WINTHROP, Mass. – The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Field Hockey postseason honors have been released and two-time GNAC Champion Saint Joseph's College features six players who have earned accolades.
Sophomore forward Libby Pomerleau (Limerick, Maine) and Hayley Winslow (Falmouth, Maine) headline the awards for the Monks, as Pomerleau has been named as the GNAC Offensive Player of the Year and Winslow is the 2017 GNAC Defensive Player of the Year.
Pomerleau and Winslow are joined on the All-GNAC First Team by senior midfielder Elyse Caiazzo (Scarborough, Maine/Cheverus) and junior defender Kayla Veilleux (Sabattus, Maine) while junior forward Kayla Kelly (York, Maine) and junior midfielder Arianna Kahler (Lisbon Falls, Maine) have claimed Second Team honors.
Pomerleau, the 2016 GNAC Rookie of the Year, collects First Team All-GNAC honors for the second-consecutive season after netting 21 goals with five assists for 47 total points over 20 games. She leads the conference in goals (and tied an SJC single-season record) and game-winners (8) and ranks second in the GNAC in points. In two seasons, Pomerleau has tallied 37 goals and 15 assists for 89 points with 16 game-winners in 41 career games. She already owns the Monks' career game-winning goals record, ranks third in team history in goals, and fourth in points.
Pomerleau is the third player in program history to earn conference Offensive Player of the Year honors, as she joins Julia Ostrowski '10 (2009) and Courtney Rague '11 (2010) on the short list.
Winslow earns First Team All-Conference accolades for the second year in a row after establishing career-highs in goals (6), assists (2), points (14), shots (29), shots on goal (21), and game-winning goals (3) during her senior season. For her career, the 2017 team co-captain has played in 76 games with 14 goals and five assists for 33 points with four game-clinchers and three defensive saves. She currently ranks third in team history in games played.
Winslow is the third conference Defensive Player of the Year honoree, as she joins Meaghan Johnson '12 (2011) and Theresa Hendrix '15 (2014) on the exclusive list.
Caiazzo also claims First Team All-GNAC honors for the second-straight season after dishing out five assists in 19 games this fall. The three-year starter has played and started in 59 games in her career with seven goals and 10 assists for 24 points along with four game-winners.
Veilleux collects her first All-Conference honor after posting a team-high three defensive saves while starting all 20 games this season. An elite defender, Veilleux has notched nine defensive saves in two seasons and ranks third in program history in the category.
In the midst of a breakout season, Kelly earns her first All-GNAC accolade after netting 10 goals with three assists for 23 points – all career-highs – this fall. She ranks second on the team in goals and points and has also netted a pair of game-winners on the season.
Kahler, a 2016 First Team All-GNAC honoree, collects Second Team honors after scoring two goals with four assists for eight points – all career-highs – in 20 starts this season. The team co-captain has been a defensive standout from the moment she arrived on campus as a freshman and has started in 59 games during her collegiate career.
Saint Joseph's, which defeated top-seeded Lasell College in the 2017 GNAC Championship on Saturday, has earned the GNAC's automatic qualifier into the NCAA DIII Tournament and will face University of New England in the opening round in Biddeford at 5:00 PM on Wednesday.
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Saint Joseph's College is Maine's only Catholic liberal arts college, providing a supportive, personalized and career-focused education for more than 100 years. From its 474-acre campus on the shores of Sebago Lake, the College offers more than 40 undergraduate programs to a population of approximately 1,000 students. Saint Joseph's College Online provides certificates, undergraduate and advanced degrees for working adults through an online learning program. For more, visit www.sjcme.edu.
