SOMERSET, N.J. (Nov. 4, 2010) – The Saint Francis University women's soccer team garnered three of the five major Northeast Conference postseason honors as the offensive duo of Tesa McKibben (Cogan Station, Pa./Montoursville) (Cogan Station, Pa./Montoursville) and Barbara Maros de Carvalho (Sao Paulo, Brazil/Colegio Sagrado Coraco de Jesus) (Sao Paulo, Brazil/Colegio Sagrado Coraco de Jesus) were voted NEC Player of the Year and NEC Rookie of the Year, respectively. Red Flash coach Brenda van Stralen earned NEC Coach of the Year.
The awards were announced at a banquet on the eve of the 2010 NEC Women's Soccer Tournament, set to begin on Friday, Nov. 5 hosted by Long Island University on the Fairleigh Dickinson Soccer Field in Teaneck, N.J. In the semifinals, #2 Saint Francis taking on #3 seed Quinnipiac at 2:30 p.m.
McKibben's sharp-shooting skills have confounded opposing defenses all season. After missing most of her freshman campaign with an injury, the sophomore burst onto the scene by leading the league with 15 goals and 39 points. She paced the league in shots per game (97), points per game (2.17) and goals per game (.83). Her knack for finding the back of the net didn't diminish under pressure either, as the forward fired a league-leading five game-winners. She proved to be a master playmaker as well, mixing in the second-most assists in the league (9).
McKibben's impressive numbers not only littered NEC statistical categories, they put her on the map nationally. The four-time adidas/NEC Player of the Week selection's points per game standard ranks her fifth nationally and her 15 goals place her sixth.
As the league's top goal-scorer, McKibben was also awarded the NEC's Golden Boot.
Red Flash teammate Maros de Carvalho navigated rival defenses with ease in her freshman campaign, besting the conference with 11 assists and picking an eighth place national ranking. On two separate occasions the forward dished for a game-high three helpers. The two-time adidas/NEC Rookie of the Week also showcased her versatility, delivering four goals of her own.
In her seventh season in Loretto, van Stralen earns coach-of-the-year accolades for the first time in her career. After compiling a 6-10 record in her inaugural season in 2004, van Stralen has coached the Flash to a .500-or-better mark in five of the six seasons since.
The program's all-time winningest coach with a record of 61-52-19, she led the 2005 squad to an NEC tournament berth; however, this season has been by far the most successful in her tenure with the Flash.
The Holland native has guided SFU to its best record in program history (14-4-1, 8-2 NEC), good for a #2 seed – its highest ever. In addition, Saint Francis maintained a perfect 9-0 slate on home turf. The Flash outscored conference opponents 26-9 in 10 games as it enters the postseason ranked first in shots (289), points (115), goals (41), goals per game (2.28), assists (33) and assists per game (1.83). They also begin the postseason as the 26th-ranked scoring offense in the nation.
In addition to McKibben, number-two seeded Saint Francis landed junior midfielder Traci Flick (Montoursville, Pa./Montoursville) (Montoursville, Pa./Montoursville) on the All-NEC first team. Flick, a second team all-conference selection in her freshman year, stowed away two goals and dished three assists this season.
Rounding out the Flash presence on the all-conference rolls is freshman Alecia McNiff (Marietta, Pa./Donegal ) (Marietta, Pa./Donegal), who joins Maros de Carvalho on the NEC second team. McNiff made strong impact on defense to finish out her rookie campaign, making a critical stop to preserve the 1-0 victory over regular season champion Long Island in the last weekend of play. In the Flash's last match she notched her first goal of the season to help topple Wagner 3-0.
