New York – The BIG EAST Conference has announced its individual awards and all-conference teams in field hockey. UConn forward Juul Sauer has been selected as both BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year and BIG EAST Freshman of the Year while teammate Sol Simone has been named BIG EAST Midfielder of the Year.
Temple senior Alizé Maes has earned BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year and UConn’s Natalie McKenna is the BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year. The Huskies, led by Paul Caddy, are the BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year.
All-BIG EAST teams and major awards were selected by a vote of the league’s head coaches who were not allowed to vote for their own players or coaching staff.
The announcement comes prior to the BIG EAST Championship presented by JEEP which will be held November 8 and 10 at Lennon Family Field on the campus of Providence College in Rhode Island. The top-seed in the event is UConn, while Temple, Old Dominion and Liberty round out the field.
UConn has five players on the All-BIG EAST First and Second Teams, while No. 2 seed Temple has three. No. 3 seed Old Dominion, No. 4 seed Liberty and Villanova have four each, while Providence and Quinnipiac each have one.
Sauer was unanimously selected to the All-BIG EAST First Team, leading the Huskies back to the BIG EAST Championship after the Huskies missed qualifying for the tournament in 2023. She is fourth in the BIG EAST for average points per game (1.61) and tied for third in goals with 12 on the season. In conference play she is tied for first in points (13) and goals (5) as the Huskies went 6-1 in league action.
Simone was also a unanimous selection to the All-BIG EAST First Team. The junior ended the season with 11 assists and six goals.
Anchoring Temple’s backline, Maes was selected to the All-BIG EAST First Team. The Owls are tied for ninth in the country and tied for first in the BIG EAST in shutouts per game (.39). A two-time BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week, Maes is fourth in the conference for shots per game (3.17).
McKenna, another All-BIG EAST First Team selection, finished the regular season with the second highest save percentage (.738) and the second lowest goals against average (1.21) in the BIG EAST. She is tied fifth nationally for win-loss percentage (.833).
Entering the BIG EAST Championship ranking tenth nationally, UConn captured the BIG EAST Regular Season Championship under the leadership of Caddy and his staff. The Huskies finished the season 15-3 overall and 6-1 in conference play.
BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year
Juul Sauer, UConn, Fr., F
BIG EAST Midfielder of the Year
Sol Simone, UConn, Jr., M
BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year
Alizé Maes, Temple, Sr., D
BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year
Natalie McKenna, UConn, So., GK
BIG EAST Freshman of the Year
Juul Sauer, UConn, Fr., F
BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year
UConn
All-BIG EAST First Team:
Juana Garcia, UConn, Jr., M/D
Natalie McKenna, UConn, So., GK
Juul Sauer, UConn, Fr., F*
Sol Simone, UConn, Jr., M*
Reagan Underwood, Liberty, Gr., M
Tess Jedeloo, Old Dominion, Sr., F
Frederique Zandbergen, Old Dominion, Sr., M
Bo Martina, Providence, So., M
Alizé Maes, Temple, Sr., D
Tess Muller, Temple, Sr., F
Sabine de Ruijter, Villanova, Gr., F
All-BIG EAST Second Team:
Sophie Perschk, UConn, Fr., F
Lou Combrinck, Liberty, Jr., M
Tuti Dell Anna, Liberty, Sr., F
Dara Semmartin, Liberty, Fr., D
Suus Broers, Old Dominion, So., GK
Serena Langendoen, Old Dominion, Fr., D
Francisca Eschoyez, Quinnipiac, Fr., M/D
Devin Kinzel, Temple, Sr., M
Ava Borkowski, Villanova, Gr., F
Gemma Lysaght, Villanova, So., D
Meghan Mitchell, Villanova, Gr., F
*denotes unanimous selection