Somerset, NJ -- Following a third straight Northeast Conference (NEC) women’s soccer regular season crown, Central Connecticut earned itself a place in the NEC recordbook.
 
The Blue Devils, who went 6-0 in conference play to secure the top seed and serve as the host for today’s 2020-21 NEC Championship match, became the first school since 2006 to sweep the entire lot of major year-end awards, which have grown from four to six in number over the last 15 years.
 
The list seemingly goes on and on.
 
Most notably, CCSU senior forward Jenna Rae Covello (Plymouth, CT/Terryville) was voted the NEC Offensive Player of the Year and classmate Brianna Williams (Tomkins Cove, NY/North Rockland) earned NEC Defensive Player of the Year accolades in a vote of the league’s head coaches.
 
CCSU junior Roma McLaughlin (Donegal, Ireland/Moville Community College) was bestowed with NEC Midfielder of the Year for the second season in a row.
 
Blue Devil junior Amanda McQuillan (Johnstown County Meath, Ireland/Beaufort College) was recognized as NEC Goalkeeper of the Year, while freshman striker Kelly Brady (Tomkins Cove, NY/North Rockland) made an immediate impact on a veteran CCSU squad to claim NEC Rookie of the Year plaudits.
 
The ringleader of it all, longtime Blue Devil head coach Mick D’Arcy, was honored with his third consecutive NEC Coach of the Year award and unprecedented seventh overall honor by his peers.
 
Covello, an All-NEC first teamer in 2019 and All-Rookie selection in 2017, became the first Blue Devil to collect NEC Offensive Player of the Year honors. The senior forward led a formidable Blue Devil attack that ranked first amongst NEC teams in goals per game (2.50) over the course of the regular season. The Plymouth, CT native is tied for second in the NEC in goals (three) and ranks third in points (nine). She also netted one game-winner.
 
CCSU has developed a stranglehold on the NEC Defensive Player of the Year award with Williams becoming the program’s seventh consecutive recipient. She joined such luminaries as four-time winner Jennifer Cafferky (2014-17) and two-time honoree Shauny Alterisio (2018-19). Throw in Ashley Ferra (2005) and Megan McClements (2007), and the Blue Devils have been recognized nine times in the 16-year history of the award. Williams, a Tomkins Cove, NY product who started all six games for CCSU, served as the anchor of a Blue Devil backline that surrendered just one goal and allowed only 14 shots on goal over the course of six matches this season.
 
McLaughlin’s resume continues to grow with major awards coming her way in each of her first three seasons in New Britain. Along with a pair of NEC Midfielder of the Year accolades, the Donegal, Ireland native was the 2018 NEC Rookie of the Year. McLaughlin is also a three-time first team All-NEC selection and earned All-American status in 2019. The creative center mid is currently tied for second on the circuit with three goals and ranks fourth with seven points.
 
A 2019 NEC All-Rookie team honoree who rose to the occasion in CCSU’s landmark NCAA win over Rutgers during that same freshman campaign, McQuillan did not allow a single goal over 450 minutes this season and posted a league-leading five shutouts. She is one of two netminders nationwide who sport a 0.00 GAA and 1.000 save percentage. From Ireland, McQuillan also joined a long line of CCSU keepers to be honored with this award, including Nikola Deiter (2012), Nicki Turley (3x winner, 2014-16), and Ashley Cavanaugh (2x winner, 2017-18).
 
Brady provided a youthful boost to an already potent CCSU attack this spring. The freshman from Tomkins Cove, NY is tied for the NEC lead with 1.50 points per game, and also ranks first with three assists. Her three goals and nine points are good for second-best in the conference at this time. Brady tallied at least one point in five-of-six matches this season and was also named the NEC Rookie of the Week on March 15. She is the eighth CCSU player to be named NEC Rookie of the Year and the names read like a Who’s Who in Blue Devils soccer history: Jane McFarlane (1997), Denise Thomas (2000), Jessica McCavanagh (2003), Rosie Maguire (2011), Jennifer Cafferky (2014), Carla Jackson (2016) and teammate Roma McLaughlin (2018).
 
D’Arcy, who has won 211 games - including two in the NCAA Tournament - of the course of his storied career in New Britain, has guided CCSU to eight of the program’s 10 conference championships to go along with eight regular season crowns. The Blue Devils will be making their fifth straight NEC Tournament appearance and 16th overall under D’Arcy’s watch this week after finishing 6-0 vs. NEC opposition and conceding just one goal on the year. His seven NEC Coach of the Year awards are the most in league history and in earning his third straight honor, joins former SFU coach Brenda van Stralen as the only coaches to be recognized three years running.
 
AWARD WINNER HIGHLIGHTS
 
CCSU led the way with six of the 11 All-NEC first team selections. Fairleigh Dickinson landed five players on either the first or second team. The Blue Devils and Knights also had two freshman apiece tabbed to the All-Rookie team. 
 
For the Blue Devils, senior striker Jenna Rae Covello (Plymouth, CT/Terryville), senior defender Erica Bardes (Montvale, NJ/Pascaak Hills), and Roma McLaughlin (Donegal, Ireland/Moville Community College) were repeat honorees with McLaughlin making it three consecutive first team selections.
 
Bryant senior defender Jamie Irwin (Succasunna, NJ/Roxbury) and Mount St. Mary’s junior defender Maria Buonomo (Bucks County, PA/Council Rock South) were also named NEC all-stars for the third straight season. Irwin is now a three-time first teamer, while Buonomo can point to a trio of second team honors on her resume.
 
Other repeat honorees include FDU junior defender Christa Waterman (Perry Hall, MD/Eastern Technical) (2x first team), and Sacred Heart sophomore forwards Michelle Clarkin (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa) (2x first team) and Meadow Mancini (Watertown, CT/Watertown) (2x second team).
 
FDU sophomore forward Naemi Hausen (Freiburg, Germany/Walter-Eucken Gymnaisum) wrapped the regular season as the NEC’s golden boot winner and top point producer with five goals and 12 points on her way to second team All-NEC accolades.
 
Merrimack freshman defender Abigail Cieri (Matawan, NJ/Saint John Vianney) will go down as the first player in program history to pick up an All-NEC honor with her selection to the second team. Likewise, St. Francis Brooklyn freshman forward Avery Gonzalez (Claremont, CA/Claremont) will be remembered as the first honoree in the Terriers’ young history sponsoring the sport after she was voted to the All-Rookie team.
 
About The Northeast Conference
Now in its 40th anniversary season, the Northeast Conference is an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic association consisting of 10 institutions of higher learning located throughout seven states. Media coverage of the NEC extends to a number of the largest markets in the United States - New York (#1), Boston (#9), Baltimore (#26), Hartford/New Haven (#33) and Providence (#53). Founded in 1981 as the basketball-only ECAC Metro Conference, the NEC has grown to sponsor 24 championship sports for men and women and now enjoys automatic access to 16 different NCAA Championships. NEC member institutions include Bryant, Central Connecticut, Fairleigh Dickinson, LIU, Merrimack, Mount St. Mary’s, 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 TikTok, all @NECsports.