WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J.- Monmouth University senior Katie Degen (Glen Head, N.Y./North Shore) and freshman Megan Brennan (King of Prussia, Pa./Archbishop Carroll) were named NEC Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year, respectively, league officials announced Thursday evening.
"Katie and Megan are well deserving of the honors they received," said head coach Kelly McCardell. "To have six players represented on the All-Conference teams speaks volumes about our program and the tradition we are building."
Degen led the league in scoring this season, with 49 goals and 30 assists for 79 points, 11 more than the next closest player. Degen is 11th in the country in points per game, averaging 4.65 points per contest, scoring multiple points in 14 out of 17 games. The senior midfielder started every contest for the Hawks, scoring seven goals in two games, including a 10-point effort against LaSalle. Degen’s 30 assists is first in the nine-team league, with a five-helper effort against Lafayette highlighting her career. Degen earned First Team All-NEC honors for the third straight year and 2007 marks the second time in her career that she has taken home Player of the Year honors.
Brennan, a freshman attacker, won Rookie of the Year after posting 22 goals and 11 assists for 33 points. The King of Prussia, Pa., native started all 17 games for the Hawks and scored a hat trick in three separate contests. She had a career-high four points against St. Francis, tallying a pair of goals and two helpers. Brennan finished fifth on a team that led the Northeast Conference in average goals and assists per game. The attacker finished with three game-winning goals on the season and was named NEC Rookie of the Week once during the regular season.
Four other players joined Degen on the First Team All-NEC squad, with attacker Carolyn Raveia (Woodbridge, Va./W. T. Woodson), midfielders Megan Nutter (Moorestown, N.J./Moorestown) and Ashley Waldman (Oceanport, N.J./Shore Regional) and defender Kaitlyn Robinson (Huntington Station, N.Y./St. Anthony’s) all earning the honor. Sophomore goaltender Monica Johnson (Radnor, Pa./Archbishop Carroll) earned Second Team All-NEC honors.
Raveia, a senior attacker, led the conference in scoring with 51 goals (15th in the NCAA in gpg), while finishing second on the Hawks in points with 62 points. The Woodbridge, Va., native earns her second First Team All-NEC selection after tallying a career-high eight points against Howard, which she followed up with a pair of seven point games (LaSalle & CCSU). Nutter was one of the conferences best two-way players, finishing with 43 goals, 12 assists, 27 ground balls, 19 caused turnovers and was second on the team with 41 draw controls. The 2005 NEC Rookie of the Year picks up her second consecutive First Team All-NEC award after a season that included an eight-point effort against Robert Morris and an amazing 14-for-17 in free position goals.
Waldman earns her first First Team All-NEC honors as a junior (she earned Second Team as a sophomore) after finishing fourth on the Hawks in points with 48 points on 35 goals and 13 assists. The midfielder led the Hawks in draw controls and game winning goals with 42 and three, respectively, while collecting 35 ground balls. Robinson was one of the most dominant defenders in the conference, earning First Team honors after missing all of last year with an injury. The two-time All-NEC performer at the midfield position was asked to switch to defender for 2007. She completed the transition by leading MU in ground balls with 51 and finishing second on the team in caused turnovers with 25 and third on draw controls with 35. Johnson earns her second All-NEC award (she was a first team performer as a rookie) after backstopping the Hawks to another 13 win season. The sophomore’s .551 save percentage is fourth in all of Division I and her 9.48 goals against average ranks 15th among all DI netminders.
McCardell leads the second-seeded Hawks against the fourth-seeded Sacred Heart Pioneers on Friday in the semifinals of the NEC Tournament. The game is a rematch of last year’s NEC Title game, which Monmouth won 10-5. MU ended the regular season with a 13-4 overall record and a 7-1 NEC record. The 13 wins ties a program record, with 2007 marking the third straight year in which MU has won that many games.
The Hawks’ lone conference blemish came this season against tournament host Mount St. Mary’s back on April 13. MU defeated Sacred Heart 11-8 at home earlier this season, also dispatching fourth-seeded Quinnipiac by a 17-7 margin at Kessler Field. Including 2007, Monmouth has qualified for the NEC Tournament all 10 years in its existence, advancing to the NEC championship game on eight occasions. The Blue & White won the NEC Title in 2001 and 2006, McCardell’s first season as head coach.
Monmouth owns a 6-3 record against Mount in the NEC Tournament, with a 2-0 record against Quinnipiac and a 1-0 mark against Sacred Heart in post-season conference play.
Monmouth begins to defend its NEC title at 3:30 against the Pioneers. Mount St. Mary’s and Quinnipiac will play at 1 p.m.
