The 1993 Stonehill women's soccer team was the first in program history to win both the Northeast-10 regular season and tournament championships. |
NE-10 champions will be recognized at halftime of Stonehill-AIC contest
EASTON, Mass. (October 1, 2013) – Stonehill College will honor its 1993 Northeast-10 Conference champion women's soccer team at this Saturday's NE-10 women's soccer matchup with American International College, ranked 8th in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Division II poll, at noon. The contest will also serve as the 2013 Purple & White Game for the women's soccer team.
The 1993 Stonehill squad, coached by Jose Gomes, was the first in program history to capture the Northeast-10 conference regular season and tournament championships, posting a 15-3-2 overall record, including an unbeaten 7-0-2 mark in conference play. Seven players from the team were named to either the All-Northeast-10 first or second team at the conclusion of the historic season.
Stonehill was led offensively by senior forwards Anne O'Doherty, '94 (Worcester, Mass./Holy Name), and Karen Patterson, '94 (Agawam, Mass./Agawam). Patterson, who was inducted into the Stonehill Athletics Hall of Fame in 2000, scored a team-high 12 goals, including the game-winner in Stonehill's NE-10 championship win over Merrimack College. Patterson finished her career at Stonehill as the program's all-time leader in scoring, with 37 goals and 20 assists.
Karen Patterson '94 led Stonehill in scoring in 1993 with 12 goals. |
O'Doherty tallied 11 goals and three assists as the other key piece of Stonehill's offensive attack, while serving as one of the team's three captains. O'Doherty tied a school record with four goals in a 5-2 Stonehill victory at Bryant University on October 4th, 1993.
Despite the offensive prowess of Patterson and O'Doherty, Stonehill was able to capture its first NE-10 title that season largely due to an experienced, stingy defensive unit. Led by first team All-NE-10 senior backs Kristen Reed, '94 (Weymouth, Mass./Weymouth South) and Melissa Bisson, '94 (Canton, Mass./Canton), Stonehill allowed only 14 goals over the course of the 20-game season. Junior goalkeeper Gina Helein, '95, (Melrose, Mass./Melrose) was excellent as the last line of defense, posting a 0.59 goals-against average with ten shutouts for Stonehill.
Stonehill (3-4-2, 3-1-1 NE-10) will play one match prior to the contest with American International on Saturday, as the Skyhawks are on the road tomorrow night at Southern New Hampshire University.
With 20 intercollegiate sports, Stonehill boasts one of the top athletic and academic programs in the country. The Skyhawks have finished in the top three in the final NE-10 Presidents' Cup standings nine straight years, winning the Cup four times, including a streak of three-straight from 2009-10 through 2011-12. This prestigious award is given to the top performing athletic school in the Northeast-10, across all sports and seasons. Stonehill has received the NCAA Division II Presidents' Award for Academic Achievement each of the first two years if the program's existence of honoring programs with an Academic Success Rate (ASR) of 90-percent or better. The Skyhawks have earned a 97% Academic Success Ranking (ASR) by the NCAA, which considers the academic success rate of the institution based on the graduation rate of student-athletes, good for fifth among all NCAA Division II institutions, with nine Skyhawk teams receiving a perfect rating of 100%. In addition, the Skyhawks are ranked sixth in the National Collegiate Scouting Association (NCSA) Power Rankings used to assess the academic and athletic standards of all NCAA and NAIA athletic programs.
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