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Somerset, NJ -- The Northeast Conference (NEC) revealed it’s 2016 women’s soccer major award winners and All-Conference teams on Thursday, with the marquee honor going to Saint Francis U junior midfielder Gabi Morales (Madrid, Spain/Colegio La Inmaculada-Marillac), who was named NEC Player of the Year for the co-regular season champion Red Flash.
 
Central Connecticut, which shared the NEC regular season championship with SFU, claimed three major awards. Junior Jennifer Cafferky (Boras, Sweden/Sven Erikssons Gymnasiet) won her third straight NEC Women’s Defensive Player of the Year honor and senior Nicki Turley (Henrietta, NY/Rush-Henrietta) was crowned NEC Goalkeeper of the Year for the third year running. Freshman striker Carla Jackson (Glasgow, Scotland/Dalziel High School) collected NEC Rookie of the Year accolades.
 
NEC Coach of the Year honors went to Saint Francis U’s Brenda van Stralen for the fifth time in her career, a new conference record. She guided the Red Flash to their fourth NEC regular season title in the last six years and the right to host this weekend’s NEC Tournament. SFU went 6-1 over its last seven matches to make a late run and earn the top seed in the playoffs. The Red Flash have qualified for the postseason in each of the last seven years, the longest current streak in the conference.
 
Morales, FDU sophomore Elma Kolenovic (Manhattan, NY/NYC Lab) and LIU Brooklyn redshirt junior Jenn Peters (Slate Hill, NY/Minisink Valley) all shared the NEC Golden Boot Award after leading the league with six goals during the regular season.
 
Morales, now a two-time first team All-NEC performer, became the first Saint Francis U athlete to win NEC Player of the Year honors since Tesa McKibben took home the award four years in a row from 2010 to 2013. Morales is tied for the NEC lead with six goals, and ranks second in points (16) and fifth in assists (four). She also ranks first on the circuit with six goals and 16 points in NEC play. The midfielder recorded two multi-goal games, both in conference play, and posted five multi-point games in seven NEC matches.
 
Cafferky joined former Saint Francis U star Alicia McNiff as the only three-time NEC Defensive Player of the Year award winners in league history. Cafferky, a three-time All-NEC first teamer who was also the NEC Rookie of the Year in 2014, helped the Blue Devils post nine shutouts on the year, including six against league rivals, both conference-highs this season. In NEC play, the Blue Devils allowed a league-low 0.50 goals per game. Cafferky joins Ashley Ferra (2005) and Megan McClements (2007) as CCSU players who have won this award.
 
Turley was once again dominant in between the pipes for the Blue Devils, who improved their conference win total by three games this season. In winning her third straight NEC Goalkeeper of the Year accolade - no one else has won more than one - the senior posted five shutouts in a row as CCSU began conference play and finished with eight total shutouts on the season, tied for most in the league. Her 0.50 GAA and .857 save percentage in conference play were the best marks in the NEC. Turley, who was named NEC Defensive Player of the Week three times this fall, is the second CCSU goalkeeper to win the NEC Goalkeeper of the Year Award, joining Nikola Deiter who was tabbed back in 2012.
 
Jackson’s season took off once NEC competition started and led the Blue Devils with five goals and 11 points during the regular season. She scored in four straight matches against NEC foes at one point and also netted a pair of game-winning goals in wins over Mount St. Mary’s and Wagner. Jackson scored a goal in five of CCSU’s eight conference tilts and netted a point in six of those outings. The three-time NEC Rookie of the Week and lone freshman to earn first team All-NEC plaudits became the sixth Central Connecticut player to be named NEC Rookie of the Year. Other Blue Devil players to claim the award include Jane McFarlane (1997), Denise Thomas (2000), Jessica McCavanagh (2003), Rosie Maguire (2011) and Jennifer Cafferky (2014).
 
AWARD WINNER HIGHLIGHTS
CCSU and Saint Francis U led the way with four first team All-NEC honorees and five All-NEC award winners in total. Sacred Heart and Bryant each placed four players on the second team.
 
FDU sophomore midfielder Jessi Reinhardt (Friedberg, Germany/Burggymansium), last year’s NEC Rookie of the Year Award winner, earned a first team All-NEC nod. She leads the circuit with eight assists and 18 points, and ranks fourth with five goals. Kolenovic, her high-scoring teammate and fellow first teamer, paces the NEC with 1.00 points per game and 0.43 goals per game.
 
LIU Brooklyn senior midfielder Madison Gomez (Fountain Valley, CA/Fountain Valley) and Saint Francis U defender Casey Gallaher (Sidman, PA/Forest Hills) both earned second team honors, the third All-NEC selections of their respective careers.
 
Bryant senior keeper Kaylan Conrad (Avon, CT/Avon) collected her second second team All-NEC selection. Conrad, who scored on a free kick against Sacred Heart last Sunday, posted six shutouts on the year.
 
CCSU defender Shauny Alterisio (Danbury, CT/Immaculate) was one of just two freshmen to earn All-NEC honors and NEC All-Rookie accolades. She was tabbed to the second team.
 
About The Northeast Conference
Now in its 36th year, the Northeast Conference is an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic association consisting of 10 institutions of higher learning located throughout six states. Media coverage of the NEC extends to four of the largest markets in the United States - New York (#1), Pittsburgh (#22), Baltimore (#26), and Hartford/New Haven (#30).  Founded in 1981 as the basketball-only ECAC Metro Conference, the NEC has grown to sponsor 22 championship sports for men and women and now enjoys automatic access to 14 different NCAA Championships. NEC member institutions include Bryant, Central Connecticut, Fairleigh Dickinson, LIU Brooklyn, Mount St. Mary’s, Robert Morris, Sacred Heart, St. Francis Brooklyn, Saint Francis U and Wagner. For more information on the NEC, visit the league’s official website (www.northeastconference.org) and digital network (www.necfrontrow.com), or follow the league on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Snapchat, all @NECsports.