ANNAPOLIS, Md. (December 15, 2023) – Head coach
Meredith Spencer-Blaetz of the Stevens Institute of Technology field hockey team was named Division III Coach of the Year, Synapse Sports announced Thursday with its season-end awards.
Additionally, first-year
Sophia Cozza was tabbed to the organization's Division All-Rookie Team. Cozza, tabbed Rookie of the Year by the MAC Freedom in November, was one of 16 Division III student-athletes named to the All-Rookie squad.
Middlebury's Katie George was tabbed Division III Offensive Player of the Year, while Johns Hopkins' Liz Falterer was selected Defensive Player of the Year. Salisbury's Marli McDorman earned Rookie of the Year honors to round out the individual accolades.
Spencer-Blaetz piloted the Ducks to a 17-3 record, including a perfect 7-0 record in conference play, as the team captured their second MAC Freedom title and made the program's sixth NCAA appearance. The 17 victories are tied for the second-most in program history, while the squad's .850 winning percentage in tops in the program's 20-year history. Spencer-Blaetz was tabbed MAC Freedom Coach of the Year honors for the second time in three years and her next victory will be her 83rd, setting a new program record for career coaching wins.
Cozza, meanwhile, made an immediate impact in her first season on Castle Point, earning the conference's Rookie of the Year award, becoming the first Duck to win this award since Stevens returned to the MAC in 2019, just the fourth player in program history to earn a Rookie of the Year award. The National Field Hockey Coaches Association Second Team All-Region IV midfielder ranked first on the team and led the MAC Freedom with nine assists while also netting seven goals, including scoring the game-winner against DeSales to help the Ducks claim their second MAC Freedom championship. The New Hope, Pennsylvania native amassed 23 points to rank sixth in the conference and third on the team. Two of Cozza's seven markers were game-winners. She capped her rookie season with points in five of her last six games and will enter her sophomore campaign with a three-game point streak.
The dual recognitions are believed to be the first postseason awards for the program from Synapse Sports.
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