Nov. 6, 2008

2008 A-10 Field Hockey All-Conference Teams

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - Massachusetts senior Katelyn Orlando and senior Mary Catherine Kinneman of Temple have been named the 2008 Atlantic 10 Field Hockey Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year, respectively, in voting conducted among the Conference's head coaches.

In that same vote, Katelin Peterson of Richmond and Massachusetts' Alesha Widdall were tabbed Rookies of the Year and Justine Sowry of Massachusetts earned her second consecutive Coach of the Year honor. In addition, Temple junior Charise Young was named Student-Athlete of the Year in voting by the Conference's sports information directors.

Orlando enters this week Atlantic 10 Championship (Nov. 7-8) with 14 goals, 1 assist and 29 total points on the season. She paces the Conference in goals and is tied for the lead in points. She established career-highs in both categories and netted four game-winning goals, good for second in the A-10. Orlando also tallied seven goals against Conference opponents. A native of Manchester, Mass., the senior forward was A-10 Player of the Week on Oct. 13 after scoring three goals, two of which were game-winners against A-10 foes. Orlando is the program's first student-athlete to garner Offensive Player of the Year honors since the award's inception in 2000.

Kinneman started every game for the Owls as the second-year team captain and notched a career-high five assists, which is tied for sixth in the A-10 . She played on both attack and defensive corners as the corner hitter and right trail. In addition, the senior back from Lansdale, Pa., anchors a defensive unit that has blanked three opponents this season.

Joining Orlando and Kinneman on the All-Conference first-team are Makaela Potts and Mary Shea of Massachusetts; Richmond's Alex Malatesta, Katelin Peterson, and Megan Thompson; Kellie Walter of Saint Joseph's; Temple's Charise Young; Brittany Cislak of West Chester; and goalkeeper Alesha Widdall of Massachusetts.


The All-Conference second-team is comprised of Haley Froshour and Whitney Madron of La Salle; Massachusetts' Cher King and Erin Parker; Sarah Blythe-Wood of Richmond; Saint Joseph's Casey Fry and Marisa Pizzi; Molly Boyne of Saint Louis; West Chester's Desiree Walker and Beth Wong; and goalkeeper Becca Weaver of Richmond. Pizzi is a two-time second team selection.

In her first season with Richmond, Peterson is tied for the Conference lead in points (29) and ranks second in goals with 12. The forward from Escondido, Calif., was named the A-10 Rookie of the Week four times. She was also named Player of the Week on Oct. 27 after posting a school-record four goals versus West Chester, which is tied for the single-game high nationally this season.

Widdall has provided an immediate impact in her rookie season at Massachusetts. The goalkeeper from Whitney Point, N.Y., leads the A-10 in goals against average (1.14) and is tied for tops in the league with four shutouts. Her .776 save percentage also leads the Conference and ranks 11th in the nation. Widdall was named the A-10 Rookie of the Week twice during the 2008 season and enters the A-10 Championship having won seven her of last eight contests.

Widdall and Peterson are joined on the All-Rookie team by Massachusetts' Nikki Panciocco; Lindsay Fry of La Salle; Richmond's Emily Straniero; Ellen Rowe and Theresa Testa of Saint Joseph's; Temple's Kaylee Keener and Carissa Young; Leah Angstadt and Alyssa Gallen of West Chester; and Saint Joseph's goalkeeper Kelly Swanick.

Young earns the A-10 Field Hockey Student-Athlete of the Year Award after leading the Owls in goals (eight) points (23). Her .333 shot percentage also leads the team, while her seven assists are tied for tops in the A-10. Young was named to the NFHCA National Academic Team, as well as the A-10 Commissioner's Honor Roll in 2006 and 2007. A secondary education major, Young was also named to the A-10 All-Academic Team in 2007.

Along with Young, the Academic All-Conference field hockey team consists of teammate Liz Watto; La Salle's Maria Allegretto, Haley Froshour, and Emma Ruth; Alex Malatesta and Erin Parker of Massachusetts; Saint Joesph's Krista Bordogna, Anne Schreuders, and Kellie Walter; and Brittany Cislak of West Chester. Allegretto, Bordogna, Parker and Young are each repeat selections.
Now in her second season in Amherst, Sowry garners her second consecutive A-10 Coach of the Year honor after leading UMass to the No. 1 seed in the 2008 Atlantic 10 Championship with a 6-0 Conference ledger. Her squad claimed the league's regular season crown, the program's first outright title since 2001, and the Minutewomen's 14 overall wins have matched their total from 2007. A 1991 graduate of the University of South Australia, Sowry is the first coach in A-10 history to win the award in consecutive years.