ALBANY – The College of Saint Rose was represented by six student-athletes on the 2009 Northeast-10 All-Conference women’s soccer team as voted upon by the league’s 16 head coaches. It marks the fourth straight year the Golden Knights placed at least four players on the squad.
Junior midfielder
Amanda Deck and junior backs
Katie Whiting and
Kelly Guerin were first-team selections, while sophomore forward
Gianna D’Errico and sophomore keeper
Susan Cowan garnered second team honors.
Additionally, freshman back
Meagan McKinney was named to the league’s All-Rookie squad.
Deck, who is making her second straight appearance on the All-Conference first team, has produced a team-leading 18 points with six goals and six assists. Four of Deck’s markers have gone for game-winners. She has also set up three winning strikes throughout the year. A first-team NSCAA/Adidas All-America pick in 2008, Deck has 10 goals and 17 assists for 37 points in her career thus far.
Whiting, Guerin and McKinney have helped solidify a defense that has shutout 11 of its last 12 opponents and has allowed a mere four goals all year, none in the first half. Saint Rose stands second in the nation (NCAA II) with a 0.22 goals-against-average and is one shutout shy of tying the school record of 15 that was set in 2007. The unit has surrendered a mere 30 corner kicks and 62 shots-on-target.
Whiting is making her second appearance on the All-Conference squad after garnering second-team honors a year ago. She also earned third-team NSCAA/Adidas All-American accolades. Guerin, who is often called upon to stop the top scoring threat on the opposition, has contributed a career-high two goals this season. McKinney has started more games (15) than any other freshman on the squad and registered her first collegiate point via an assist in a 7-0 win versus Pace on October 20.
D’Errico is part of a balanced attack that has seen eighteen different players find the scoring column, 14 of which have recorded at least one goal. D’Errico ranks second on the squad with 14 points behind five goals and four assists. She has already surpassed her 2008 point total (13) and has also tacked on a pair of game-winners. One of her biggest strikes this season came at Southern New Hampshire when she found the back of the net with 1:42 on the clock to propel Saint Rose past the host Penmen 1-0 to keep its unblemished record intact.
Cowan has put together a solid all-around campaign after not seeing any action as a freshman in 2008. She leads the NE-10 with a 0.18 GAA and a 0.939 save percentage. Cowan has also chalked up four shutouts and owns a 10-0 record between the posts. She has started 13 of the 15 games she has played in, allowing just two goals in over 1,000 minutes of action.
Saint Rose (18-0-0) won its third consecutive NE-10 regular season title and has appeared in every conference tournament since joining the league at the outset of the 2000 campaign. The Golden Knights are only the eighth women’s soccer team to finish league play with an undefeated season (15-0-0) and will take its first step towards a third straight NE-10 Tournament title when the Golden Knights meet eighth-seed New Haven (10-6-3) at 1:00 pm Sunday.