Women's Soccer Sweeps ECC Major Awards; Seven Players Named All-Conference
CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. (Nov. 7, 2010) – The East Coast Conference announced its women's soccer All-Conference awards, and the Pioneers placed seven players on the two All-Conference teams in addition to sweeping all five major awards.
Seniors Ivana Babic (Haninge, Sweden) and Anna Svensson (Stockholm, Sweden) were named the ECC Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year, respectively. Svensson also earned ECC Women's Soccer Scholar Athlete of the Year, as voted on by the conference faculty-athlete representatives. Junior goalkeeper Allie Weiser (Grand Island, N.Y.) earned Goalkeeper of the Year honors, and freshman Alexa Niciforo (East Islip, N.Y.) earned Rookie of the Year Accolades. In addition, head coach Mark Dawson was tabbed as the ECC Coach of the Year.
In addition, Svensson, Babic, Weiser and Niciforo earned spots on the All-Conference first team. They are joined on the first team by midfielder Danielle DeLuca (Islip, N.Y.). Garnering spots on the All-Conference second team are senior defender Jessie Gianatti (Southington, Conn.) and junior midfielder Tove Eriksson (Helsingborg, Sweden).
Babic, a four year standout for the Pioneers, finishes off her career with the honor of top offensive player in the ECC. In helping C.W. Post to a top finish in the ECC with a 6-0-1 conference record, she tallied 30 points by scoring 12 goals and dishing off six assists. Babic led the conference in game winning goals with four, while also finishing second in the ECC in points and goals and fourth in assists.
Svensson helped the Pioneers to a 11-1-4 regular season overall record this year. She anchored a defense that allowed only eight goals and notched 10 shutouts on the season.
Weiser, who also won Goalkeeper of the Year in 2008, posted an 10-1-4 record during the regular season. She tallied seven shutouts and 64 saves while allowing only eight goals on the year.
In her freshman campaign, Niciforo tied for the team lead with 12 goals while adding three assists for 27 points. She ranks second in the ECC in goals and also finished third in points.
DeLuca, a four-time All-Conference selection, led the team this season with eight assists, scoring two goals. Eriksson scored three goals with two assists in her role as a central midfielder for the Pioneers, and Gianatti, a four-year starter, earns her first All-Conference selection after playing an integral role on the Pioneer defense this season, scoring one goal and registering one assist.
Leading his team to an ECC Regular Season title, Dawson was voted ECC Coach of the Year by his peers for the second time during his tenure at C.W. Post. Dawson guided the Pioneers to a 11-1-4 regular season record with a 6-0-1 mark in conference play to earn the top seed in the ECC Tournament.