SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - All 10 institutions from the Commonwealth Coast Conference were represented on the 2012 All-CCC Women’s Soccer Team, it was announced today by Commissioner Gregg M. Kaye.
In addition to the all-conference team, five major individual award winners and a team sportsmanship award winner were also selected. Salve Regina University senior Kaitlyn Birrell was named CCC Offensive Player of the Year for the second year in a row, while Endicott College senior Caitlin Peters was honored with her second CCC Defensive Player of the Year award (2011). Gordon sophomore Taylor McSherry was selected as CCC Rookie of the Year, University of New England senior Emily Lodge was named CCC Senior Scholar Athlete and Gordon’s Marc Whitehouse was named CCC Coach of the Year. 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 women’s soccer coaches.
Joining Birrell and Peters on the first team were forwards Vanessa Caruccio (Endicott), Caitlin Nedde (Gordon), Hannah Noel (Roger Williams), and Jules Speno (Eastern Nazarene), midfielders Ellie Arsenault (University of New England), Katie Lydon (Roger Williams), and Karina Scavo (Gordon), backs Tory Benoit (Roger Williams) and Julia Miller (Gordon), and goalkeeper Kari Christensen (Gordon).
Joining McSherry and Lodge on the second team were forwards Mariah Kaiser (Roger Williams) and Elizabeth Somma (Wentworth), midfielders Alexis Bshara (Western New England), Chelsea Garlock (Endicott), Erin McCullough (Salve Regina), and Christine Silva (Endicott), backs Tina Corey (Eastern Nazarene), Nicole Faircloth (University of New England), and Taylor Provost (Roger Williams), and goalkeeper Samantha Guyette (University of New England).
Earning honorable mention were forwards Sarah Marois (Western New England), Brittney McLaughlin (Curry), and Alyssa Tosti (Nichols), midfielders Morgan Goodney (Eastern Nazarene), Hannah Midwinter (Gordon), and Jessica Reade (Roger Williams), backs Amelia Gonzales (Eastern Nazarene), Alexandrea Banks (Wentworth), Krysti Leach (Gordon), and Lauren Todd (Endicott), and goalkeepers Jacqueline McPherson (Salve Regina) and Jessica Gardner (Wentworth).
Birrell, a senior forward from Hope, R.I., earned her second offensive player of the year award (2011) and completed the regular season as the top offensive threat on one of the league’s most productive offenses. The leading scorer on the Salve Regina team that posted a conference-best 39 goals and tied for second in the league with 20 goals, Birrell is currently leading CCC players with 21 goals and 46 points, while finishing number one in the conference in both goals (11) goals and points (25). Now a four-time All-CCC player and currently a three-time NSCAA All New England player, Birrell holds every record at Salve Regina points, goals, assists and game winners.
Peters, a senior back from Salem, N.H. , who repeats as the defensive player of the year (2011), has been instrumental in anchoring a back line that has given up just 11 goals, only three in conference. Peters, is now a four-time all-conference selection and has been a four year starter and solid central defender for Endicott. EC has allowed the second fewest goals among CCC teams in all games played, while the three goals against in conference play was the best in the league. The EC defense also had the most shutouts in CCC play with seven.
McSherry, a sophomore from Wolcott, Conn., has been an asset to the Gordon squad that enters the CCC Tournament as the number one seed. The rookie standout is currently tied for third in goals with nine, fourth in points with 19, and is tied for second in game-winning goals with five. McSherry has started each of the Fighting Scots 17 regular season contests. McSherry’s play has helped Gordon finish the regular season with an impressive 15-2 overall record and an 8-1 conference record.
Lodge, a senior back from Lyman, Maine, is a leading example of what it means to be a Division III student-athlete. Athletically, Lodge is a solid and reliable defender for the Nor’easter defense, starting all 18 games this year. Lodge was recognized as a 2011 All-CCC first team defender and a 2011 All-ECAC second teamer. Academically, the medical biology major holds a 3.97 grade point average and has earned a guaranteed spot in the Doctorate of Physical Therapy program at UNE due to her outstanding academic record. A Dean’s List student and CCC Academic All-Conference member, Lodge is an inductee into the Chi Alpha Sigma National College Athlete Honor Society.
Whitehouse, in his 27th year at Gordon, has commanded his squad to an 8-1 regular-season conference record, while sporting an impressive overall mark of 15-2. The Fighting Scots embark on the upcoming CCC Championship as the top seed while being fourth in highest-scoring offense (19). GC also has one of the stingiest defenses, allowing conference opponents to score just seven times this season. Gordon will be looking to capture the program’s fourth conference title under Whitehouse’s leadership.
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