Sophomore back Claire O'Brien was named to the NEWISA All-New England second team for the second consecutive season. |
Sophomore duo helped lead Stonehill to NE-10 Tournament for the first time since 2011
EASTON, Mass. (December 12, 2014) – Stonehill College sophomores Claire O'Brien (West Hartford, Connecticut/Hall) and Hannah Fay (Tolland, Connecticut/Tolland) have earned All-New England second team honors from the New England Women's Intercollegiate Soccer Association (NEWISA), it was announced yesterday.
O'Brien, a second team All-Northeast-10 Conference and third team National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)/Continental Tire All-East Region selection this fall, adds All-New England second team honors to her resume for the second consecutive season after being recognized by NEWISA following her freshman campaign.
The sophomore was a key cog in Stonehill's defensive unit as the Skyhawks returned to the NE-10 Tournament for the first time since 2011. O'Brien started in all 18 matches as Stonehill posted a 1.15 goals against average and five shutouts.
O'Brien also expanded her offensive game this season, scoring the first two goals of her collegiate career to go with an assist for a total of five points. The West Hartford, Connecticut native helped spark Stonehill's comeback from an early 2-0 deficit in the season opener against Assumption College on September 5th with her 34th minute goal, as the Skyhawks eventually posted a 4-2 victory.
A month later, O'Brien found the back of the net again, this time in a 1-0 Stonehill triumph at American International College on October 4th. She delivered the game-winner on a free kick from 25 yards out in the 89th minute, lifting the Skyhawks to one of their most memorable wins of the regular season. O'Brien also provided the assist on freshman Taylor Shannahan's 18th minute goal in Stonehill's 2-1 triumph over Merrimack College on October 15th.
O'Brien made an immediate impact as a freshman in 2013, starting all 18 matches at back and earning a NEWISA All-New England second team selection. In the classroom, she was named to both the NE-10 Commissioner's Honor Roll and the Athletic Director's Honor Roll each semester during the 2013-14 academic year.
Sophomore midfielder Hannah Fay earns the first NEWISA All-New England selection of her career after garnering All-NE-10 third team accolades earlier this fall. |
A 2013 graduate of William H. Hall High School in West Hartford, Connecticut, O'Brien was a four-year letterwinner for head coach Scott Ferguson. She was named to the All-Academic team all four years at Hall, in addition to earning Central Connecticut Conference (CCC) All-West Division honors as a junior and senior.
Fay collects the first NEWISA All-New England honor of her career after earning All-NE-10 third team accolades earlier this fall. The sophomore midfielder appeared in all 18 matches this season, making ten starts and recording five points on two goals and an assist, good for a three-way tie for third on the team.
Fay scored the third of Stonehill's four unanswered goals in the team's 4-2 win over Assumption on September 5th in the Catholic Cup. The goal, which was the first of Fay's collegiate career, also served as the game-winning tally. The Tolland, Connecticut native added an assist in Stonehill's 3-0 shutout of the University of New Haven on September 27th, before netting her second goal of the season on November 1st as the Skyhawks dropped a 2-1 decision at Adelphi University in the regular season finale for both teams.
As a freshman last fall, Fay appeared in just one game, Stonehill's home-opening loss to Felician College on September 8th. She has excelled in the classroom, earning a spot on both the NE-10 and Athletic Director's Honor Rolls each of her first two semesters at Stonehill.
A 2013 graduate of Tolland High School, Fay was a four-year letterwinner for head coach Ken Boucher, earning All-CCC honors as a sophomore, junior, and senior. In addition, she was named to the Hartford Courant All-Courant team as a senior after garnering honorable mention recognition as a junior.
Stonehill finished its 2014 regular season at 8-7-2, earning the eighth seed in the NE-10 Tournament with a 6-6-2 league record. The Skyhawks fell to top-seeded Assumption, 2-1, in overtime on November 4th in the quarterfinal round.
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