Stonehill Places 11 on NE10 Fall Academic All-Conference Teams

O'Brien

Morse

Foltz

Phanor

Siciliano

 

Hannon

Hersom

Demeule

Dowd

Branco

McDonough

Department total ranks second among NE10 programs

EASTON, Mass. (February 28, 2017) – Stonehill College has placed 11 of its fall student-athletes on the Northeast-10 Academic All-Conference teams for their performances on the field of play as well as the classroom.

Stonehill's 11 student-athletes are the second highest in the conference for the fall programs, as Adelphi University has 13 spread throughout the teams. Three Stonehill student-athletes are making their second appearance on the Academic All-Conference teams including women's soccer senior Claire O'Brien (West Hartford, Connecticut/Hall), field hockey senior All-American Sarah Morse (Westminster, Massachusetts/Oakmont Regional) and football junior Matt Foltz (Mount Joy, Pennsylvania/Donegal/The Hill School).

Throughout the fall, Stonehill athletics saw six of its eight fall championship programs participate in postseason play, led by a regular season championship from women's tennis and NE10 champion women's cross country program. Stonehill's third fall championship came from women's soccer, which finished fourth in the NE10 regular season standings. Women's soccer earned its first NCAA Tournament bid in program history after capturing its third NE10 title, while field hockey received their fourth-straight NCAA bid. Women's cross country added its seventh regional championship over the last eight years, along with their eighth straight NE10 title to reach NCAA Championships for the 17th-straight year. Men's cross country placed second at the regional meet to advance to nationals for the 14th-straight year.

O'Brien averaged a 3.65 studying mediated communication in the classroom and was part of the women's soccer defense that held opponents to 17 goals this season, while the team contributed 39 goals to its historic season. The senior scored the game-winning goal this year in a 3-2 victory over Merrimack College, while she also scored the only goal in the programs' first NCAA bid in a 3-1 loss against American International College. She has earned numerous awards in her four years as a Skyhawk, including this year's NE10 All-Conference second team honor, her third. She was also named to the NSCAA NCAA Scholar All-East Region first team, NSCAA NCAA Division II All-East Region second team. The mediated communications major has also appeared on the NE10 Commissioner's Honor Roll six semesters and the Athletic Director's Honor Roll for three semesters.

Morse, who has earned a 3.69 cumulative grade point average as a finance major, earns Academic All-Conference honors for the second straight year. Named a CoSIDA At Large Academic All-America third team selection as a junior, Morse is a consensus All-American for the second straight year, earning second team honors from the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) and first team honors from Synapse Sports. She has been named to the NFHCA National Academic Squad all three years to date, and the NE10 Commissioner's Honor Roll and Athletic Director's Honor Roll all seven semesters.

Morse moved to defense for her senior year after being a consensus first team All-American as a midfielder her junior season and helped lead the Skyhawks to a 14-6 record overall, including 9-3 in the NE10, earning an NCAA Tournament bid. She started all 20 games and led a defensive unit which shared the Conference lead with eight shutouts, while ranking seventh with a 1.49 team goals against average, limiting opponents to 12.2 shots, including 7.8 on goal, and 7.0 penalty corners per game. Morse earned All-NE10 first team honors for the second straight year and was an NFHCA Senior All-Star Game participant.

Foltz, who has earned a 3.70 cumulative grade point average as an economics major, earns Academic All-Conference honors for the second straight year. The first junior to be named captain since 2000, the quarterback started all ten games played and completed 206-of-325 passes for 2,058 yards and 11 touchdowns, with just ten interceptions, rushing for three more scores. He ranked fifth among NE10 leaders for passing yards, second in completion percentage (63.4%) and sixth in passing touchdowns. Foltz has been named to the NE10 Commissioner's Honor Roll and Athletic Director's Honor Roll all five semesters at the College.

Foltz earned his second career New England Football Writers Division II/III Gold Helmet Award on September 28 after posting a school-record 448 yards of total offense (330 passing/career-high 118 rushing) in a 45-34 win at Saint Anselm College, also collecting NE10 Offensive Player of the Week accolades for the third time in his career for his efforts. He posted just the fourth 2,000-yard passing season in program history, one of just two QBs in school history to do so, and he ranks among Stonehill career leaders for completions (440), passing yards (4,842), TD passes (38), TDs responsible for (49) and is on pace to break the program mark for completion percentage (60.4%).

Senior offensive lineman Anthony Siciliano (Monroe, New York/Don Bosco Prep), who has earned a 3.43 cumulative grade point average as a computer science major, earns Academic All-Conference honors for the first time in his career. The captain earned All-NE10 second team honors as an offensive lineman for the second straight year and was a National Football Foundation (NFF) Campbell Trophy & Scholar-Athlete Award semifinalist this fall. He started all 11 games at center for Stonehill this fall, helping the offense rank fifth among NE10 leaders for total offense (343.8 yds/gm) and passing offense (211.5 yds/gm). Siciliano is a Dean's List student enrolled in Stonehill's three and two computer engineering program with the University of Notre Dame. He has been named to the NE10 Commissioner's Honor Roll all seven semesters and the Athletic Director's Honor Roll six semesters.

Siciliano has started all 48 games played over his career on the Stonehill offensive line. He earned a spot on the NE10 All-Rookie Team as a freshmen when the Skyhawks captured a share of the Conference's regular season championship. Siciliano has been selected as a peer tutor by the computer science chair and volunteers for a tutoring program with high school students in Brockton and Easton in math and science.

Junior cornerback Donovan Phanor (Portsmouth, New Hampshire/Portsmouth) earns NE10 Academic All-Conference honor for the first time as well, having earned a 3.65 cumulative grade point average as a finance major at Stonehill. He has been named to the NE10 Commissioner's Honor Roll and Athletic Director's Honor Roll all five semesters. Phanor started all 11 games for the Skyhawks this fall, totaling 45 tackles (29 solo), including 1.0 for a loss of a yard, with a team-high four interceptions and team-best nine pass breakups. He was a key member of a Stonehill defense which ranked third in the NE10 for total defense, yielding just 320.8 yards per game.

Phanor is a two-year starter at corner for Stonehill, totaling 92 tackles (61 solo), including 2.0 for a loss, with five interceptions, 16 pass breakups, a forced fumble and fumble recovery in 32 career games played. He earned the New England Football Writers Division II/III Gold Helmet Award and NE10 Defensive Player of the Week honors for the first time in his career following the Skyhawks' 27-10 win at Bloomsburg (Pa.) University in 2015.

From women's cross country, sophomore Elizabeth Hannon (Franklin, Massachusetts/Bishop Feehan) was one of two women to be named to the team. Hannon is majoring in Mechanical Engineering and averaged a 3.70 GPA in the classroom while also being impressive on the trails in her two years in the program.  The sophomore has been named to the NCAA Division II All-East Region team twice, while also receiving USTFCCCA All-Academic honor both years. Hannon was also recognized by the NE10 both years being tabbed on the All-Conference second team twice and the Athletic Director's and NE10 Commissioner's honor roll.

Junior Abby Hersom (Rockland, Maine/Oceanside) joins Hannon on the women's cross country All-Academic team, as she also picks up her first honor after closing in on 4.0 GPA with a 3.92 in healthcare administration. The Rockland, Maine native has competed in three NE10 Championships, assisting the program to its eighth-straight title this year. As a sophomore, Hersom was a recipient Stonehill Athletics' St. Thomas Aquinas Medal, for the highest cumulative GPA, and was also named to the NE10 All-Conference first team in her sophomore year for her eighth-place finish at the championships.

Sophomores Alexander Demeule (Merrimac, Massachusetts/Pentucket Regional) and Riley Dowd (Peabody, Massachusetts/Peabody Veterans) received the honor for the first time for the men's cross country program. Demeule, who earned a 3.72 while majoring in finance, was named to the NCAA All-East Region Team for the first time in his career, assisting the Skyhawks to their runner-up finish at the Regional Championships. The sophomore also received his first NE10 All-Conference third team accolade after placing 19th at the Championship this year. Demeule was named the NE10 Commissioner's spring honor roll last year.

Dowd saw similar honors to Demeule as he earned a 3.71 grade point average in economics while also being named to the NCAA All-East Region team with his 10th-place finish in the regional championship. The sophomore assisted the Skyhawks to its sixth runner-up finish in the NE10 Championships as he crossed the finish 11th in the field in the 10-kilometer race, picking up his first NE10 All-Conference second team accolade. Dowd was also named to the NE10 Commissioner's honor roll last year.

The men's soccer program also saw two student-athletes on the list, including juniors Adam Branco (Naugatuck, Connecticut/Naugatuck) and Conor McDonough (Bridgewater, Massachusetts/Coyle & Cassidy). Branco earned a 3.73 grade point average in the fall while studying international business. Branco saw an impressive increase in playing time his sophomore and junior years as he tallied 11 and eight goals, respectively. The junior was also the leading scorer both years, as he totaled 26 points last year and 17 this year.  His name has appeared on the NE10 Commissioner's Honor Roll five semesters and the Athletic Director's Honor Roll two semesters. The International Business major was selected on the NE10 All-Conference third team last season and the third team this year, while also being named to the Catholic Cup All-Tournament team after scoring two goals in the opening contest.

McDonough earned a 3.62 grade point average in the classroom, while focusing on healthcare administration. He has been named to the NE10 Commissioner's Honor Roll for four semesters, while also being placed on the Athletic Director's Honor Roll twice. The junior was the starting goalkeeper for the program this year, as he averaged 2.27 goals against and two shutouts. The healthcare administration major was selected for the 2016 All-Tournament team after leading Stonehill to the championship game after a 4-0 victory over Saint Anselm College.

With 21 intercollegiate sports, after announcing the addition of women's golf for the 2017-18 academic year, Stonehill boasts one of the top athletic and academic programs in the country. While finishing in the top three of the NE10 Presidents' Cup standings for overall athletic performance 12 straight years, the Skyhawks have received the NCAA Division II Presidents' Award for Academic Achievement each of the first six years of the program's existence of honoring institutions with an Academic Success Rate (ASR) of 90-percent or better. Stonehill has earned a 96% Academic Success Ranking (ASR) by the NCAA three straight years, which considers the academic success rate of the institution based on the graduation rate of student-athletes, good for sixth among all NCAA Division II institutions, with 11 Skyhawk teams receiving a perfect rating of 100%. In addition, the Skyhawks are ranked third in the National Collegiate Scouting Association (NCSA) Power Rankings for Division II used to assess the academic and athletic standards of all NCAA and NAIA athletic programs.

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