Posted: Nov 16, 2011
PHOENIX, Ariz. – Fresh off of their first NCAA tournament appearance, the Endicott field hockey team received more accolades on Wednesday afternoon when four of their team members were named to the 2011 Longstreth/National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Division III All-Region teams.
Junior forward Taylor Matties (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.) was named to the New England East Region First team while junior goalkeeper Taylor Teixeira (Exeter, N.H.), freshman defender Meghan Leary (Hampton Falls, N.H.), and first year forward Emily Sawchuck (Cumberland, Maine) were pegged as Second Team honorees.
All four players were previously honored this year as members of the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) First Team.
Matties led both the team and the entire conference this year with 13 assists, while also adding two goals. Her 0.62 assists per game ties her for thirteenth in all of NCAA Division III. Matties was fourth on the Gulls this season with 14 points.
Teixeira, a junior goalkeeper, led one of the stingiest defenses in the CCC. Teixeira ranked first in the conference with a .791 save percentage, good for 35th in the country, and made 136 saves on the season. Teixeira blanked opponents five times in the regular season, tops in the conference, while compiling a goals-against average of 1.76 to place second among CCC keepers. At one point in the season she held opponents scoreless for over 200 minutes en route to being named CCC Defensive Player of the Year.
Sawchuck, the 2011 CCC Rookie of the Year, enjoyed a stellar inaugural campaign for the Gulls, scoring fourteen goals in the regular season. The talented newcomer tallied a league-best six game-winning goals and 0.74 goals per game, ranking third in the conference and 29 total points in 19 games played, good for 7th in the conference. Among team members, she placed in the top 10 in all major offensive categories, including ranking third in points and goals.
Leary, an outstanding central defender with dangerous stick skills, combined patience and timing with tenacity on the Gull’s back-line. She continually shut down the most skilled offensive players in the conference and was critical in the team's transition game, supplying great vision, poise and tackling skills. Leary also got on the score herself with a goal against Bridgewater State.
The National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) is a non-profit organization serving field hockey coaches and supporters of the game from across the United States. The mission of the organization is to stimulate the professional development of coaching leadership within the sport of field hockey. The NFHCA strives to cultivate and recognize the professional contributions of its membership and to foster and promote the growth of the sport. The NFHCA is responsible for providing a recognizable presence and voice in regard to legislation affecting the sport as well as interscholastic and intercollegiate programs.
