ATTLEBORO, Mass. – The NECC announced its 2017 Women's Soccer All-Conference teams and major award winners on Monday afternoon. The awards were voted on by the conference's nine coaches following the conclusion of the regular season. All nine of the conference schools are represented on the all-conference teams, with Lesley and Elms leading the way with eight honorees each.
Lesley University forward Karlie Rubin (San Diego, Calif.) was voted the 2017 NECC Player of the Year. Southern Vermont College's Melissa Mascari (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.) was named Goalkeeper of the Year, while her teammate Jayne Wierzbicki (Wilmington, Mass.) earned Rookie of the Year honors. Lesley head coach Paul Vasconcelos was voted Coach of the Year.
Joining Rubin in the first-team forward slot is last year's NECC Player of the Year, Brie Voight (Springfield, Mass.) from Elms College, Lindsey Keith (Sutton, Mass.) of Becker College, and Jailinne Ruiz (Hadley, Mass.) from Bay Path University. Elms had two midfield selections, Mackenzie LaRochelle (Chicopee, Mass.) and Jacqueline Soucia (Belchertown, Mass). Rounding out the first team midfielders is Taylor Mallett (Berwick, Maine) of Southern Vermont. Mallet's teammate, Molly Madore (Higganum, Conn.) joins her on the first-team as a defender, along with Silvana Tellerico (Southington, Conn.) of Elms, and Samantha Turnbull (Holtsville, N.Y.) from Lesley. Goalkeeper of the Year, Melissa Mascari rounded out the first team.
The second team features two Lesley forwards, Samantha Bessey (Algonquin, Ill.) and Jordan Mitchell (Sachse, Texas), along with Elms forward Angelina Estrada (Springfield, Mass.) and Bay Path's Elena Helming (Maplewood, N.J.). Helming's teammate Rebekah Herring (Springfield, Mass.) joins her on the second-team as a midfielder, along with Becker's Ciara McKissic (Charlton, Mass.), Lesley's McKenna Straube (Junction City, Ore.) and the Rookie of the Year, Jayne Wierzbicki. In the defender position, Mitchell College's Tiana Edwards (Hartford, Conn.) represented her school, while Kyra Harbus (Ventura, Calif.) of Lesley and Shannon Walsh (Massapequa, N.Y.) of Newbury College were also honored. Becker goalkeeper Jordyn Martel (Chicopee, Mass.) closed out the All-NECC second team.
On the third team are forwards Rileigh Griffiths (Milford, N.Y.) of Southern Vermont and Katie Hanrahan (New London, Conn.) of Wheelock College. Midfielder Rachel Buckley (San Diego, Calif.) of Lesley earns third-team accolades, along with fellow midfielders Kelsey Shea (Belchertown, Mass.) from Elms, and Kyra Teixeira (Old Lyme, Conn.) of Becker. In the defender slot, Bay Path's Jillian Barry, Becker's Meghan Bealka (Freetown, Mass.), Southern Vermont's Naya Cerda (West Islip, N.Y.), and Elms' Lillian Doherty (Glastonbury, Conn.) were honored. Doherty's teammate and the 2016 Goalkeeper of the Year, Rebecca Molin (West, Hartford, Conn.) rounds out the third team in the goalkeeper spot.
NECC Player of the Year – Karlie Rubin, Lesley (Sr., F, San Diego, Calif.)
In her senior campaign, Rubin led the Lynx to an undefeated 8-0 regular season conference record, and helped the Lynx win the 2017 NECC Women's Soccer Championship. In eight regular season conference matches, she tallied six goals, and four assists, totaling 16 points. Of her six goals, two were game winners. Rubin was a one-time 2017 NECC Player of the Week selection (week ending 9/10/17).
NECC Goalkeeper of the Year – Melissa Mascari, Southern Vermont (Sr., Saratoga Springs, N.Y.)
Melissa Mascari had a strong senior season in goal, playing every minute in goal for the 6-1-1 Mountaineers. She posted 6 shutouts in 8 regular season conference games, only allowing 3 goals. Her goals-against-average (GAA) was 0.36, and her save percentage an impressive .936, with 44 saves. Overall, Mascari's .911 save percentage is good enough for sixth in NCAA Division III. Mascari was a one time 2017 NECC Player of the Week selection (week ending 10/15/17). She was also honored as the NECC Goalkeeper and Rookie of the Year in 2014.
NECC Rookie of the Year – Jayne Wierzbicki, Southern Vermont (Fr., M., Wilmington, Mass.)
Freshman Jayne Wierzbicki was an integral part in Southern Vermont's success in conference, helping the Mountaineers to a 6-1-1 regular season conference record, and a No. 3 seed in the NECC Championship. She led her team with five conference goals, including two game winners. She added 2 assists, for a total of 12 points. She earned NECC Rookie of the Week honors twice (weeks ending 10/1/17 and 10/15/17). Wierzbicki marks the fourth straight year a Southern Vermont athlete has won Rookie of the Year
Coach of the Year – Paul Vasconcelos, Lesley
In his tenth season, Vasconcelos led the Lynx to an undefeated 8-0 regular season conference record, and the 2017 NECC Women's Soccer Championship, their sixth in the past nine years. His team led the conference in goals with 39, while only allowing opponents to score twice. This is his seventh NECC Coach of the Year award (2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2014, 2015).
First Team All-NECC
F – Lindsey Keith, Becker (Jr., Sutton, Mass.)
F – Karlie Rubin, Lesley (Sr., San Diego, Calif.)
F – Jailinne Ruiz, Bay Path (Jr., Hadley, Mass.)
F – Brie Voight, Elms (Sr., Springfield, Mass.)
M - Mackenzie LaRochelle, Elms (Sr., Chicopee, Mass.)
M- Taylor Mallett, Southern Vermont (So., Berwick, Maine)
M – Jacqueline Soucia, Elms (Sr., Belchertown, Mass.)
D – Samantha Turnbull, Lesley (Sr., Holtsville, N.Y.)
D – Silvana Tellerico, Elms (Sr., Southington, Conn.)
D – Molly Madore, Southern Vermont (Jr., Higganum, Conn.)
GK – Melissa Mascari, Southern Vermont (Sr., Saratoga Springs, N.Y.)
Second Team All-NECC
F- Samantha Bessey, Lesley (Jr., Algonquin, Ill.)
F- Angelina Estrada, Elms (Sr., Springfield, Mass.)
F- Elena Helming, Bay Path (Sr., Maplewood, N.J.)
F- Jordan Mitchell, Lesley (Jr., Sachse, Texas)
M- Rebekah Herring, Bay Path (Jr., Springfield, Mass.)
M- Ciara McKissick, Becker (Jr., Charlton, Mass.)
M- McKenna Straube, Lesley (Jr., Junction City, Ore.)
M- Jayne Wierzbicki, Southern Vermont (Fr., Wilmington, Mass.)
D – Tiana Edwards, Mitchell (Sr., Hartford, Conn.)
D – Kyra Harbus, Lesley (Jr., Ventura, Calif.)
D – Shannon Walsh, Newbury (Sr., Massapequa, N.Y.)
GK – Jordyn Martel, Becker (Jr., Chicopee, Mass.)
Third Team All-NECC
F- Rileigh Griffiths, Southern Vermont (Fr., Milford, N.Y.)
F- Katie Hanrahan, Wheelock (Fr., New London, Conn.)
M- Rachel Buckley, Lesley (Jr., San Diego, Calif.)
M- Kelsey Shea, Elms (Jr., Belchertown, Mass.)
M- Kyra Teixeira, Becker (Fr., Old Lyme, Conn.)
D- Jillian Barry, Bay Path (Gr., Jewett City, Conn.)
D- Meghan Bealka, Becker (Sr., Freetown, Mass.)
D- Naya Cerda, Southern Vermont (Jr., West Islip, N.Y.)
D- Lillian Doherty, Elms (Fr., Glastonbury, Conn.)
GK- Rebecca Molin, Elms (So., West Hartford, Conn.)
All-NECC Sportsmanship Team
Jailinne Ruiz, Bay Path (Jr., Hadley, Mass.)
Jordyn Martel, Becker (Jr., Chicopee, Mass.)
Kiara Andreozzi, Dean (Fr., Waterville, Maine)
Antriese Suarez, Elms (So., Amherst, Mass.)
Katelyn Scott, Lesley (So., Glendora, Calif.)
Lindsey Fairbank, Mitchell (Fr., Newington, Conn.)
Amanda Cardoso, Newbury (So., Watertown, Mass.)
Ashley Blom, Southern Vermont (So., Manorville, N.Y.)
Jordan Stevens, Wheelock (Fr., Pittsfield, Vt.)