WOMEN'S SOCCER: JWU’s Cairrao Voted 2019 GNAC Offensive Player of the Year

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

GNAC champion Wildcats
place seven on All-GNAC squads

WINTHROP, Mass. – Fresh off scoring both goals in the Wildcats' 2-1 Great Northeast Athletic Conference Championship victory and earning Tournament MVP honors this past Saturday, Johnson & Wales University (RI) junior Olivia Cairrao has been named the 2019 GNAC Women's Soccer Offensive Player of the Year, it was announced on Monday.

The league office announced its major award winners and all-conference squads, as voted upon by the league's 13 head coaches. The GNAC also unveiled its 2019 All-Sportsmanship Team. For the complete results, please see below.

Named the 2017 GNAC Rookie of the Year two seasons ago, Cairrao – the GNAC goals and points leader – will enter the NCAA Division III Tournament with 20 goals and seven assists for 47 points. She also has five game-winning goals.

The offensive standout was joined by three Wildcats teammates on the All-GNAC First Team in fellow forward Jordan Restivo (the 2018 GNAC Rookie of the Year), midfielder Cat Nolan and defender Olivia Pellegrino.

For the second straight season, Emmanuel College senior Kaylin Deschenes was voted the GNAC Defensive Player of the Year. The Lynn, Mass. native helped the Saints backline allow a mere 12 goals in GNAC play en route to the No. 3 seed in the GNAC Tournament and a spot in the conference semifinals. Deschenes chipped in offensively with four goals and three helpers for 11 points.

Colby-Sawyer College first-year midfielder Sydney Jimmo was a runaway choice for the 2019 GNAC Rookie of the Year award, as the Chargers freshman jumped onto the GNAC scene by totaling 26 points on 12 goals (fifth-best in GNAC) and two assists.

Saint Joseph's College of Maine sophomore Adia Grogan was named the GNAC Goalkeeper of the Year after garnering All-GNAC First Team accolades. Grogan was stellar throughout the playoffs en route to GNAC All-Tournament honors. She ranked first among conference keepers in save percentage (.865) and second in goals-against average (0.94).

Monks teammates Jade Jordan and McKenzie Murphy also represented SJC on the All-GNAC First Team.

From Suffolk University, second-year Rams head coach Ashley Van Vechten was voted the 2019 GNAC Coach of the Year. The former Rochester standout guided Suffolk to an 8-4 mark in GNAC play, good for the No. 4 seed in the GNAC Tournament. The impressive Rams' campaign came on the heels of a 3-8-1 GNAC (4-10-1 overall) record in 2018 and a 10th-place finish in this year's coaches' preseason poll.

First Team
F – Natalie Dash, Emmanuel (Mass.)
F – Olivia Cairrao, Johnson & Wales (RI)
F – Jordan Restivo, Johnson & Wales (RI)
M – Sydney Jimmo, Colby-Sawyer
M – Cat Nolan, Johnson & Wales (RI)
M – Jade Jordan, Saint Joseph's (Me.)
M – McKenzie Murphy, Saint Joseph's (Me.)
B – Kaylin Deschenes, Emmanuel (Mass.)
B – Olivia Pellegrino, Johnson & Wales (RI)
B – Korynne Provenzano, Lasell
GK – Adia Grogan, Saint Joseph's (Me.)

Second Team
F – Haley Andrews, Albertus Magnus
F – Karyssa Lachance, Norwich
F – Kayley Mattos, Saint Joseph's (Me.)
M – Sydney Allen, Emmanuel (Mass.)
M – Jaclyn Larsen, Johnson & Wales (RI)
M – Bobbi O'Guin, Lasell
M – Rachel Kelly, Regis (Mass.)
B – Chloe Henriksen, Johnson & Wales (RI)
B – Peggy Balboni, Saint Joseph's (Me.)
B – Lauren Brandau, Simmons
GK – Colleen Lynch, Johnson & Wales (RI)

Third Team
F – Katherine Raposo, Albertus Magnus
F – Kaylee Francis, Regis (Mass.)
F – Caleigh O'Brien, Suffolk
M – Abba McKenelley, Emmanuel (Mass.)
M – Caitlin Rotonnelli, Lasell
M – Sydney Rocheville, Norwich
M – Izabella Warren, Simmons
B – Thea Alberti, Colby-Sawyer
B – Rachel Prevost, Emmanuel (Mass.)
B – Jenna Banta, St. Joseph (Conn.)
GK – Allison Rodrigues, Suffolk

GNAC Offensive Player of the Year – Olivia Cairrao, Johnson & Wales (RI)
GNAC Defensive Player of the Year – Kaylin Deschenes, Emmanuel (Mass.)
GNAC Goalkeeper Player of the Year – Adia Grogan, Saint Joseph's (Me.)
GNAC Rookie of the Year – Sydney Jimmo, Colby-Sawyer
GNAC Coach of the Year – Ashley Van Vechten, Suffolk
GNAC Institutional Sportsmanship Award – University of Saint Joseph (CT)

2019 GNAC All-Sportsmanship Team
Amanda McGeehan, Albertus Magnus
Karlyn Brown, Anna Maria
Raina Ceryak, Colby-Sawyer
Taylor Rathbun, Emmanuel
Tiana Strachan, JWU
Kyla Bragg, Lasell
Mary-Kait Mace, Norwich
Shelagh O'Neil, Regis
Ashley Glynn, Rivier
Olivia Belcourt, Saint Joseph (CT)
Cori Balam, Saint Joseph's (Me.)
Amber Nobbs, Simmons 
Emerson Wildes, Suffolk

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. Founded in 1995, the GNAC annually sponsors and administers 20 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunity and community involvement in an effort to enhance the student-athlete experience. 

– #TheGNAC –