NEW HAVEN, Conn. (November 3, 2014) -- Post University senior standout Renel Dennis on Monday was named the 2014 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) Women's Soccer Player of the Year, as announced by Commissioner Dan Mara. The announcement of Dennis' impressive honor highlighted a list of several women's soccer standouts who earned major awards and all-conference accolades from the CACC during the day.

Joining Dennis in winning major awards were Philadelphia University's Hannah Palese (2014 CACC Defender of the Year), Georgian Court University's Elizabeth Kroon (2014 CACC Rookie of the Year), and Post University's Matt Micros (2014 CACC Coach of the Year).

The announcement of Palese's Defender of the Year award marked the first time in conference history the CACC bestowed the honor on a student-athlete. It is a new initiative the CACC is undertaking with men's and women's soccer, men's and women's basketball, volleyball, and women's lacrosse in 2014-15.

Dennis put together a fantastic regular season for Post, as she led the league with 16 goals and 36 points. She scored multiple goals in five contests, including a season-high four in a 5-1 win over Goldey-Beacom on Sept. 20. Dennis also recorded hat-tricks with three goals apiece in wins at Chestnut Hill (6-0) on Sept. 13, Nyack (3-1) on Sept. 30, and at Bloomfield (8-2) on Oct. 29 in the regular season finale. Four of her tallies went for game-winners.

She totaled at least three shots in 14 matches, including a season-high 11 against Goldey-Beacom, while firing off nine apiece in back-to-back contests versus Holy Family and Nyack.

In addition to being named the player of the year, Dennis also landed on the All-CACC First-Team at forward. It marked the second-consecutive season Dennis was placed on the league's top squad.

Palese was tabbed as the CACC's top defensive player after she helped anchor a backend unit for the Rams this season that posted 11 shutouts, including a string of four-straight from Sept. 27 to Oct. 7. Philadelphia U. had a team goals against average of 0.52 and a team save percentage of .881, which ranked as some of the best marks in the league.

She started all 18 matches in the regular season, and even contributed some offense with three shots and an assist this year. Palese's stellar play in the backend also enabled her to gain a spot on the All-CACC First-Team for the first time in her career.

Kroon was voted as the conference's top freshman following an impressive rookie campaign in the regular season. She struck home 10 goals to rank fourth in the CACC, while also adding a trio of assists for 23 points, which was the fourth best mark in the league. Four of her strikes went for game-winners, which was third best in the conference.

Kroon burst onto the scene at the beginning of the season by going for five points each (2 g, 1 a) in two of the first three contests, including sending home the game-winning marker in a 3-0 triumph at Bloomfield on Sept. 13. She also ended her regular season strong by scoring in each of the final two contests. Her strong offensive play also allowed Kroon to land on the All-CACC Second-Team.

Several other student-athletes were honored on the day, as nine others joined Dennis and Palese on the All-CACC First-Team.

Philadelphia U.'s Courtney Shaw was placed on the top unit at the goalkeeper spot, while Goldey-Beacom College's Alexandra Smith, Felician College's Macki Groves, and Holy Family University's Ashley Shackleford earned first-team spots at forward along with Dennis.

The midfield sports on the first-team were held down by Philadelphia U.'s Carla Chmielewski, Holy Family's Kimber Kisselback, and Post's Lexxi Carroll. The defenders who earned first-team honors along with Palese included Misty Kaiwi (Post) and Lauren Iuliucci (Caldwell).

Kroon's placement on the All-CACC Second-Team saw her being joined by 10 other worthy student-athletes, including Post's Laura Morgan (goalkeeper); Caldwell's Natalie Migoya (forward); Felician's Katina Kozlowski (forward); Goldey-Beacom's Nicole Curry (midfield); Wilmington University's Loran Wyrough (midfield); Philadelphia U.'s Morgan Graus (midfield); Holy Family's Ashley DeOrio (defender); Felician's Carly Brantner (defender); Georgian Court's Jamie Smith (defender); and Philadelphia U.'s Meagan Yates (defender).

Micros was tabbed as the league's coach of the year after guiding Post to a 10-4-1 overall record in the regular season, and a 9-2-1 CACC mark which was the second best in the league.

The final award recognized by the CACC on Monday was the 2014 Team Sportsmanship Award, which was given to Bloomfield for its demonstration of sportmanship and promoting the values of the NCAA Division II model throughout the fall season.

The Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference is an NCAA Division II Conference composed of 14 institutions in Connecticut, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. The member institutions are Bloomfield College, Caldwell University, Chestnut Hill College, Concordia (N.Y.) College, Dominican (N.Y.) College, Felician College, Georgian Court University, Goldey-Beacom College, Holy Family University, Nyack College, Philadelphia University, Post University, Unversity of the Sciences and Wilmington University.