CAMBRIDGE, MA. - The Lesley Women's Soccer team won their fourth straight New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) championship on Saturday afternoon, but it was not the first major achievement the team celebrated that week. On Monday, the NECC revealed their major award winners and All-Conference Team and the Lynx were strongly represented.
Claire Hounslow, a senior midfielder from Westborough, MA, was named the NECC Women's Soccer Player of the Year. Hounslow had previously appeared on the NECC All-Conference First Team in her sophomore year and was again named to the team this season. She won Player of the Week twice this season and impressed on the stat sheet. Hounslow scored a total of seven goals in the regular season, adding an assist for a total of 15 points. Her goals and points total were second overall in the conference and she led in goals scored in conference matches with three. Hounslow's hat trick against Mitchell College helped seal Lesley's 3-0 conference record and top seeding in the postseason. Hounslow added two more goals in the postseason to bring her season total to nine. She finished the season with a total of six game-winning goals.
Hounslow was not the only Lynx to win a major award. Freshman forward Abby Kalou, from Buffalo Grove, IL, was named the NECC Women's Soccer Rookie of the Year after impressing on offense all season long. Kalou scored a total of five goals in the regular season, immediately proving to be an asset on the front line. Kalou also had two assists and scored a total of twelve points this season. She added two more goals in the NECC Semifinal match and had an assist in the championship match.
In a voting tie, Audrey Calhoun was named NECC Women's Soccer Co-Goalkeeper of the Year. Calhoun finished the regular season with an 8-2 record and 0.94 goals against average. Calhoun had five shutouts, two coming in conference play. She was part of a strong defensive line that did not allow a goal for the entire month of October. Calhoun only let in nine goals through the whole regular season, ranking third in the conference with a 71.9% save percentage.
In addition to major awards, the Lynx had seven players named to the NECC All-Conference Team: forwards Chloe Kouyoumdjian and Juliana Rossini, midfielders Hounslow and Gabby Lara, defenders Kayleigh Chicas and Alex Carruth, and Calhoun in the goalkeeper spot. Additionally, freshman Emily Winkels represented Lesley on the Del Malloy Sportmanship Team. The full All-Conference teams can be seen below:
2021 NECC Women's Soccer All-Conference Team
Forward- Diamond Best (Sr., Danvers, Mass.), Eastern Nazarene
Forward- Chloe Kouyoumdjian (Sr., La Canada, Calif.), Lesley
Forward- Juliana Rossini (Sr., Sonoma, Calif.), Lesley
Midfielder- Sam Baston (Sr., Carver, Mass.), Eastern Nazarene
Midfielder- Claire Hounslow (Sr., Westborough, Mass.), Lesley
Midfielder- Gabby Lara (Sr., Denville, N.J.), Lesley
Midfielder- Leeann Demirjian (Sr., Needham, Mass.), New England Col.
Defender- Rachel Pieger, Eastern Nazarene (Jr., Oakville, Conn.)
Defender- Alex Carruth (Jr., Torrance, Calif.), Lesley
Defender- Kayleigh Chicas (Sr., Chatsworth, Calif.), Lesley
Goalkeeper- Sophia Fevola (Sr., Wellington, Fla.), Eastern Nazarene College
Goalkeeper- Audrey Calhoun (Jr., Chapel Hill N.C.), Lesley
Del Malloy Sportsmanship Team
Briana Taylor (Sr., Milton, Del.), Eastern Nazarene
Emily Winkels, (Fr., Saint Louis, Mo.), Lesley
Marissa Luna (Fr., Houston, Texas), Mitchell
Emma Zanni (Sr., Merrimack, N.H.), New England Col.