Lasell's Carly Zdanek Named 2017 GNAC Women's Soccer Offensive Player of the Year

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Lasell, JWU collect
GNAC major awards

WINTHROP, Mass. – Lasell College junior Carly Zdanek headlines three Laser student-athletes selected to the 2017 Great Northeast Athletic Conference Women's Soccer All-Conference First Team, it was announced on Monday.

Zdanek has been voted the GNAC Offensive Player of the Year by the league's head coaches, while Lasell senior Sarah LaClair has been lauded as the GNAC Goalkeeper of the Year. Junior teammate Sabrina Morais joined Zdanek and LaClair as First Team honorees.

Johnson & Wales University, which fell to Lasell on Saturday in the GNAC Championship, also placed three players on the All-GNAC First Team in junior Deja Hursey, junior Kali Trunca and freshman Olivia Cairrao. Trunca received the league's Defensive Player of the Year, while Cairrao was unanimously named the GNAC Rookie of the Year.

For the complete list of All-Conference and All-Sportsmanship Team selections, please see below.

Entering NCAA Tournament play, the GNAC Tournament MVP Zdanek has 17 goals and three assists for 38 points, while LaClair boasts an 0.88 goals-against average and stellar .815 save percentage.

For the Wildcats, Hursey leads the GNAC in both goals (23) and points (53), while the first-year Cairrao arrived on the scene to the tune of 17 goals and five helpers for 39 points. Trunca anchored a JWU defense that allowed just seven goals all season in conference play.

The league's coaches also voted Emmanuel College's Dan Campagna the GNAC Coach of the Year. Campagna stepped onto the scene this fall and helped guide the Saints to an 8-2-1 mark in league play en route to the No. 3 seed in the GNAC Tournament.

2016 GNAC Offensive Player of the Year Haley DaGraca again was a First Team selection at forward, as the Saint Joseph's College of Maine junior forward had 17 goals and three assists for 37 points. University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) senior Jessica Spezzano was also a First Team forward pick after leading the GNAC with 11 assists and totaling 35 points overall.

Joining Cairrao and Zdanek as First Team midfielder selections were Emmanuel sophomore Abba McKenelley and Suffolk University senior Jennifer Martin. Saint Joseph's of Maine senior Emily DeLuca joined Trunca and Morais as First Team backs.

Simmons College was honored with the 2017 GNAC Women's Soccer Insitutional Sportsmanship Award.

First Team
F – Deja Hursey, Johnson & Wales (RI) (Jr., Columbia, Md.)
F – Jessica Spezzano, St. Joseph (Conn.) (Sr., Watertown, Conn.)
F – Haley DaGraca, Saint Joseph's (Me.) (Jr., Saco, Maine)
M – Abba McKenelley, Emmanuel (Mass.) (So., Middleton, Mass.)
M – Olivia Cairrao, Johnson & Wales (RI) (Fr., Bristol, RI, 22)
M – Carly Zdanek, Lasell (Jr., Newton, N.J.)
M – Jennifer Martin, Suffolk (Sr., Higganum, Conn., 11)
B – Kali Trunca, Johnson & Wales (RI) (Jr., Litchfield, NH, 15)
B – Sabrina Morais, Lasell (Jr., Arlington Mass.)
B – Emily DeLuca, Saint Joseph's (Me.) (Sr., Gorham, Maine)
GK – Sarah LaClair, Lasell (Sr., Belchertown, Mass.)

Second Team
F – Kayla Generis, Emmanuel (Mass.) (Jr., Wethersfield, Conn.)
F – Kyra Selner, Johnson & Wales (RI) (Sr., Sterling, Va.)
F – Alexandra Nagri, Suffolk (Sr., Salem, N.H.)
M – Angelina Piccirillo, Albertus Magnus (Sr., Naugatuck, Conn.)
M – Molly McCormack, Johnson & Wales (RI) (So.,  Livingston, N.J.)
M – Sarah Comtois, Saint Joseph's (Me.) (Jr., Lowell, Mass.)
M – Cíara Forde, Simmons (Jr., Quincy, Mass.)
B – Katherine O'Kane, Emmanuel (Mass.) (So., Hanson, Mass.)
B – Brianna DeLuna, Johnson & Wales (RI) (Fr., Massapequa Park, N.Y.)
B – Liz Donovan, Simmons (Sr., Nashua N.H.)
GK – Megan Ricci, St. Joseph (Conn.) (So., Center Moriches, N.Y.)

Third Team
F – Payton Fitzgerald, Regis (Mass.) (Fr., Danielson, Conn.)
F – Mikayla Elliott, Simmons (Jr., Lowell, Mass.)
F – Kashka Gammon, Simmons (Sr., Nashua N.H.)
M – Erika Badger, Lasell (Jr., Scituate, Mass.)
M – Caitlin Rotonnelli, Lasell (So., Meredith, N.H.)
M – Amanda Ghent, St. Joseph (Conn.) (Jr., Portland, Conn.)
M – Lauren Brandau, Simmons (Jr., Madiso, Conn.)
B – Korynne Provenzano, Lasell (Fr., Stratham, N.H.)
B – Shelby Tallman, St. Joseph (Conn.) (Sr., Colchester, Conn.)
B – Jessie Pratt, Simmons (Sr., Westfield Mass.)
GK – Lexie Fenn, Albertus Magnus (Jr., Oakville, Conn.)

Offensive Player of the Year – Carly Zdanek, Lasell
Defensive Player of the Year – Kali Trunca, Johnson & Wales (RI)
Goalkeeper of the Year – Sarah LaClair, Lasell
Rookie of the Year – Olivia Cairrao, Johnson & Wales (RI)
Coach of the Year – Dan Campagna, Emmanuel
Institutional Sportsmanship Award – Simmons College

All-Sportsmanship Team
Samantha Valentine, Albertus Magnus (Fr.)
Emily David, Emmanuel (Sr., Uniondale, N.Y.)
Danielle Barone, Johnson & Wales (Jr., Staten Island, N.Y.)
Emma Papile, Lasell (Jr., Quincy, Mass.)
Heather Pollock, Mount Ida (Sr., Middleton, Mass.)
Darby Smith, Norwich (Sr., Northfield, Vt.)
Lauren Goodspeed, Rivier (Sr., Merrimack, N.H.)
Erin Loehner, Regis (Mass.) (Sr., Danvers, Mass.)
Shelby Tallman, Saint Joseph (CT) (Sr., Colchester, Conn.)
Lauren Stiles, Saint Joseph's (ME) (Sr., Gorham, Maine)
Erin Fleming, Simmons (Jr., West Boylston , Mass.)
Veronica Bernardo, Suffolk (Jr., Ludlow, 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 –