FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Lasell places six on First Team,
SJC with four First Team selections
WINTHROP, Mass. – Saint Joseph's College of Maine sophomore Libby Pomerleau has been selected as the 2017 Great Northeast Athletic Conference Field Hockey Offensive Player of the Year, as voted upon by the GNAC's head coaches.
Pomerleau is tied for the GNAC lead in goals (21) and is second in points (47) for SJC, which is coming off its second straight GNAC title this past weekend. The Monks now prepare for a Wednesday showdown (5:00 PM) at UNE in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Pomerleau was one of four Monks named to the All-GNAC First Team, accompanied by senior midfielder Elyse Caiazzo, junior back Kayla Veilleux, and senior back Hayley Winslow, who was also voted the GNAC Defensive Player of the Year.
Lasell College, which earned the GNAC regular-season title with an unblemished 7-0 mark in league play and 16-4 overall, placed a league-leading six student-athletes on the First Team, including GNAC Goalkeeper of the Year Denise Landry. The senior led GNAC netminders with a .835 save percentage, allowing just three goals in her seven GNAC games.
Lasers seventh-year head coach Caitlin Connolly was also named the GNAC Coach of the Year for guiding Lasell to its best season in program history.
Simmons College freshman goalkeeper Lucy McNamara was voted the GNAC Rookie of the Year. The Second Team selection posted a 1.70 goals-against average and posted a .788 save percentage for the Sharks this fall.
Among the Lasers' First Team honorees, joining Landry were forwards Cailin Flannery, Nikki Pignone and Samantha Taylor, midfielder Julia Franzik and back Taylor Falco. Flannery totaled 44 points, Pignone had 36, and Taylor totaled a team-leading 45 points on 17 goals and 11 assists.
Mount Ida College senior Lexi Minicucci was also a First Team selection after leading the conference with 49 points on 21 goals and seven assists for the Mustangs, who earned a GNAC Tournament first-round road win before nearly upsetting Lasell in the semifinals.
Rivier University was awarded with the GNAC Institutional Sportsmanship honor for field hockey. For the complete All-Conference and All-Sportsmanship selections, please see below.
First Team
F – Cailin Flannery, Lasell (Jr., Medford, N.J.)
F – Nikki Pignone, Lasell (Jr., Ipswich, Mass.)
F – Samantha Taylor, Lasell (So., Hanover, Mass.)
F – Libby Pomerleau, Saint Joseph's (Me.) (So., Limerick, Maine)
M – Julia Franzik, Lasell (Jr., Wallingford, Conn.)
M – Lexi Minicucci, Mount Ida (Sr., Westfield, Mass.)
M – Elyse Caiazzo, Saint Joseph's (Me.) (Sr., Scarborough, Maine)
B – Taylor Falco, Lasell (Sr., Hazlet, N.J.)
B – Kayla Veilleux, Saint Joseph's (Me.) (Jr., Sabattus, Maine)
B – Hayley Winslow, Saint Joseph's (Me.) (Sr., Falmouth, Maine)
GK – Denise Landry, Lasell (Sr., New Milford, Conn.)
Second Team
F – Sarah Hemstock, Mount Ida (Jr., Northford, Conn.)
F – Kayla Kelly, Saint Joseph's (Me.) (Jr., York, Maine)
F – Sammy Rondeau, Simmons (Sr., Franklin, Mass.)
F – Julie Saltamartini, Simmons (Sr., East Hampstead, N.H.)
M – Jacqueline Lapierre, Anna Maria (Sr., Worcester, Mass.)
M – Erica Connors, Lasell (Sr., South Berwick, Maine)
M – Maggie Fuzak, Simmons (Fr., Buffalo, N.Y.)
B – Arianna Kahler, Saint Joseph's (Me.) (Jr., Lisbon Falls, Maine)
B – Abigail Anderson, Simmons (Fr., South Yarmouth, Mass.)
B – Meghan Fontaine, Simmons (Jr., Westminster, Mass.)
GK – Lucy McNamara, Simmons (Fr., Brewster, Mass.)
Offensive Player of the Year – Libby Pomerleau, Saint Joseph's (Me.)
Defensive Player of the Year – Hayley Winslow, Saint Joseph's (Me.)
Goalkeeper of the Year – Denise Landry, Lasell
Rookie of the Year – Lucy McNamara, Simmons
Coach of the Year – Caitlin Connolly, Lasell
Institutional Sportsmanship Award – Rivier University
All-Sportsmanship Team
Sarah Coley, Anna Maria (Jr., Worcester, Mass.)
Katarina Brunette, Johnson & Wales (Sr., Latham, N.Y.)
Erin Murray, Lasell (Sr., Lexington, Mass.)
Emily Salls, Mount Ida (Sr., Springvale, Maine)
Kiana Koke, Regis (Mass.) (Jr., Queensbury, N.Y.)
Emily Foster, Rivier (Jr., West Lebanon,, N.H.)
Kayla Veilleux, Saint Joseph's (ME) (Jr., Sabattus, Maine)
Sammy Rondeau, Simmons (Sr., Franklin, Mass.)
Founded in 1995, the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 13 member institutions and over 3,000 student-athletes across the New England region. Each year, the GNAC sponsors and administers 20 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunities and community involvement.
– #TheGNAC –