Seven from GNAC Selected to NFHCA All-Region Squads

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First Team
SJC - Libby Pomerleau
SJC - Emma Rutledge

Second Team
JWU - Jillian Miele
LAS - Mindy Esposito 
LAS - Samantha Taylor
SJC - Alexandra Belaire
SIM - Lucy McNamara

WINTHROP, Mass. - Seven Great Northeast Athletic Conference student-athletes have garnered 2019 Longstreth/NFHCA DIII All-New England East accolades, as announced by the NFHCA last week. 

Saint Joseph's College saw three players claim honors, while Lasell University had two selections and Johnson & Wales University and Simmons University both had one apiece.

From Saint Joe's, senior Libby Pomerleau (Limerick, Maine) and sophomore Emma Rutledge (Alfred, Maine) have garnered First Team All-New England East Region honors while junior Alexandra Belaire (Greene, Maine) is listed on the Second Team.

Pomerleau claims First Team All-Region honors for the second time after netting seven goals with five assists for 19 total points during her senior season. The senior captain, who changed positions from forward to midfielder as a senior, is the Monks' all-time leader in goals (65), points (156) and game-winning goals (22).

One of the most decorated players in program history, Pomerleau earned First Team All-Conference honors all four years, was selected as the 2016 GNAC Rookie of the Year and earned GNAC Offensive Player of the Year accolades in 2017 and 2018. She also garnered Synapse Sports Third Team All-America honors last fall and was selected to play in the 2019 NFHCA DIII Senior All-Star Game.

Rutledge, the 2019 GNAC Offensive Player of the Year and First Team All-Conference honoree, earns her first All-Region accolade after scoring 12 goals – including four game-winners - with eight assists for 32 total points as a sophomore. In 43 career games, Rutledge has netted 30 goals – including seven clinchers – with 23 assists for 83 total points.

Belaire, a 2019 First Team All-Conference selection, also takes home her first regional honor after scoring eight goals with 12 assists for 28 points during her junior season. She led the GNAC in assists in 2019 and for her career, has scored 22 goals – including seven clinchers - with 26 assists for 70 points in 62 games over three NCAA seasons.

From Lasell, seniors Mindy Esposito (Sunderland, Mass./Frontier Regional) and Sam Taylor (Hanover, Mass./Hanover) represented the Lasers with selection to the New England East Region Second Team. They are the first two Lasers to earn All-Region honors in the same season, and the first since Denise Landry was selected in 2017.

A senior defender, Esposito capped her career that included her selection as GNAC Defensive Player of the Year and her second straight All-Conference First Team honor. She anchored a Laser defense that posted four shutouts and a 1.67 goals against average. Esposito started all 20 games and was regularly assigned to defend the left side against the opponents' top-scoring forwards. A starter on defense in all 80 games in her career, Esposito finished with seven goals, 12 assists and 26 points while collecting six defensive saves.

A senior forward, Taylor wrapped up an outstanding season for the Lasers, earning First Team All-GNAC recognition and competing in the Victory Sports Tours/NFHCA Division III Senior Game last month in Manheim, Pennsylvania. She led the team with 12 goals, nine assists and 33 points, ranking tied for second in the GNAC in assists and tied for third in goals and points. A four-time All-GNAC selection, including a three-time First Team pick, Taylor also made her mark on the Lasell career record book. She finished her career ranked second in program history with 59 goals, 39 assists and 157 points, and she owns the standard with 15 game-winning goals.

From JWU, Jillian Miele added another postseason accolade to her resume with Second-Team All-New England honors from the National Field Hockey Coaches Association. The Wilmington, Mass. native is the first player in program history to earn all-region accolades. Earlier in the year, she was the first Wildcat to pick up a First-Team All-GNAC award. Meile was one of six GNAC players honored by the NFHCA.

Miele finished the year ranked 11^th in the NCAA with a GNAC-leading 2.68 points per game and 1.11 goals per game. The conference leader in total goals (21) and points (51), she set new JWU single-season records in both categories as well as assists (9). Only a sophomore, she already ranks second in career goals (33) and points (80). She inked her name in the GNAC record books during the conference playoffs. In the first round against Simmons, Miele recorded three goals and six points, the most by a sophomore in a playoff game.

From Simmons, Lucy McNamara (Brewster, Mass.) was named to the All-New England East Region Second Team, as the Sharks have now had seven players earn All-Region status, including four to the First Team, in the past six seasons and nine All-Region honorees since 2003.

McNamara is one of just two goalies to earn All-Region status for New England East and becomes the first Simmons goalkeeper to earn All-Region status in school history. The junior was named the Great Northeast Athletic Conference Goalkeeper of the Year and earned a spot on the GNAC All-Conference First Team last month. The accolade caps a banner year for the Cape Cod native, who was also the first Shark to earn the GNAC's top goalie award and the second keeper to earn First Team honors since Brianna Rastello (2013-16) was named in 2014. She was consistently one of the highest-regarded goalies in the conference, earning GNAC Goalkeeper of the Week honors five times to tie Rastello for the most times the award has been handed out during a season and was also an All-Tournament Team selection. McNamara was the league's stingiest goalie all season, posting a .830 save percentage to lead the GNAC by a healthy margin, while standing ninth among the nation's leaders. Her percentage was the highest at the Fenway school in at least the last 15 years and is even more impressive considering she averaged 8.55 saves per game to rank 20th in NCAA Division III. Her save total of 171 stops ranked second among GNAC leaders, while placing her third on the Sharks all-time single-season list. A graduate of Nauset Regional High School, she logged the most minutes in the conference with 1237:53 and ranked third in the GNAC with a 1.70 goals against mark and five shutouts. McNamara tightened up even more in GNAC contests, posting a 1.18 GAA, while owning a .844 save percentage. She recorded an 8-12 record for the second-most wins for any goalie in the league and started all 20 matches for Simmons. The Public Relations & Marketing Communications major registered double-digit save totals on 10 occasions, including a season-high of 17 in a 1-0 loss at Smith College on October 1. 

For her career, McNamara has started all 57 matches she's appeared in, while playing 3746:54 minutes. She ranks third on the Sharks career list with 384 saves and 10 shutouts, while posting a 1.86 goals against average and a .785 save mark. The Cape Cod native was named the GNAC Rookie of the Year in 2017 and was also tapped to the All-Conference Second Team. Following each of her first two seasons, she was tabbed to the Zag Field Hockey/National Field Hockey Coaches Association Division III National Academic Squad and earned a spot on the GNAC Academic All-Conference Team a year ago. 

Courtesy of GNAC Athletics Communications Offices.