Skip to navigation Skip to content Skip to footer
Great Northeast Athletic Conference

Monks' DaGraca Named 2016 GNAC Women's Soccer Player of the Year

The GNAC announced its All-Conference selections on Monday, with Lasell and JWU both landing seven players on the three teams.

Monks' DaGraca Named 2016 GNAC Women's Soccer Player of the Year
November 7, 2016


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Lasell, JWU land seven
each on All-Conference Teams

WINTHROP, Mass. – Saint Joseph's College of Maine sophomore Haley DaGraca has been named the 2016 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Women's Soccer Offensive Player of the Year, as voted upon by the league's 12 head coaches.

The league office also announced its All-Conference selections and other major award winners on Monday, with seven-time reigning GNAC champion Lasell College and Johnson & Wales University both landing seven student-athletes apiece on the three All-Conference Teams. For the complete list of All-Conference selections, please see below.

JWU senior back Nadine Simpson and Lasell senior back Mack Kingman were voted the Co-Defensive Players of the Year, while JWU freshman Colleen Lynch was named both the 2016 GNAC Rookie of the Year and Goalkeeper of the Year. Saint Joseph's of Maine head coach Jenelle Harris was selected as the GNAC Coach of the Year, per a vote by her peers.

DaGraca earned Offensive Player of the Year and First Team accolades after finishing second in the GNAC in points (45) on 21 goals and three assists for the Monks, who earned the No. 4 seed in the GNAC Tournament.

Simpson was the lynchpin for the JWU backline in front of Lynch, as JWU allowed just three goals in-conference, with Lynch led the GNAC in save percentage (.877), goals-against average (0.54) and goals against (10).

Kingman, along with teammate and fellow First Team selection Erika Badger, limited GNAC opponents to just six goals, while allowing a league-low 14 goals overall on the year.

Lasell senior and last fall's GNAC Player of the Year Megan Cullen, who scored the game-winner in Saturday's 2-1 win for the Lasers in the GNAC title game, was a First Team selection. Cullen tied DaGraca for the GNAC-lead in goals (21) and was first in points (47). Meanwhile JWU junior Kyra Selner was also a First Team honoree at forward, as she had 17 goals and six helpers for 40 points.

At midfield, Albertus Magnus College junior Angelina Piccirillo, Lasell sophomore Carly Zdanek, Simmons College junior Kashka Gammon and Suffolk junior Jessica Martin earned All-Conference First Team honors.

Piccirillo had six goals and two assists, while Zdanek had 10 goals and a GNAC-high nine assists for the Lasers. Martin was fifth in the GNAC in assists (16) and tied for second with Gammon among league leaders with seven assists.

Founded in 1995, the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 12 member institutions and over 3,000 student-athletes across the New England region. Each year, the GNAC sponsors and administers 17 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunities and community involvement. 

First Team
F – Kyra Selner, Johnson & Wales (RI) (Jr., Sterling, Va.)
F – Megan Cullen, Lasell (Sr., Amesbury, Mass.)
F – Haley DaGraca, Saint Joseph's (Me.) (So., Saco, Maine)
M – Angelina Piccirillo, Albertus Magnus (Jr., Naugatuck, Conn.)
M – Carly Zdanek, Lasell (So., Newton, N.J.)
M – Kashka Gammon, Simmons (Jr., Nashua N.H.)
M – Jennifer Martin, Suffolk (Jr., Higganum, Conn.)
B – Nadine Simpson, Johnson & Wales (RI) (Sr., Bellmore, N.Y.)
B – Erika Badger, Lasell (So., Scituate, Mass.)
B – Mack Kingman, Lasell (Sr., East Bridgewater, Mass.)
GK – Colleen Lynch, Johnson & Wales (RI) (Fr., New Milford, Conn.)

Second Team
 F – Danielle Polvan, Albertus Magnus (Sr., East Haven, Conn.)
F – Maggie Cohoon, Rivier (Sr., Derry, N.H.)
F – Alexandra Nagri, Suffolk (Jr., Salem, N.H.)
M – Maggie Carey, Emmanuel (Mass.) (Sr., Swampscott, Mass.)
M – SaraKate Matthews, Johnson & Wales (RI) (Sr., Northborough, Mass.)
M – Sarah Comtois, Saint Joseph's (Me.) (Jr., Lowell, Mass.)
M – Ciara Forde, Simmons (So., Quincy, Mass.)
B – Alexis Mack, Albertus Magnus (Sr., Meriden, Conn.)
B – Taylor Rotella, Albertus Magnus (Sr., Milford, Conn.)
B – Emily DeLuca, Saint Joseph's (Me.) (Jr., Gorham, Maine)
GK – Sarah LaClair, Lasell (Jr., Belchertown, Mass.)

Third Team
 F – Deja Hursey, Johnson & Wales (RI) (So., Columbia, Md.)
F – Jessica Spezzano, St. Joseph (Conn.) (Jr., Watertown, Conn.)
F – Rachel Gilbert, Simmons (Fr., Falmouth, Mass.)
M – Molly McCormack, Johnson & Wales (RI) (Fr., Livingston, N.J.)
M – Devon Day, Lasell (Sr., Hartland, Vt.)
M – Sabrina Morais, Lasell (So., Arlington, Mass.)
M – Desiree Parent, Saint Joseph's (Me.) (Sr., Westborough, Mass.)
B – Toni Simpson, Johnson & Wales (RI) (Sr., Bellmore, N.Y.)
B – Tasha Friedman, Simmons (Sr., Phoenix Ariz.)
B – Jessie Pratt, Simmons (Jr., Westfield Mass.)
GK – Brooke Troup, Saint Joseph's (Me.) (Jr., East Bridgewater, Mass.)

Offensive Player of the Year – Haley DaGraca, Saint Joseph's (Me.)
Co-Defensive Players of the Year – Nadine Simpson, Johnson & Wales (RI); Mack Kingman, Lasell
Rookie of the Year – Colleen Lynch, Johnson & Wales (RI)
Goalkeeper of the Year – Colleen Lynch, Johnson & Wales (RI)
Coach of the Year – Jenelle Harris, Saint Joseph's (Me.)
Institutional Sportsmanship Award – Mount Ida College

All-Sportsmanship Team
Erin Daly, Albertus Magnus (Fr., Seymour, Conn.)
Paige Leighton, Anna Maria (Sr., Georgetown, Mass.)
Molly Keefe, Emmanuel (Sr., Manchester, N.H.)
Anna Goerler, Johnson & Wales (Sr., Cutchogue, N.Y.)
Chloe Shugrue, Lasell (Fr., Worcester, Mass.)
AnnaMarie Seiler, Mount Ida (Fr., Biddeford, Maine)
Ashley Carvalho, Norwich (Jr., Pinellas Park, Fla.)
Megan Hamel, Rivier (So., Colebrook, N.H.)
Shelby Tallman, Saint Joseph (CT) (Jr., Colchester, Conn.)
Desiree Parent, Saint Joseph's (ME) (Sr., Westborough, Mass.)
Elise Nothacker, Simmons (Sr., Philadelphia, Pa.)
Shannon Simmons, Suffolk (Sr., Arlington, Mass.)

– #TheGNAC –