Holy Family's Brianna Rock Named 2016 CACC Women's Soccer Player of the Year
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NEW HAVEN, Conn. (October 31, 2016) -- Holy Family University women's soccer standout Brianna Rock on Monday was named the 2016 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) Women's Soccer Player of the Year, as announced by Commissioner Dan Mara. Rock, who was also named to the All-CACC First Team, highlighted a list of several individuals who won other major year-end awards or garnered spots on the all-conference teams.
In addition to Rock, Holy Family's Susie Blaney (2016 Rookie of the Year), Georgian Court University's Morgan LaDuca (2016 Defensive Player of the Year) and Goldey-Beacom College's Dan Frick (2016 BSN Sports Coach of the Year) were the other individuals to earn major awards.
Rock led the CACC in goals (12) and points (27) during the regular season, as she helped guide Holy Family to a berth in Monday's quarterfinals of the 2016 CACC Women's Soccer Championship. She had a pair of multi-goal games this season, including a hat-trick of three goals to spark the Tigers' 7-0 triumph over Dominican College on Sept. 17. She also added a helper in the contest to log a seven-point afternoon.
Rock also had a pair of goals to lead HFU to a 4-0 win over Bloomfield College on Oct. 1. Like the triumph over Dominican, she added an assist and finished the day with an impressive five points. Rock was strong during the stretch drive of the regular season, as she scored a marker in two of the final three matches to help Holy Family lock up a playoff berth.
Blaney was named the conference's rookie of the year, as the defender proved to be a solid force on the backline for the Tigers in the regular season. She helped HFU produce a 1.56 team goals against average, while also logging six shutouts.
LaDuca was named the 2016 defensive player of the year after helping Georgian Court win the league's regular season title for the second-consecutive year. She helped GCU produce a 0.86 team goals against average and an .815 team save percentage. The Lions also produced eight shutouts during the regular season. If that wasn't enough, LaDuca joined in the offensive attack with three goals and three assists for nine points.
Frick was named the BSN Sports Coach of the Year for guiding the Lightning to a third-place finish in the regular season standings and a home match in Monday's quarterfinal round. It was Frick's first season leading the program, as G-B went 12-5-1 overall and 8-3-1 in league play. The Lightning's 25 points in conference play represented a 13-point improvement over the 2015 campaign.
The other major award handed out on Monday was the 2016 Team Sportsmanship Award, which was won by Bloomfield College for demonstrating outstanding character and sportsmanship throughout the season.
Rock and LaDuca were named to the All-CACC First Team and were joined by nine other standouts including forward Emily Valerian (Caldwell University), forward Teigha Ward (Wilmington University), midfielder Rebecca Dolhansky (Wilmington), midfielder Gianna Klucker (Caldwell), midfielder Ashley Shackleford (Holy Family), defender Taylor Adair (Holy Family), defender Carly Brantner (Felician University), defender Melissa Gall (Wilmington) and goalkeeper Natalie Axelsson (Georgian Court).
Eleven (11) other standouts were named to the All-CACC Second Team and included forward Taylor Mysza (Philadelphia University), forward Amanda Nowak (Felician), forward Loran Wyrough (Wilmington), midfielder Alyssa Christiansen (Holy Family), midfielder Kaitlin Lister (Georgian Court), midfielder Amy Runciman (Goldey-Beacom), midfielder Megan Sullivan (Philadelphia), defender Amy Heller (Philadelphia), defender Shannon Metzler (Holy Family), defender Katie Neveil (Philadelphia) and goalkeeper Kierstyn Williams (Wilmington).
The voting for the awards was conducted by the league's 13 head coaches in the sport. The honorees will be recognized at the CACC Soccer Championship Banquet on Thursday night in Lakewood, N.J., at the site of the semifinals and final of the conference tournament.
The 2016 CACC Women's Soccer Championship kicks off Monday with quarterfinal action at the sites of the highest seeds. Monday's four winners will advance to Friday's semifinals at 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Friday's two winners will then square off in CACC Championship Final on Sunday at 10 a.m. The semifinals will be contested on the GCU Grass Field, while the final will be held on the GCU Turf Field on the Georgian Court University campus.
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 University, Georgian Court University, Goldey-Beacom College, Holy Family University, Nyack College, Philadelphia University, Post University of Waterbury, University of the Sciences, and Wilmington University.
2016 CACC WOMEN'S SOCCER PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Brianna Rock (Holy Family University)
2016 CACC WOMEN'S SOCCER ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Susie Blaney (Holy Family University)
2016 CACC WOMEN'S SOCCER DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Morgan LaDuca (Georgian Court University)
2016 CACC WOMEN'S SOCCER TEAM SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD
Bloomfield College
2016 BSN SPORTS CACC WOMEN'S SOCCER COACH OF THE YEAR
Dan Frick (Goldey-Beacom College)
2016 CACC WOMEN'S SOCCER REGULAR SEASON CHAMPION
Georgian Court University
2016 ALL-CACC WOMEN'S SOCCER FIRST TEAM
F Brianna Rock (Holy Family University)
F Emily Valerian (Caldwell University)
F Teigha Ward (Wilmington University)
M Rebecca Dolhansky (Wilmington University)
M Gianna Klucker (Caldwell University)
M Ashley Shackleford (Holy Family University)
D Taylor Adair (Holy Family University)
D Carly Brantner (Felician University)
D Melissa Gall (Wilmington University)
D Morgan LaDuca (Georgian Court University)
GK Natalie Axelsson (Georgian Court University)
2016 ALL-CACC WOMEN'S SOCCER SECOND TEAM
F Taylor Mysza (Philadelphia University)
F Amanda Nowak (Felician University)
F Loran Wyrough (Wilmington University)
M Alyssa Christiansen (Holy Family University)
M Kaitlin Lister (Georgian Court University)
M Amy Runciman (Goldey-Beacom College)
M Megan Sullivan (Philadelphia University)
D Amy Heller (Philadelphia University)
D Shannon Metzler (Holy Family University)
D Katie Neveil (Philadelphia University)
GK Kierstyn Williams (Wilmington University)