Piloting Bryant to a share of the regular-season crown and the top seed in the 2022 NEC Tournament, fourth-year head coach Brianna Roche was selected by her coaching peers as NEC Coach of the Year. Joining Kaut and Roche on the list of major award winners from the Bulldogs is freshman defender Jessica Colalillo (Syosset, NY/Syosset), who also earned NEC elite status for Bryant via her crowning as the NEC Rookie of the Year. 

Mount St. Mary’s, which shared the 2022 regular-season title with Bryant, landed one major award winner as graduate midfielder Zoe Hurlburt (Bel Air, MD/Fallston) was tabbed the NEC Midfielder of the Year. 

Wagner and LIU, the respective No. 3 and No. 4 seeds in the NEC Tournament, claimed the final two major awards. Senior defender Aileen Hannan (Rockville, MD/Connelly School of the Holy Child) represented the Seahawks in the major award voting by earning NEC Defensive Player of the Year honors, while senior goalkeeper Hailey Duchnowski (Miller Place, NY/Miller Place) secured Goalkeeper of the Year distinction for the Sharks.

As one of the key components of a balanced Bryant attack that leads the league in scoring by a significant margin, Kaut paces the circuit in goals per game (3.40) and is second in points per contest (4.27). The Media, PA native, who was named the NEC Player of the Week twice, delivered multiple goals in each of her 15 appearances and finished the regular season with 11 hat tricks, including a pair of six-goal efforts against league foes Mount St. Mary’s and Saint Francis U, and a seven-score outing against Quinnipiac. Kaut, who is coming off All-Rookie team laurels in 2021, is the sixth Bulldog in the past eight years to garner NEC Offensive Player of the Year distinction, as Bryant dominated the award from 2014 to 2018 with five straight honorees. 

Hannan serves as the ringleader of a stout Wagner defense that caused a league-high 10.25 turnovers per game in NEC action and held conference rivals to 8.00 goals per game, marking the second-best goals-against average in the circuit. The senior has wreaked havoc on opposing attacking lines this season. Causing 39 turnovers, including 25 during conference play, she paces the league in the category and is second in ground balls (50). Likewise, Hannan ranks No. 8 and No. 11 in the nation in caused turnovers and ground balls per game, respectively. She ended the regular season on a tear, causing 14 miscues in her final four contests (3.5 per game), including four in the thrilling upset of first-place Bryant in the regular-season finale. As a result, she claimed the last two NEC Defender of the Week awards of 2022. The Rockville, MD native becomes the first Seahawk to be recognized as Defensive Player of the Year since Shea Gegan earned the distinction in 2014.

Hurlburt makes history for the Mount in becoming the program’s first NEC Midfielder of the Year since the award’s inception in 2015. The graduate midfielder has been a mainstay for the co-champs. As the team’s leader in goals (48), assists (16) and points (64), she ranks second in the league in goals (3.00) and points (4.13) per game. Now a two-time All-NEC first team selection, she has made contributions to a Mount St. Mary’s defense that has held opponents to just 7.58 goals per game, a league-best mark that is even stingier against conference rivals at 6.25 scores per contest. This season, she has forced a team-high 16 turnovers and is just one of two NEC performers to rank in the league’s top-10 in caused turnovers, goals and points. A native of Bel Air, MD, Hurlburt was named both the Player of the Week and the Defensive Player of the Week on March 21.

For the first time in the award’s history, which debuted in 2010 and makes its return after a seven-year hiatus, a LIU player was named the NEC Goalkeeper of the Year with Duchnowski’s selection. The two-time Defensive Player of the Week has racked up 179 saves and ranks 11th nationally with 10.53 per contest. In addition, the Miller Place, NY native is fourth in NCAA Division I in save percentage (.510) and 12th in ground balls (2.88 per game). Duchnowski has held seven opponents — including four conference rivals — to single-digit goal totals. 

Colalillo capped off the 2022 regular season by earning Rookie of the Week honors this past Monday after registering her first mutli-goal game of the year in a win over CCSU that clinched the top seed for the Bulldogs. She has seen time in 10 games in her collegiate debut and has averaged 1.4 ground balls and 0.8 caused turnovers over her last five games. The defender from Syosset, NY joins Hayley Bloom (2011) and Jess DeMeo (2016) as NEC Rookie of the Year recipients from Bryant. 

Roche claims NEC Coach of the Year accolades after piloting Bryant to a share of the regular-season crown in 2022. It marks the first time since 2018 — and the fifth time in program history — that the Bulldogs finish on top of the NEC standings. Bryant won its first seven conference games in dominate fashion and clinched the No. 1 seed in the NEC Tournament prior to the final regular-season contest. Roche’s squad, which outscored conference foes by an average of 6.2 goals per game after putting up 16.20 per contest, is one of top scoring teams in NCAA Division I. Pacing the NEC in four different offensive categories while breaking the conference’s single-season assists record with 143, the Bulldogs lead the nation in assists per game (9.53) and shots on goal per game (27.67), and are second in both points per game (25.73) and shots per game (36.20). If that isn’t impressive enough, the Bulldogs’ midfield unit owns the nation’s best draw control percentage with a .642 win rate, while their defense checks in at 17th in the nation. 

In addition to the six major awards winners, the league unveiled its All-NEC first and second teams and an NEC All-Rookie squad. All honorees were determined by a vote of the conference’s head coaches.

AWARD WINNER HIGHLIGHTS

This year’s All-NEC team award recipients are an experienced group with seniors or graduate students comprising 11-of-15 first team spots and 10-of-15 second team spots. 

Bryant, which claimed three of the six major awards, landed seven on All-Conference first and second teams. Fellow co-champ Mount St. Mary’s raked in six all-NEC honorees, including a league-high five first team members.

Five attackers that piloted the most dangerous offense in the conference landed on All-NEC teams, including a pair of first team selections in Kaut and senior Cassidy Burns (Massapequa, NY/Plainedge (Manhattan)). The Bulldogs’ duo packed an impressive one-two punch on the front line, averaging 8.4 points per game collectively. Burns, a second team pick a year ago, leads the circuit in points per game (4.27) and is second in the nation in assists, dishing out 3.47 per contest. Kaut, the lone sophomore on the first team, is now a two-time All-Conference honoree after earning All-Rookie team distinction in 2021.

Bryant senior Emily Diaz (Selden, NY/Newfield), junior Skylar Simmonds (Jupiter, FL/Oxbridge Academy) and senior Alexa Weber (South Windsor, CT/East Catholic) represent Bryant’s attacking unit on the second team, while Emma Coleman (Scarsdale, NY/Scarsdale (Saint Michael’s)) and Megan McCarthy (Northampton, MA/Northampton), a pair of graduate defenders, rounded out the Bulldogs’ All-NEC picks with nods to the first team. Diaz closed out the regular season as the league’s leader in draw controls, collecting 8.00 per game to rank eighth in the nation in the category, while Simmonds, a second team pick in 2021, and Weber are among the top-10 in the circuit in scoring with 2.58 and 2.40 goals per game, respectively. 

McCarthy is one of seven repeat first team performers in 2022. Also highlighting that prestigious list is a trio of Mountaineers in junior attacker Dani Donoghue (Ocean City, NJ/Ocean City), graduate midfielder Beanie Colson (Westminster, MD/Manchester Valley) and Hurlburt. Hannan joins fellow Seahawk Kasey Dorney (Deer Park, NY/Deer Park), a senior midfielder, in taking home first team distinction in back-to-back seasons, while LIU graduate attacker Amanda Masullo (Selden, NY/Centereach) makes her return to the NEC’s top team after a one-year hiatus in 2021.

Dorney, who netted a league-best four game-winning goals, piled up some incredible numbers yet again for the Seahawks. She is currently second in the league behind fellow teammate Hannan in caused turnovers (1.59) and ranks in the top-10 in both ground balls per game (2.59) and draw controls per game (2.88). Masullo registered at least one goal in 14 of the final 15 games and had a trio of four-score outings to finish second for the Sharks in goals (28) and third in points (34).

Two-time NEC Player of the Week recipient Donoghue ranked second for the Mountaineers in goals (38), which was good for eighth in the NEC. Colson, who was also a second team All-NEC performer in 2018, is sixth in the loop with 3.94 draw controls per game. In addition to Colson, Donoghue and Hurlburt, Mount St. Mary’s added a pair of defenders in juniors Margaret Lonergan (Bowie, MD/Elizabeth Seton) and Abigail Zigenfuse (Manchester, MD/Manchester Valley) to its impressive list of first team members. The Mount came one selection shy of matching the NEC record of six, which they set in 2021.

Senior attacker Erin Anderson (Westminster, MD/Westminster) made it six All-Conference picks for the Mountaineers after she occupied a spot on the second team.

Saint Francis U senior midfielder Autumn McHenry (Branford, CT/Branford) made her second appearance on an All-Conference squad, landing a spot on the first team after earning second team honors in 2021. She emerged as one of the top scorers in NEC contests this season, ranking second in points (37), third in goals (25) and sixth in assists (12) during the eight-game slate. 

Graduate midfielder Meghan Dzialo (Hampton, NY/Winnacunnet), who became the first Merrimack student-athlete to earn a place on an All-Conference team in 2021, made history for the Warriors again in 2022. She elevated her status from second team to first team after compiling a team- and career-best 46 goals to rank fourth in the league with 2.88 per game.  

In addition to boasting the first, first team honoree in program history, Merrimack pushed its All-NEC total to a school-record three after graduate midfielder Catherine Mahanna (Westford, MA/Westford Academy) and junior defender Kelly Corrigan (North Andover, MA/North Andover) each landed on the second team.

Wagner graduate attacker Madeline Seims (Westbury, NY/ W. Tresper Clarke), who was one of four Seahawks represented on the second team, is also a three-peat All-Conference recipient, having earned first team distinction in both 2019 and 2021. She is joined by senior goalkeeper Lauren DiStefano (West Islip, NY/West Islip), junior defender Casey Haas (Ridgewood, NJ/Ridgewood) and graduate midfielder Victoria Tucci (North Brunswick, NJ/North Brunswick) on the list.

Two of Sacred Heart’s three All-NEC second team selections are repeat members of All-Conference squads. Senior attacker Lydia Werlau (Brewster, NY/North Salem) was named to the second team in 2019, while senior defender Claire McElhenny (Davidsonville, MD/South River) received the same honor in 2021. Werlau, a two-time NEC Player of the Week recipient, was the Pioneers’ top scorer in 2022 with 62 points on 47 goals and 15 assists. She was an even bigger threat during the NEC slate, recording multiple goals in her final seven outings. That stretch  was capped off by a career-best eight-score effort against Saint Francis U. Werlau’s 3.38 goals per game were tied with Kaut for the league lead. McElhenny finished in the top-10 in ground balls per game (2.12) and draw controls per game (4.50).

Five teams were represented on the NEC All-Rookie Team. Bryant led the way with a pair of selections with midfielder Amelia Piercy (Nashua, NH/Bishop Guertin) joining Colalillo on the list. 

About The Northeast Conference
Now in its 41st 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 including 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 in 2022-23 will include Central Connecticut, Fairleigh Dickinson, LIU, Merrimack, Mount St. Mary’s, Sacred Heart, St. Francis Brooklyn, Saint Francis U, Stonehill and Wagner. For more information on the NEC, visit the league’s official website official website (www.northeastconference.org) and digital network (www.necfrontrow.com), or follow the league on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and TikTok, all @NECsports.