
M - Aleah Murph, Sr., Colby-Sawyer
M - Abbey Playle, Gr., Lasell
M - Katie Sloan, Sr., Johnson & Wales
B - Taylor Bailey, Jr., New England College
B - Haley Budenas, Jr., Johnson & Wales
B - Isabella O'Reilly, Fr., Lasell
GK - Sophia Brea, Fr., Johnson & Wales
ALL-CONFERENCE SECOND TEAM
F - Sydney Gonyea, Jr., Simmons
F - Courtney Larson, Jr., Colby-Sawyer
F - Lily Stark, Sr., Lasell
F - Izzy Ward, Jr., Johnson & Wales
M - Emilia Elko, Jr., Simmons
M - Ava Pontes, Fr., Johnson & Wales
M - Mikayla Vincent, Gr., New England College
B - Sabrina Lippold, Jr., Colby-Sawyer
B - Alison Michalik, Jr., Simmons
B - Madison Young, Jr., Johnson & Wales
GK - Courtney Tello, Jr., Lasell
ALL-CONFERENCE THIRD TEAM
F - Frankie Alley, Jr., Regis
F - Ryleigh LaPorte, Fy., Colby-Sawyer
F - Madison Streeter, Gr., Rivier
F - Maya Waryas, So., Saint Joseph's (Maine)
M - Taylor Gaudette, So., Colby-Sawyer
M - Meaghan McCamish, Jr., New England College
M - Sydney Spenard, Sr., Rivier
B - McKenzie Fairfax, So., U. of Saint Joseph (Conn.)
B - Kaitlyn Freeman, Sr., Johnson & Wales
B - Maeve Perras, Jr., Rivier
GK - Kylie Coupal, Jr., Rivier
ALL-ROOKIE TEAM
Sophia Brea, Johnson & Wales
Emma Fissel, Simmons
Neila Jones, New England College
Ava Kahl, Simmons
Adelaide Kelly, New England College
Conley Ladabouche, New England College
Ryleigh LaPorte, Colby-Sawyer
Ava Pontes, Johnson & Wales
Jacquelyn Scopa, Lasell
Lilly Taglieri, Simmons
Mikayla Thornton, Colby-Sawyer
MAJOR AWARDS
Offensive Player of the Year - Abbey Playle, Lasell
Defensive Player of the Year - Haley Budenas, Johnson & Wales
Goalkeeper of the Year - Sophia Brea, Johnson & Wales
Rookie of the Year - Ava Pontes, Johnson & Wales
Coach of the Year - Lisa Lopes, Johnson & Wales
Institutional Sportsmanship - Elms
ALL-SPORTSMANSHIP TEAM
Amber DeJonge, Albertus Magnus
Hannah Tobey, Anna Maria
Alyssa Slocum, Colby-Sawyer
Mackenzie Fillion, Dean
Nina Bourassa, Elms
Mya Bolk, Johnson & Wales
Kaitlin Bedell, Lasell
Emma LaPierre, New England College
Ava Costello, Regis
Hailey Morse, Rivier
Haley Brooks, Saint Joseph's (Maine)
Ainslee Shrout, Simmons
Wendy Bowden, U. of Saint Joseph (Conn.)
ABOUT THE GREAT NORTHEAST ATHLETIC CONFERENCE
The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 16 member institutions and over 4000 student-athletes across the New England region. Founded in 1995, the GNAC annually sponsors and administers 22 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunity and community involvement in an effort to enhance the student-athlete experience.
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