Three Great Danes Earn Place on the 2015 America East Women's Soccer All-Conference Teams
BOSTON – As the UAlbany women's soccer team gets ready for its America East Tournament semifinal match on Sunday, three Great Danes earned all-conference honors as the league released its yearly awards on Wednesday.
UAlbany midfielder Alexa Schneider earned First Team All-Conference honors for the second-straight year while forward Vivian Vega and defender Shelby Belak were placed on the Second Team. In addition, defender Caroline Kopp and forward Mariah Williams earned a spot on the America East All-Rookie Team while Schneider, senior midfielder Krista Fitzpatrick and junior midfielder Caitlyn Paltsios were honored on the All-Academic Team.
This release comes on the day before the start of the 2015 America East Tournament. UAlbany earned the 2-seed, the highest placement in program history, to pick up a bye in the quarterfinals. The Great Danes will be playing the winner of Vermont/UMBC on Sunday, November 1st at 4 p.m. at Tom & Mary Casey Stadium.
Schneider is the program's first-ever two-time America East First Team All-Conference player. In UAlbany's midfield, the junior team captain is top-six in points, goals and assists per game in the America East, standing with 16 points off six goals and four assists. She has a point in seven different games, including three America East contests. Schneider also landed on the All-Academic Team with a 3.79 GPA as a double major in sociology and human biology.
Vega earns all-conference honors for the second time in as many seasons with the Great Danes. The sophomore forward is tied for sixth in the America East with six goals, adding an assist for 13 points, including three game-winning scores against Quinnipiac, Rhode Island and Binghamton.
Belak is an all-conference player for the second year in a row. The redshirt junior plays at cornerback and has started all 18 games for UAlbany, scoring an assist.
Kopp earns all-rookie honors after starting all 18 games at cornerback for UAlbany. She also took corner kicks for the Great Danes, picking up two assists.
Belak and Kopp help anchor a back line that recorded six shutouts in the regular season and ranked second in scoring defense in the America East at 1.11 goals allowed a game.
Williams also joins the all-rookie ranks as one of the league's top goal-scoring freshmen in 2015. The forward stands with five goals and an assist for 11 points, including the netting the game-winning goal against Davidson and Marist.
Fitzpatrick has been selected to the All-Academic Team for the second year running. UAlbany's all-time leader in assists with 13, she has six this year, ranking second in the America East. The senior midfielder has a 3.97 GPA as a double major in sociology and criminal justice.
Paltsios also earns a place on the All-Academic Team for the second season. A junior defensive midfielder, she has started all 18 games and takes corner kicks for UAlbany, earning a goal and four assists this year. Paltsios has a 3.81 GPA in psychology.
The America East also released its yearly awards on Wednesday. Three schools shared the six awards: Hartford got Coaching Staff of the Year while Jessica Jurg was the Goalkeeper of the Year, New Hampshire has the Striker of the Year with Brooke Murphy and Midfielder of the Year with Caroline Murray, while Maine also had two with Vivien Beil picking up Rookie of the Year and Noelle Leon-Palmer earning Defender of the Year.
America East Yearly Awards
--Rookie of the Year: Vivien Beil, Maine
--Striker of the Year: Brooke Murphy, New Hampshire
--Midfielder of the Year: Caroline Murray, New Hampshire
--Defender of the Year: Noelle Leon-Palmer, Maine
--Goalkeeper of the Year: Jessica Jurg, Hartford
--Coaching Staff of the Year: Hartford
America East All-Conference Teams
First Team
--Forward: Aaliyah Ingram (Hartford), Brooke Murphy (UNH), Raven Edwards (Stony Brook)
--Midfield: Alexa Schneider (UAlbany), Stephanie Santos (Hartford), Vivien Beil (Maine), Caroline Murray (UNH)
--Defender: Caitlin Smallfield (Hartford), Noelle Leon-Palmer (Maine), Kirsten O'Neil (UNH)
--Goalkeeper: Jessica Jurg (Hartford)
Second Team
--Forward: Vivian Vega (UAlbany), Charlene Achille (Maine), Nikki McFarland (Vermont)
--Midfielder: Katherine Corcoran (Binghamton), Tori Tripp (Hartford), Caroline Greer (Vermont), Sarah Martin (Vermont)
--Defender: Shelby Belak (UAlbany), Emma Donnelly (Hartford), Priscella Wiggins (Stony Brook)
--Goalkeeper: Claudia Dube-Trempe (Maine)
All-Rookie Team
--UAlbany: Caroline Kopp, Mariah Williams
--Hartford: Julia Carr, Hayley Nolan
--Maine: Vivien Beil, Anetra Byfield
--UMBC: Skyler Mackey
--UMass Lowell: Katelyn Vieira
--UNH: Gaby Dorsey
--Stony Brook: Katie Loughren
--Vermont: Casey Garfinkel
All-Academic Team (GPA)
--UAlbany: Krista Fitzpatrick (3.97), Caitlyn Paltsios (3.81), Alexa Schneider (3.79)
--Binghamton: Alyssa Vallar (3.88)
--Hartford: Katie Conolly (4.00), Emma Donnelly (3.87), Jessica Jurg (3.95), Erica Primovic (3.95)
--UMass Lowell: Colleen Corliss (3.90)
--UNH: Mimi Borkan (3.82), Caroline Murray (3.54)
