Empire 8 Release

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (November 12, 2013) – Senior forward Marguerite Chavez of the Stevens Institute of Technology field hockey team was named the Empire 8 Player of the Year as a total of seven student-athletes were named all-conference Tuesday.
 
Joinng Marguerite Chavez on the first-team was senior forward Rachel Chavez (Oceanport, N.J.) and senior back Megan Traub (Berkeley Heights, N.J.). Sophomore midfielder Dailyn Brook (Cherry Hill, N.J.) earned second-team all-conference honors along with senior midfielder Chelsea Cresci (Wilmington, Del.). Senior back Grace Ridge (Moorestown, N.J.) was named honorable mention All-E8, while senior back Katie Achilles (Portsmouth, N.H.) was the Stevens' Sportswoman of the Year.

Head Coach Emily Beach was named the Empire 8 Coach of the Year. She enjoys her first Empire 8 top coaching honor as the Ducks won the Empire 8 regular-season title with a flawless conference mark (7-0).  Stevens ranks third nationally in penalty corners per game (15.26), 14th in assists per game (2.53) and 22nd in points per game (9.79).  The Ducks lead the conference ranks in penalty corners and assists per game while standing second in scoring average (3.632).
 
Chavez leads the conference in points (50), goals (17) assists (16) and game winning goals (5). The Stevens co-captain has registered at least one point in 16-of-19 games played, and currently holds Stevens' all-time points record and single-season points mark (50). The three-time E8 all-conference honoree became the all-time leader in points for Stevens during the year and stands at 145, and is the program leader in assists and No. 2 in goals. She currently is top-10 nationally in assists and top-20 in points after keying the Ducks to the conference's regular-season title and the second seed in the ECAC Mid-Atlantic Championship.
 
Rachel Chavez has had an excellent season after missing much of 2012 due to injury. She currently has eight goals and eight assists for the Ducks, which is good for 24 points. She recorded at least one point in 11 contests this season and in five outings had three or more points. The veteran is fourth on the team in points, second in assists and fifth in goals and 2013 marks the second All-Empire 8 honor of her career as she was honorable mention in 2011.
 
Traub is the leader of the Stevens defense, anchoring the back line, and playing a major role on both penalty corner units. The Berkeley Heights, N.J. native has nine goals and seven assists which is good for 25 points.  Two of her tallies were game-winners and had one of the best offensive games in program history with seven points against W&J on September 14. Traub recorded at least one point in seven games this season, ranking third on the team in points and goals.
 
Brook has a total of 13 goals so far in 2013 which is second on the team and sixth in the conference. Her 26 points is also second on the team and ninth in the conference. The Cherry Hill, N.J. native scored two or more goals three times this season, registering a hat trick in a 9-1 win over Elmira. It is the first all-conference honor  for Brook in her career.
 
Cresci, a midfielder, has played a major role for both the defense and offense this year, playing from end line-to-end line. The vet has played in and started all 19 of the Ducks' games this year, scoring one goal, and dishing out one assist, but having an effect on everything Stevens does. Amazingly, Cresci has played in every single minute of every game for the Ducks.
 
Ridge, another member of the Stevens defense who played a key role on both sides of the field, scored a career-best 10 goals this year. She also handed out three assists and pocketed a pair of game-winning goals as a major-player on the offensive and defensive penalty-corner-units.
 
Ridge and Cresci each earn the first all-conference nod of their excellent careers on Castle Point.
 
Achilles was the Stevens rep on the Sportswoman of the Year team. Empire 8 emphasizes that "Competing with Honor and Integrity" is an essential component of a student-athlete's experience in conjunction with an institution's educational mission. These honorees have distinguished themselves and consistently exhibit the critical traits as outstanding sportswomen. 
 
Marguerite Chavez, Rachel Chavez, Traub, Brook, Cresci, Ridge and Achilles along with the rest of the Ducks will host William Paterson University Wednesday night at 7 p.m. in the quarterfinals of the ECAC Mid-Atlantic Championship. Live stats will be available via www.StevensDucks.com.