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Somerset, NJ -- For only the second time in league history, the Northeast Conference crowned a double award winner as Quinnipiac freshman midfielder Kirsten van de Ven (Heesch, Holland) was named the NEC Player and Rookie of the Year in a vote by league head coaches. Fairleigh Dickinson’s Peter Gaglioti, who piloted the Knights to an unbeaten league record (6-0-3) and their first-ever NEC regular season crown, was tabbed NEC Coach of the Year by his peers. The awards were presented at a banquet on the eve of the 2004 NEC Women’s Soccer Tournament, set to commence on Friday, November 5 at Fairleigh Dickinson’s University Field in Teaneck, NJ. In the semifinals, top-seeded Fairleigh Dickinson will face #4 Sacred Heart at 11:00 am, while two-time defending NEC champion and #2 seed Central Connecticut State meets #3 Quinnipiac at 1:30 pm. The championship match is slated for Sunday, November 7 at 11:00 am. The winner of the NEC championship will receive the league’s automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament. First round NCAA action begins on Friday, November 12 at campus sites.
van de Ven, who has emerged as one of the leading freshman point producers in the nation, joins Central Connecticut State’s Jane McFarlane (1997) as the only NEC players to be honored as the league’s top player and rookie in the same season. The native of Heesch, Holland took the conference by storm in 2004 and helped lead the Bobcats back to the postseason after a two-year absence. She has had a hand in 23 of Quinnipiac’s 27 goals on the year and enters the postseason on a tear, having accumulated 20 points (seven goals and six assists) in her last seven outings entering tourney play. van de Ven leads the NEC in all three major offensive categories with 12 goals, 11 assists and 35 points. She also ranks 17th in the nation in scoring (2.0 ppg) and 18th in assists (0.59 apg), but stands third in both categories among freshman competitors. van de Ven becomes the second Quinnipiac player to win a major league award, joining Elisa Goncalves, who was chosen NEC Rookie of the Year in 1999 and NEC Player of the Year in 2000.
Regular season champion Fairleigh Dickinson was rewarded for its play with three competitors named first team all-conference. Graduate student midfielder Julia Ralph (Auldearn-Nairn, NY/Monroe-Woodbury) and freshman defender Amanda Wheeler (Marlton, NJ/Cherokee) make their initial all-star appearance, while senior goalkeeper Andrea Maston (Fredericton, New Brunswick/Fredericton) earns kudos for the second time in her career. Ralph, who has competed internationally and participated in the UEFA Cup Championships, leads the Knights with 41 shots on the season, and has contributed three goals and 11 points. Wheeler, who is one of several standout freshman on this year’s FDU squad, helped neutralize opposing offenses as the Knights permitted a league-low five goals all season against conference competitors. Maston has been terrific between the pipes for Fairleigh Dickinson, posting a 1.44 goals against average, including a league-best 0.53 GAA in league play. She also leads the NEC with five shutouts.
Central Connecticut State matched FDU’s total of three players tabbed to the league’s first team. Senior forward Kelly Shimmin (Liverpool, England/Neston) and senior defender Denise Thomas (Rotherham, England/St. Bernard’s) are repeat honorees, while sophomore forward Jessica McCavanagh (Massapequa, NY/Massapequa) is a first-time selection. A two-time NEC Player of the Year and three-time first team pick, Shimmin is presently tied for third in the conference in goals (nine), assists (six) and points (24), and is the league leader with five game-winning goals. One of the most decorated players in NEC annals, Thomas has been named first team all-conference in each of her four years at CCSU, and is a former NEC Player of the Year (2001) and NEC Rookie of the Year (2000). A stellar defender who has played on the Irish National team, the Rotherham, England native anchors a defense that has allowed one goal or less in 11 contests and posted five shutouts. McCavanagh makes the logical jump from NEC Rookie of the Year in 2003 to first team status this season. One of the most prolific scorers in the region, McCavanagh has contributed 10 goals, seven assists and 28 points to rank second in the conference in all three categories.
Long Island features a pair of first team honorees in senior midfielder Nichole Lopez (Highland Hills, NY/Monroe-Woodbury) and junior forward Jackie McCormick (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool). Both were named to the all-conference second team a year ago and tied for the team scoring lead in 2004 with 13 points. Lopez contributed four goals, while her team-high five assists ties her for sixth in the circuit. McCormick was the Blackbirds’ top goal scorer with six, a figure that ranks her sixth in the NEC.
Monmouth junior midfielder Kate Sands (Cranford, NJ/Cranford) and Wagner junior defender Betty Ann Rogers (Mt. Holly, NJ/ George School) round out the 2004 all-NEC first team. Sands, who led the Hawks in goals (nine), assists (six) and points (24), is tied for third in the conference in each of the three categories. Selected as a first team all-star for the third time, she boosted her career marks to 26 goals, 12 assists and 64 points. Rogers is also a three-time all-conference player who makes her second consecutive first team appearance. A lockdown defender, Rogers was the backbone of a Wagner team that despite its record, lost eight matches by only one goal.
All ten NEC women’s soccer programs placed a player on the all-conference second team with Sacred Heart the only school to have two of its players showcased. The Pioneers’ Orlagh Cullen (Offaly, Ireland/C.C.R.I.), a junior midfielder, and Randie Quaglia (Manchester, CT/Manchester), a sophomore defender, helped Sacred Heart to its fourth consecutive NEC Tournament berth, the longest active streak in the conference. Cullen has registered three assists on the season, while Quaglia is the centerpiece of a stingy defense that ranks second in the conference with just 19 goals yielded in 17 matches.
Two players tabbed to the second team - Central Connecticut State junior midfielder Sophie Hopper (West Yorkshire, England/Calder) and St. Francis (PA) junior midfielder Meghan Pearson (Stony Point, NY/North Rockland) - are making return all-star engagements. Hopper, a first team honoree in 2002, is a creative playmaker who is tied for third in the NEC with six assists. Pearson contributed two goals on a Red Flash team that fell just short of a playoff bid this season.
The future of the NEC, at least on the offensive end, may lie in the hands of the three second team all-conference forwards, all of whom are freshmen. Fairleigh Dickinson’s Tonya Hipsman (Chester, NY/Chester), Monmouth’s Amy Hoyer (Trenton, NJ/Northern Burlington) and Wagner’s Danielle Telleria (Orlando, FL/Winter Springs) combined for 17 goals and seven assists in their first season of intercollegiate competition. Hipsman, a two-time NEC Player of the Week and three-time NEC Rookie of the Week, paces the Knights with eight goals, three assists and 19 points. She is fifth in the conference in both goals and scoring. Hoyer finished the year with five goals and 11 points, which ranked second overall on the Hawks and first among freshmen players. Telleria topped Wagner in nearly every statistical category with four goals, including two of the game-winning variety, to go along with three assists and 11 points.
Joining Sacred Heart’s Quaglia on the second team defensive unit are Long Island senior Tiffany Clendenning (Ronkonkoma, NY/Sachem), Quinnipiac freshman Laura van Leeuwen (Aalsmeer, Holland) and Robert Morris junior Angela Story (Moon Township, PA/Moon Area). The Blackbirds’ Clendenning helped spearhead the NEC’s top-ranked defense which permitted a mere 17 goals in 16 games. Both van Leeuwen and Story gave their teams some offensive pop out of the backfield this season. van Leeuwen tallied two goals and two assists for the Bobcats, while Story, a local product for the Colonials, scored a goal and tied for the team lead with four assists.
Rounding out the all-NEC second team is Mount St. Mary’s senior goalkeeper Margaret Pyzik (Bel Air, MD/John Carroll). Pyzik finished the regular season third in the NEC with 5.8 saves per outing and posted a 1.87 goals against average and .770 save percentage.
2004 NEC Women's Soccer Award Winners
Player of the Year
Kirsten van de Ven Quinnipiac MF 5-6 Fr. Heesch, Holland
Rookie of the Year
Kirsten van de Ven Quinnipiac MF 5-6 Fr. Heesch, Holland
Coach of the Year
Peter Gaglioti Fairleigh Dickinson
2004 NEC Women's Soccer First Team All-Conference
Name School Pos. Ht. Yr Hometown/High School
Jess McCavanaugh CCSU F 5-6 So. Massapequa, NY/Massapequa
Jackie McCormick Long Island F 5-9 Jr. Liverpool, NY/Liverpool
Kelly Shimmin CCSU F 5-2 Sr. Liverpool, England/Neston
Nichole Lopez Long Island MF 5-6 Sr. Highland Mills, NY/Monroe-Woodbury
Julia Ralph FDU MF 5-3 Gr. Auldearn-Nairn, Scotland/Nairn Academy
Kate Sands Monmouth MF 5-6 Jr. Cranford, NJ/Cranford
Kirsten van de Ven Quinnipiac MF 5-6 Fr. Heesch, Holland
Betty Ann Rogers Wagner D 5-7 Jr. Mt. Holly, NJ/George School
Denise Thomas CSU D 5-7 Sr. Rotherham, England/St. Bernards
Amanda Wheeler FDU D 5-6 Fr. Marlton, NJ/Cherokee
Andrea Maston FDU GK 5-8 Sr. Fredericton, New Brunswick/Fredericton
2004 NEC Women's Soccer Second Team All-Conference
Name School Pos. Ht. Yr Hometown/High School
Tonya Hipsman FDU F 5-8 Fr. Chester, NY/Chester
Amy Hoyer Monmouth F 5-4 Fr. Trenton, NJ/Northern Burlington
Danielle Telleria Wagner F 5-5 Fr. Orlando, FL/Winter Springs
Orlagh Cullen Sacred Heart MF 5-9 Jr. Offaly, Ireland/C.C.R.I.
Sophie Hopper CCSU MF 5-8 Jr. West Yorkshire, England/Calder
Meghan Pearson St. Francis (PA) MF 5-4 Jr. Stony Point, NY/North Rockland
Tiffany Clendenning Long Island D 5-5 Sr. Ronkonkoma, NY/Sachem
Randie Quaglia Sacred Heart D 5-6 So. Manchester, CT/Manchester
Angela Story Robert Morris D 5-6 Jr. Moon Township, PA/Moon Area
Laura van Leeuwen Quinnipiac D 5-10 Fr. Aalsmeer, Holland
Margaret Pyzik Mount St. Mary’s GK 5-8 Sr. Bel Air, MD/John Carroll