Sabrina Bryan (left) was the CAA attacking player of the year, Lucy Porter its midfielder of the year. (Photo courtesy of Hofstra)
RICHMOND, Va. – The No. 23 Hofstra University women claimed four Colonial Athletic Association major awards for the second consecutive season while seven student-athletes garnered all-conference recognition.
The CAA named senior forward Sabrina Bryan the league’s attacking player of the year, senior Lucy Porter as its midfielder of the year, sophomore Anja Suttner as the defensive player of the year, and head coach Simon Riddiough the coach of the Year.
For Bryan, Porter, and Suttner, it was the second time that each received their respective award during their careers, while Riddiough earned the recognition for the fourth time (and third time in the last four years).
Junior Miri Taylor secured a spot on the All-CAA first team, seniors Lucy Shepherd and Jordan Littleboy earned second team accolades, and freshman Louise Hayden landed on the All-Rookie team.
“These recognitions highlight outstanding achievements for our program,” Riddiough said. “While this is a wonderful honor, I cannot thank Gerry Lucey, Kelsey Yam, and Ruairi McGuinness enough for their tireless dedication to our program and student-athletes, especially during this challenging season.”
Bryan repeated as the attacking player of the year after compiling 25 points on the strength of seven goals and 11 assists. Her 1.38 assists per game leads the nation, while her 11 assists rank third overall and her 25 points ranks ninth. Her 3.12 points per game stands second nationally and her 0.88 goals per game ranks ninth. Bryan has recorded at least one point during six of Hofstra’s seven games this season, including a season-high six points at the University Delaware as she recorded two goals and two assists. During the Pride’s 7-2 victory over Towson University, Bryan became the program’s all-time leader in assists with 27 for her career.
Porter has continued to make Hofstra one of the top attacking threats in the country, registering a league-best 10 goals and four assists for 24 points. Her 1.25 goals and 3.00 points per game ranks third in the country this season. She has recorded at least one point in all eight matches this season, including a season-best six points with a hat trick against Towson on April 10. Her 98 career points and 41 goals rank third all-time in Hofstra program history.
The final Pride athlete to repeat as a major award winner, Suttner leads a backline that has conceded just one goal per game this season and has limited opponents to just 4.5 shots per game. Suttner has also made an impact on the offensive end, scoring three goals, including the game-winning strike against Northeastern University March 21.
Taylor earned her third career all-conference recognition and second-consecutive first-team honor after compiling 16 points behind four goals and eight assists. She currently ranks second in the nation behind Bryan with 1.00 assists per game and 10th overall with her eight assists. Like Porter, Taylor has recorded a point in all eight contests, with a career-high six points with two goals and two assists at Delaware.
For Shepherd, the second team distinction marks the second All-CAA honor for her career and second-straight season with second-team honors. On the year she has recorded four goals and two assists for 10 points. She leads the CAA with three game-winning goals, including the decisive tallies against Fairleigh Dickinson, UAlbany and Towson.
Joining her on the second team is Littleboy, who captured all-conference recognition for the second consecutive season. Littleboy has played a significant role in Hofstra’s defensive efforts this season, while also contributing one goal and six assists on the offensive end of the pitch. She had a breakout performance against Towson, recording a career-high five points with one goal and three assists. Her three assists matched the Hofstra single-game program record.
Rounding out the all-conference honorees is Hayden who earned a spot on the CAA All-Rookie team. She has also been a key anchor for the Hofstra backline, starting in five of her seven appearances. She recorded one assist against Stony Brook and took home CAA Rookie of the Week accolades for her performance.
Under Riddiough, Hofstra posted its second successive undefeated CAA record. The Pride rank in the top five in the nation in points per game (1st), goals per game (1st), assists per game (1st), corner kicks per game (2nd), win-loss-tied percentage (5th), and shots per game (5th). Hofstra has reached a ranking as high as No. 23 in the United Soccer Coaches poll this season.
The Pride begins its quest for its fourth consecutive CAA Championship Thursday, April 15 when it takes on Elon at 4 p.m. The semifinal matchup will be held at the Tiger Soccer Complex on the campus of Towson University. No general admission tickets will be sold for this year’s CAA Championship, but fans can follow the action with live video available on FloFC and live stats on GoHofstra.com.
