WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. – Two Monmouth University women’s players were named to the 2017 United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division I Women’s Scholar All-East Region Teams.

Graduate defender Gabriella Cuevas and senior Rachelle Ross represented the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference champions with first and second team honors, respectively.

“It is a wonderful accomplishment for Gabby and Rachelle to be recognized for their outstanding efforts in the classroom,” head coach Krissy Turner said in a statement. “We are very proud of them, as well as appreciative of our academic support staff who help our student athletes maximize their potential.”

Cuevas joined Julie Spracklin ’17 and Ali Kliment ’11 as the only Monmouth women’s soccer student-athletes to receive Scholar All-Region first team honors. The MAAC defensive player of the year owns a 3.78 grade-point average in Social Work. Cuevas, a team captain, helped Monmouth capture its second consecutive MAAC tournament championship and the program’s fifth straight regular season crown.

Ross made her second successive appearance on the Scholar All-Region second team following her senior season. A Health Studies major with a 3.33 GPA, Ross was a second team All-MAAC choice and became the third Monmouth player to earn All-MAAC accolades in four consecutive years. Ross scored six goals and totaled 14 points to give her 70 career points, 13th in program history.

Front Row Soccer editor Michael Lewis has covered 13 World Cups (eight men, five women), seven Olympics and 25 MLS Cups. He has written about New York City FC, New York Cosmos, the New York Red Bulls and both U.S. national teams for Newsday and has penned a soccer history column for the Guardian.com. Lewis, who has been honored by the Press Club of Long Island and National Soccer Coaches Association of America, is the former editor of BigAppleSoccer.com. He has written seven books about the beautiful game and has published ALIVE AND KICKING The incredible but true story of the Rochester Lancers. It is available at Amazon.com.