New York, N.Y. -The Skyline Conference, in voting conducted among the Conference's nine head coaches, released the 2014 All-Conference Teams on Monday, November 3rd. Junior defender Andrea Kiefer* (Centereach, N.Y.) was selected as the 2014 Defensive Player of the Year and freshman forward Taylor Howard (Massapequa Park, N.Y.) was named Rookie of the Year.
Five other players from Farmingdale State join Kiefer and Howard as All-Skyline selections. Forward Ashlee Thompson (Ronkonkoma, N.Y.) and midfielder Alena Gannon (North Babylon, N.Y.) were named First Team, while midfielder Melissa Lijo* (Flushing, N.Y.), defender Samantha Kender* (Farmingdale, N.Y.) and goalkeeper Breanna Blair (Littleton, Colo.) were named Second Team.
Kiefer, a team captain and 3-Time All-Conference selection, also earned Skyline Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2012 before missing all of last season due to injury. She anchors the Farmingdale State defense that has recorded six shutouts and yielded just six goals in conference play. The junior back has compiled five assists, which is currently the second-most on the team and a career-high.
Howard, starting in 17 of her 17 games played, leads the Rams with four game-winning goals while adding 12 goals and two assists in 17 contests, ranking her 9th in the Conference with 26 points. She also ranks 6th in the conference for game-winners and 7th for goals (12). The Massapequa Park, N.Y., native has four multi-goal efforts in 2014 and her first career goal on Sept. 6th lifted the Rams to a 1-0 win over Skidmore. Her 8 goals in Skyline games ranked 5th in the conference.
Thompson, a junior and 3-time All-Conference selection, started all 20 games this season, leading the team in goals, assists, points and game-winning goals. In the Skyline, she ranks third in both goals and points and fourth in assists and game-winning goals. In conference games, she led the Skyline with 28 points. Nationally, she ranks 26th for assists and game-winners, 32nd for points and 45th for goals. She also broke the FSC single-season record for points in a season with 40, to date.
Gannon, a sophomore midfielder, who holds a career-high 19 points, has appeared in every game while starting nine. She ranks 2nd on the team in assists (5) and 3rd in goals (6), points (17) and game-winning scores (2). In the Skyline, she is currently 10th for game-winning goals and 15th in both assists and points.
Lijo, a junior midfielder and team captain, holds a career-high 14 points from her midfield position. She started in seven games and appeared in 20 to date. She ranks 4th at FSC in both goals (5) and assists (4). In conference play, she ranks 12th in the league in goals and 13th for both points and assists.
Kender, a senior defender and team captain, has started every game in the backfield. She helped solidify an FSC defense that ranks 3rd in the Skyline in goals against average (1.16) and goals allowed (24). She also helped FSC to their Top-10 Regional ranking the entire year.
Blair, a junior and the teams starting keeper, currently holds a 12-5-3 record and leads the Conference in save percentage (.839), while ranking 2nd in shutouts (4) and goals against average (1.03). She is also ranked 3rd for saves with 99. Among the nation in Division III, Blair ranks 13th in goalie minutes played with 1668, 78th in saves and 86th in save percentage.
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2014 SKYLINE WOMEN'S SOCCER ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM
First-Team
Stephanie Maybie, Old Westbury - Sr., F - Massapequa, N.Y.
Taylor Howard, Farmingdale State - Fr., F - Massapequa Park, N.Y.
Marissa Segreto, Mount Saint Mary - Sr., F - West Islip, N.Y.
Ashlee Thompson, Farmingdale State - Jr., F - Ronkonkoma, N.Y.
Vanessa DiSilvio, Mount Saint Mary - Sr., M - Massapequa, N.Y.
Alena Gannon, Farmingdale State - So., M - North Babylon, N.Y.
Savannah Mason, Sage - So., M - Wynantskill, N.Y.
Andrea Kiefer, Farmingdale State - Jr., B - Centereach, N.Y.
Erica Lencsak, Mount Saint Vincent - So., B - Hazlet, N.J.
Bridget McKeever, Mount Saint Mary - Fr., B - Wallkill, N.Y.
Destiny Ribadeneyra, Mount Saint Mary - Fr., B - Maybrook, N.Y.
Mary Riley, Mount Saint Mary - Fr., GK - Newburgh, N.Y.
Second-Team
Megan DeRosa, Mount Saint Vincent - Fr., F - Cornwall, N.Y.
Amanda Green, Purchase - So., F - Roslyn Heights, N.Y.
Jennifer Martino, St. Joseph's-L.I. - Sr., F - East Patchogue, N.Y.
Erin Dailey, Mount Saint Vincent - Fr., M - East Windsor, N.J.
Allison Jones, Mount Saint Mary - Fr., M - Merrick, N.Y.
Melissa Lijo, Farmingdale State - Jr., M - Flushing, N.Y.
Samantha Kender, Farmingdale State - Sr., B - Farmingdale, N.Y.
Amanda Maertz, Purchase - Sr., B - Holbrook, N.Y.
Joann Murino, St. Joseph's-L.I. - Jr., B - Bohemia, N.Y.
Jenna Retell, Sage - Fr., B - Schaghticoke, N.Y.
Breanna Blair, Farmingdale State - Jr., GK - Littleton, Colo.
Teagan Waddingham, Sage - Sr., GK - Coeymans Hollow, N.Y.
Player of the Year: Stephanie Maybie, Old Westbury
Rookie of the Year: Taylor Howard, Farmingdale State
Defensive Player of the Year: Andrea Kiefer, Farmingdale State
Coach of the Year: Andrew Gamarra, Sage
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