Three Skyhawks Earn NE-10 Postseason Honors

Wheaton named NE-10 Goalkeeper of the Year, A. Nagle and S. Nagle collect second team All-Conference accolades

Allison Nagle
Sara Nagle
Amy Wheaton

EASTON, Mass. (October 31, 2012) – Three members of the Stonehill College women's soccer team have earned postseason honors from the Northeast-10 Conference (NE-10) as selected by the league's 16 head coaches.

Junior Amy Wheaton (Dartmouth, Mass./Dartmouth) has been named the NE-10 Goalkeeper of the Year for the first time in her career. Wheaton's selection also places her on the NE-10 All-Conference first team and marks the third time a goalkeeper in Stonehill women's soccer program history has garnered Goalkeeper of the Year accolades. Wheaton joins Stonehill College Hall of Famers Christine Pecevich, '87 and Kathy Neff, '01 in that class.

Senior back Sara Nagle (Manchester, Conn./Manchester) collects her third career postseason award with a selection to the NE-10 All-Conference second team this fall. Nagle is the last Stonehill player to be named to an All-Conference team for three-straight seasons since Lauren Boyd, '08 completed the feat with back-to-back first team selections in 2007 and 2006 and a second team nod in 2005.

Classmate Allison Nagle (Mansfield, Mass./Mansfield) picks up her first-career postseason honor after being named to the NE-10 All-Conference second team. The Skyhawks three All-Conference selections are the most for the program since 2006 when Stonehill also had three members of its team chosen including Boyd, Ashley Bourne, '08, and Megan O'Brien, '08.

"It is no surprise to me that all three players earned postseason awards even though they play on the same defense," said Stonehill College women's soccer head coach Rolando Lopes. "It is the culmination of their hard work and they must all be congratulated. I truly believe that this is the best defensive line that we have ever had at Stonehill."

A. Nagle, S. Nagle and Wheaton started in every game on the 2012 schedule for Stonehill leading the Skyhawks to a new single-season program record for fewest goals allowed with 12 total. The trio helped snap last year's mark by two markers.

Wheaton posted eight shutouts in 17 starts this fall, a 0.65 goals against average (GAA), 96 saves and an .889 save percentage. Wheaton currently ranks second in the NE-10 in shutouts, save percentage and minutes played (1668:26), fourth in GAA and fifth in saves. Among NCAA Division II goalkeepers, Wheaton checks in at eighth overall in save percentage, 11th in goalkeeper minutes played, 27th in GAA and 43rd in total saves.

In her career at Stonehill, Wheaton has played in 43 games (39 starts), turned away 211 shots and has recorded a 0.75 GAA in nearly 4,000 minutes in net. The junior goalkeeper has compiled 15 career shutouts which ties her for fourth all-time on the career shutouts list at Stonehill. In addition, Wheaton also ranks third and fourth, respectively, on the single-season goals against average list with a 0.65 GAA mark in 2012 and a 0.72 GAA in 2011.

"Amy is an exceptional athlete that is always striving to learn more and more," said Lopes. "Amy's goalkeeper experience got a jump start her freshman year as she started and played in nine games and that propelled her to be more confident last year and this year. She is hard working and her mentors, assistant coaches Kristen Young and Alex Wilson, are the finest we can find around."

S. Nagle notches her third career NE-10 All-Conference award after earning first team honors in 2011 and third team accolades during her sophomore season in 2010. S. Nagle has never missed a contest at Stonehill making 74-consecutive starts on the backline for the Skyhawks. Over that four-year stretch, Stonehill's defense allowed a minuscule 0.94 GAA to opponents in 6,960 minutes of action.

S. Nagle, an NE-10 All-Rookie Team selection in 2009, has compiled numerous awards at the College both on the field and in the classroom. Last season, S. Nagle was chosen to the CoSIDA Capital One Academic All-District second team and has also garnered two NCAA Division II ADA Academic Achievement awards and one NE-10 Academic All-Conference selection over her career. S. Nagle is also a two-time NEWISA All-New England selection, a NSCAA All-East Region honoree and a Daktronics All-East Region second team recipient.

"Sara is simply one of the best defenders in all NCAA divisions," said Lopes of his senior back. "She deserves it and a lot more."

A. Nagle has been equally as important to the success of the Skyhawks defense in her four years at Stonehill as the senior back started in 72 out of a possible 74 games in her career. From her freshman season to 2012, the Skyhawks reduced their goals against total every year (25, 22, 14, 12) rewriting the record book twice for the fewest goals allowed in a single-season with 12 goals allowed this fall and 14 during the 2011 campaign.

"Allison is one of the best defenders and readers of the game that we have in our area," said Lopes. "This award came kind of late for Allison, but it is well deserved. Throughout these past four years she has been the unsung hero on our defense and I am glad that she has finally got some postseason recognition."

On September 4, A. Nagle was named the NE-10 Select Sport Defensive Player of the Week for guiding the Skyhawks to a 4-0 shutout against Concordia (N.Y.) in their 2012 season opener. Stonehill's defense only allowed one shot on goal while A. Nagle scored her first career collegiate goal in four seasons at the 70:22 mark of the contest. A. Nagle wraps up her career at Stonehill with eight points on one goal and six assists. A. Nagle's pair of assists in 2011 set up two game-winning markers while her two assists this season helped the Skyhawks win one contest and tie another.

In the classroom, A. Nagle is a two-time NCAA Division II ADA Academic Achievement award winner and has been a consistent member of the NE-10 Commissioner's and Athletic Director's honor rolls.

Stonehill finished its 2012 season at 6-5-6 overall and 5-5-5 in the NE-10. In A. Nagle and S. Nagle's four-year careers at the College, the Skyhawks have totaled 35 wins overall and 27 victories in NE-10 play.