Eight members of the Fitchburg State field hockey team, as well as its head coach, were honored by the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) as the conference announced the major award winners as well as the All-Conference team on Wednesday afternoon.
Junior Sophia Yates led all Falcon award winners after being named MASCAC Offensive Player of the Year as well as being named to the All-Conference First Team, while freshman Samantha Jones was selected MASCAC Co-Rookie of the Year in addition to being named to All-Conference Second Team.
Yates led the MASCAC in both goals with 16 and points (34), while Jones finished fifth in the conference in goals at nine and seventh in points with 24.
Fitchburg State head coach Kayla Quinn was named MASCAC Field Hockey BSN Sports Coach of the Year after guiding the Falcons to the conference regular season title with an 8-2 record in league play to round out the major award winners for the Falcons.
Joining Yates on the MASCAC All-Conference First Team for the Green and Gold was senior goalkeeper Jenna Morse of Leominster, who led the conference in save percentage (.820) and goals against average (1.88), as well as classmates Alexis Raymond and Riley O'Brien, of Townsend..
Raymond was third in the conference with eight assists, while O'Brien helped lead a stout defense that allowed just 1.87 goals per contest.
In addition to Jones, senior Jessica Morse, of Leominster, and classmate Autumn Tibbetts, of Lunenburg, were also named to the MASCAC All-Conference Second Team.
Jessica Morse was a key defender in front of her twin sister in the cage, while Tibbetts was fifth in the conference with a half dozen helpers and second in shots with 66.
Fitchburg State's Zachariah Foster of Fitchburg State was named the MASCAC Men's Soccer Defensive Player of the Year, while Falcon freshman Justin Job was named the conference's Rookie of the Year and both were named to the All-MASCAC first team.
Foster, a junior from Brockton, helped Fitchburg State keep teams to just 1.75 goals against and just 14 shots per game. He had his highest offensive production this year, with six goals and ab assist, including a game-winner, along with going a perfect 5-for-5 in penalty kicks.
Job tallied five goals and two assists for 12 points, including three game-winning tallies. Twice this season he scored two goals, including the 3-1 win over Westfield State.
Falcons sophomore forward Anthony Oliveira-Dalicandro was named to the conference second team, as was freshman defender Joao Pedro Goncalves. Oliveira-Dalicandro had five goals and two assists in 19 games, while Goncalves notched a goal and eight shots in 17 contests.
Fitchburg State sophomore midfielder Stella Liebler, junior forward Adrianna Westcott and senior defender Taylor Senecal were all named to the MASCAC All-Conference Second Team.
Liebler tied for the team high in assists this season, dishing out four helpers, while Westcott led the Falcons with six goals on the year. Senecal led a defensive unit that allowed 11.6 shots and 2.21 goals per game.
Bridgewater State junior Olivia Robarge, a former North Middlesex Regional standout, was named to the All-Conference first team. Robarge was second in the conference in goals (14) and third in shots (75) for the MASCAC tournament champion Bears.