Seven memebers of the women’s soccer program earn GNAC honors

Seven memebers of the women’s soccer program earn GNAC honors

STANDISH, Maine – The 2018 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Women's Soccer postseason accolades have been announced and seven members of the Saint Joseph's College program have earned honors.

The Monks' list is highlighted by a pair of yearly awards, as senior forward Haley DaGraca (Saco, Maine) has been named as the GNAC Offensive Player of the Year and sixth-year Head Coach Jenelle Harris has been selected as the GNAC Coach of the Year.

DaGraca has earned First Team All-Conference honors for the fourth-consecutive season while junior midfielder Jade Jordan (Baldwin, Maine), senior defender Skye Murray (Dayton, Maine), and freshman goalkeeper Adia Grogan (Kennebunk, Maine) have claimed Second Team accolades and senior forward Colleen Sheehan (Medway, Mass.) and sophomore midfielder McKenzie Murphy (West Baldwin, Maine) have been listed on the Third Team.

Harris earns the third GNAC Coach of the Year honor of her career after leading the Monks to a 16-3 overall record, including a 10-2 mark in conference play, en route to claiming the #2 seed in the GNAC Tournament. Under her watch, Saint Joseph's defeated top-seeded Lasell College, 1-0, in the GNAC Championship, providing the Monks with the first GNAC title and NCAA Tournament berth in program history.

In six years at the helm, Harris owns a 71-39-7 (.607) career record and ranks second in team history in victories. She was also named as the GNAC Coach of the Year in 2013 and 2016.

DaGraca collects GNAC Offensive Player of the Year honors for the second time in the last three seasons after leading the conference in goals (19), points (44) and game-winning goals (7). By wide margins she is the Monks' career leader in goals (69), points (153), game-winners (20), and shots (401) and she currently ranks sixth in points and goals among all active NCAA DIII Women's Soccer players.

Jordan, a mainstay in the middle of the pitch for the Monks, claims the first All-Conference award of her career after starting 17 games this fall. For her career she has played in 57 games with a goal and 33 shots, including 15 on goal.

Murray, also a first-time All-Conference honoree, has played in 18 games with 11 starts during her senior season. In 64 career games, the four-year contributor has tallied three assists with five shots, including two on goal.

Grogan garners Second Team All-Conference honors after posting a 1.04 goals-against average with a 15-3 record and six shutouts while starting all 19 games as a freshman. The first-year starter made 88 saves with 19 goals allowed in 1,648 minutes for a .822 save percentage and led the GNAC in wins and ranked second in minutes, goals-against average, and save percentage and third in shutouts.

Sheehan claims her first All-GNAC award after tallying five goals and eight assists for 18 total points in 16 contests during her senior season. She leads the Monks in assists and ranks second on the squad in points and heads into the NCAA Tournament with 15 goals and 26 assists for 56 total points in 71 contests. Sheehan currently ranks second in program history in assists and 15th in total points.

Murphy collects her first All-Conference nod after scoring five goals – including three game-winners – with two assists for 12 total points during a breakout sophomore campaign. In two years with the Monks she has played in 39 games, including 36 starts, with seven goals and four assists for 18 points.

GNAC RELEASE:

WINTHROP, Mass. – Saint Joseph's College of Maine senior forward Haley DaGraca has been selected as the 2018 Great Northeast Athletic Conference Women's Soccer Offensive Player of the Year, as voted upon by the league's head coaches. The GNAC office unveiled its annual all-conference teams on Monday.

DaGraca was also named the 2018 GNAC Tournament MVP on Sunday as the Monks won their first GNAC title in program history, downing Lasell College on the road, 1-0, to end the Lasers' streak of eight straight GNAC crowns. Also chosen as the GNAC Offensive Player of the Year in 2016, she led the GNAC in both goals (19) and points (44) this season as the Monks now prepare for the NCAA Tournament under head coach Jenelle Harris, who was voted the GNAC Coach of the Year by her peers.

For the complete All-Conference and All-Sportsmanship selections, please see below.

While Saint Joe's led the way with six All-Conference selections, Emmanuel was just off the pace with five – all of whom were voted to the 2018 All-GNAC First Team in junior forward Natalie Dash, senior midfielders Kayla Generis and Mikayla Guthrie, junior back Kaylin Deschanes, and senior goalkeeper Lexi Gawron.

Deschanes was selected as the league's Defensive Player of the Year in front of Gawron, who as the First Team goalkeeper selection received Goalkeeper of the Year honors, as well. She led the GNAC in both save percentage (.855) and goals-against average (0.68) for the Saints.

Offensively, Guthrie was second among GNAC leaders in points (35), third in goals (14) and third in assists (7), while Dash and Generis both registered 26 points this fall.  

Johnson & Wales University (RI) freshman forward Jordan Restivo, an All-GNAC Second Team selection, was named the 2018 GNAC Rookie of the Year as she was tied for fourth among league leaders with 28 points on 11 goals and six assists. Also from JWU, junior back Kayla Juliana represented the Wildcats on the First Team.

Longtime GNAC powerhouse Lasell had five All-Conference selections overall and three on the First Team: senior forward Carly Zdanek, senior midfielder Erika Badger and senior back Sabrina Morais. Zdanek had 10 goals and five helpers, while Badger had nine goals and three assists.

 

First Team
F – Natalie Dash, Emmanuel (Mass.) (Jr., East Hampton, Conn.)
F – Carly Zdanek, Lasell (Sr., Newton, N.J.)
F – Haley DaGraca, Saint Joseph's (Maine) (Sr., Saco, Maine)
M – Kayla Generis, Emmanuel (Mass.) (Sr., Wethersfield, Conn.)
M – Mikayla Guthrie, Emmanuel (Mass.) (Sr., North Andover, Mass.)
M – Olivia Cairrao, Johnson & Wales (RI) (So., Bristol, R.I.)
M – Erika Badger, Lasell (Sr., Scituate, Mass.)
B – Kaylin Deschenes, Emmanuel (Mass.) (Jr., Lynn, Mass.)
B – Kayla Juliana, Johnson & Wales (RI) (Sr., Freehold, N.J.)
B – Sabrina Morais, Lasell (Sr., Arlington, Mass.)
GK – Lexi Gawron, Emmanuel (Mass.) (Jr., South Hadley, Mass.)

Second Team
F – Hannah Fields, Colby-Sawyer (Sr., Shapleigh, Maine)
F – Jordan Restivo, Johnson & Wales (RI) (Fr., Utica, N.Y.)
F – Kaylee Francis, Regis (Mass.) (Fr., Millis, Mass.)
M – Amanda Martin, Colby-Sawyer (Sr., Amesbury, Mass.)
M – Morgan Pinksten, Lasell (Sr., Pelham, N.H.)
M – Jade Jordan, Saint Joseph's (Maine) (Jr., Baldwin, Maine)
M – Ciara Forde, Simmons (Sr., Quincy, Mass.)
B – Kali Trunca, Johnson & Wales (RI) (Sr., Litchfield, N.H.)
B – Jenna Banta, St. Joseph (Conn.) (Fr., Montville, Conn.)
B – Skye Murray, Saint Joseph's (Maine) (Sr., Dayton, Maine)
GK – Adia Grogan, Saint Joseph's (Maine) (Fr., Kennebunk, Maine)

Third Team
F – Haley Andrews, Albertus Magnus (Fr., Prospect, Conn.)
F – Deja Hursey, Johnson & Wales (RI) (Sr., Columbia, Md.)
F – Colleen Sheehan, Saint Joseph's (Maine) (Sr., Medway, Mass.)
M – Abbie Sansoucy, Colby-Sawyer (Sr., Douglas, Mass.)
M – Molly McCormack, Johnson & Wales (RI) (Jr., Livingston, N.J.)
M – Rachel Kelly, Regis (Mass.) (Jr., Whitman, Mass.)
M – McKenzie Murphy, Saint Joseph's (Maine) (So., West Baldwin, Maine)
B – Morgan Keene, Colby-Sawyer (Sr., Barre, Vt.)
B – Korynne Provenzano, Lasell (So., Stratham, N.H.)
B – Mallory Cottam, Simmons (Sr., Hope, R.I.)
GK – Oriana Attridge, Regis (Mass.) (Fr., Westwood, Mass.)

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Haley DaGraca, Saint Joseph's (Maine) 
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR –
 Kaylin Deschenes, Emmanuel (Mass.)
GOALKEEPER OF THE YEAR –
 Lexi Gawron, Emmanuel (Mass.)
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR –
 Jordan Restivo, Johnson & Wales (RI)
COACH OF THE YEAR –
 Jenelle Harris, Saint Joseph's (Maine)
INSTITUTIONAL SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD –
 Anna Maria College

ALL-SPORTSMANSHIP TEAM
Meghan Lendroth, Albertus Magnus (So., East Haven, Conn.)
Courtney Hile, Anna Maria (Fr., Elliottsburg, Pa.)
Amanda Martin, Colby Sawyer (Sr.,  Amesbury, Mass.)
Emma Johnson, Emmanuel (Mass.) (So. Ellington, Conn.)
Danielle Barone, Johnson & Wales (RI) (Sr., Staten Island, N.Y.)
Sabrina Morais, Lasell (Sr., Arlington, Mass.)
Mary-Kait Mace, Norwich (Jr., Canton, N.Y.)
Erin Filetti, Regis (Mass.) (Newburyport, Mass.)
Carley Bostwick, Rivier (So., Lowell, Mass.)
Amanda Ghent, Saint Joseph (Conn.) (Sr., Portland, Conn.)
Angela Valenti, Saint Joseph's (Maine) (Sr., Litchfield, N.H.)
Kristen Mihalich, Simmons (Jr., East Rockaway, N.Y.)
Emerson Wildes, Suffolk (Jr., Dudley, Mass.)


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. 

 

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Founded in 1912 by the Sisters of Mercy in Portland, Maine, Saint Joseph’s College is Maine’s Catholic liberal arts college in the Mercy tradition. We are inclusive of all faiths, including no faith. The 474-acre campus, located on the shore of Sebago Lake in Standish, Maine offers more than 40 undergraduate programs and a Division III athletic program to a population of approximately 1,000 on-campus students. A pioneer of distance education since the 1970s, the College also provides online certificates and undergraduate and graduate degrees for thousands more working adults who reside in more than 20 other countries. In 2015 the College was selected by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching to receive its Community Engagement Classification, highlighting the College’s focus on community service throughout its mission and daily interactions within local, regional, and global communities. In 2018, Princeton Review recognized SJC as one of its “Green Colleges” for its sustainability initiatives. Learn more at www.sjcme.edu.