BIDDEFORD, Maine – On the verge of its first Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) post-season play, a quartet Suffolk women's soccer player picked up All-CCC accolades, the league office announced Friday morning. Allison Rodrigues garnered a first-team nod, Hayley Long and Grace Owens received spots on the second team and Lily Christian picked up a third-team accolade.
The four all-conference honors are the most in the Ashley Van Vechten era and the second-most in a single-season in the Rams' record book, tying the foursome of Suffolk student-athletes recognized by the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) in 2011 and falls behind the record of six standout All-GNAC performers from the 2010 squad.
This group was crucial to Suffolk's 11-5-0 overall record, which currently sits second in the Rams' annuals for single-season victories. A spot it shares with the 2010 team (11-10-0) and falls behind the 2016 (13-4-1) squad.
The foursome also aided the blue-and-gold to a 5-4-0 league ledger to earn the fifth spot in the upcoming 2021 CCC Tournament, which kicks off tomorrow, Saturday, Oct. 30 with quarterfinals action. The Rams venture to fourth seed Gordon for a 4 p.m. start and look to not only pick up their first CCC post-season win, but down the Fighting Scots for the first time in program history.
Rodrigues will play a major part in that contest. The only keeper on Suffolk's roster this year, the North Andover, Massachusetts, native's campaign was not just standout on the conference level, but stood out nationally as well. She started all 16 games in between the posts and assembled eight shutouts, which ranks seventh in NCAA Division III in 2021. She holds the 18th-best save percentage in D3 at .899 with 98 total saves, the 60th-most in the country and boasts a league-high 0.68 goals-against average. Two years ago, in 2019, Rodrigues became the first set of blue-and-gold gloves to earn all-league distinction and makes even more history this year with the first-ever keeper to grab first-team accolades.
Owens has been Rodrigues' right hand on the backline. The freshman defender from Sutton, Massachusetts, has started all 16 games as the cornerstone of the Rams' defensive unit. She is the first Suffolk defender with an all-conference nod since Hannah McNulty earned All-GNAC Third-Team honors in 2014, and is the first freshman defender with an all-league selection since Nicole Carpenter's third-team accolade from the GNAC as a first-year in 2010. Owens' second team selection, however, is a first for a Suffolk women's soccer defender.
Long, a junior from Exeter, New Hampshire, has been one of the main offensive outputs for Suffolk in league play. Five of the midfielder's dozen points came against conference counterparts including the game-winning goal against Nichols Oct. 9 and the set-up in the overtime golden goal in the regular-season finale at Roger Williams that helped the Rams clinch the fifth seed in the playoffs. In her first true season competing in a Suffolk jersey, she assembled a five-goal, two-assist stat line in 15 games played, all starts. Long is the first midfielder to receive all-conference status since Jennifer Martin collected an All-GNAC First-Team spot in 2017.
Christian commanded the Rams' offense from the get-go. The forward had a hand in 11 of Suffolk's 35-goal offense, scoring five herself and helping on half a dozen others. She lifted Suffolk to victory on three occasions, a season-opening 1-0 win over Elms, a 3-0 decision over Framingham State and a 1-0 shutout of Curry. The Plymouth, Massachsuetts, local is the first rookie to earn an all-conference recognition as a forward since Jessica Harmon did her first-year in 2014 with a GNAC third-team selection.
These awards will start a new shelf in the Rams' trophy case, however, when added to Suffolk's list of GNAC distinctions, that date back to 2007, the Rams owns 34 all-league nods including two offensive player of the year, three rookie of the year, eight first-team selections, 10 second-team nods and 11 third-team honors.
2021 WOMEN'S SOCCER ALL-CCC TEAM
Offensive Player of the Year – Allison Bruehwiiler, Western New England/Bianca Robbins, Roger Williams
Defensive Player of the Year – Hannah Lederman, Endicott
Rookie of the Year – Riley Rischitelli, Endicott
CCC Scholar-Athlete – Morgan Smith, Endicott
Coach of the Year – Jodi Kenyon, Endicott
Team Sportsmanship – Nichols
First-Team All-CCC
F – Calla Ashley, Gordon
F – Allison Bruehwiler, Western New England
F – Bianca Robbins, Roger Williams
M – Jaymie Caponigro, Endicott
M – Autumn Hathaway, Western New England
M – Rachel Oster, Roger Williams
B – Riley Dunphy, University of New England
B – McKenna Feller, Gordon
B – Summer Hathaway, Western New England
B – Hannah Lederman, Endicott
GK – Allison Rodrigues, Suffolk
Second-Team All-CCC
F – Isabella Montalvo, Western New England
F – Riley Rischitelli, Endicott
F – Leah Yucius, Roger Williams
M – Alyssa Boilard, University of New England
M – Sofia Gish, Gordon
M – Shelby Jones, Gordon
M – Hayley Long, Suffolk
M – Chloe Waldron, Endicott
B – Erica Dimmick, University of New England
B – Gillian Magnier, Endicott
B – Grace Owens, Suffolk
GK – Sydney Gillingham, University of New England
Third-Team All-CCC
F – Lily Christian, Suffolk
F – Meagan McLaughlin, Salve Regina
F – Maegan Roy, Nichols
M – Danielle MCCarthy, Western New England
M – Olivia Pickard, Salve Regina
M – Samantha Vitka, Western New England
B – Lauren Bradley, Wentworth
B – Sydney Dewhurst, Curry
B – Allie Larue, Gordon
B – Savannah Metz, Gordon
GK – Molly McLaughlin, Western New England