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Date: 11/13/2015
WESTFIELD – After earning the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament, the Westfield State women’s soccer team landed four players on the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference All-Conference teams.
Senior midfielder Ashley Bovat of Westfield, senior back Katy Knight, and junior forward Kate Matroni of Hampden made first team All-MASCAC, while freshman back Caitlin MacGregor of Hampden earned a spot on the second team.
Knight, a lockdown defender, landed on the first team for the fourth consecutive season. The senior captain anchored a defense that led the MASCAC in goals allowed (13) and goals against average (0.79).
Bovat started 15 games, tallying four goals and two assists. The Westfield native ranked tied-12th in the MASCAC in both goals and points (10).
Matroni led the Owls with five goals and 13 points, both good for ninth in the conference. The speedy forward also tallied three assists.
Despite her youth, MacGregor led Westfield State in minutes played and was the only Owl to start all 17 regular season matches. She helped Westfield become one of the best defensive teams in the MASCAC with her quick feet and strong instincts in the back line.
Westfield State hosts No. 3 Bridgewater in a MASCAC semifinal match at Alumni Field on Nov. 13 at 7 p.m. The winner will advance to the MASCAC championship on Nov. 15.
Westfield State University, the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletics Conference regular-season champion in men’s soccer, had three players named to the All-Conference team, led by first team defender Cam Ritter of Agawam.
Junior midfielder Cody Baglow and sophomore goalkeeper Alex Kraver of West Springfield were named to the second team.
Ritter anchored an Owls defense which yielded just one goal per game in conference play. He also scored a pair of goals this season and is one of the team’s free kick specialists.
Kraver started 11 games in goal this season after missing several games early in the year due to injury. Overall he posted a 1.48 goals-against average, and was even better in conference play with a 1.00 GAA and ranked second in the league with a .844 save percentage.
BOSTON – Junior forward Luke Alvaro of Chicopee earned New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) All-Conference honors, as announced by the conference offices on Nov. 13.
Alvaro was named to the First Team.
Alvaro has posted one of the finest offensive seasons in Springfield College's Division III program history, as the junior has posted 35 points, including a team-high 15 goals and five assists through 19 games for the Pride this season. Ranked second in the NEWMAC in both goals (15) and points (35), the Psychology major's best game of the season came against Westfield State, when he posted two goals and tacked on a helper for a career-high five points.
In a 2-1 win over WPI in the NEWMAC Quarterfinals, Alvaro’s two goals broke the Division III program record for goals in a season, previously held by Ryan Malone ‘15 in 2013 when he scored 13. The last player to score 15 goals in a season was David Girouard, also a Chicopee native, in 1992. Girouard hold the all-time record for goals in a season when he posted 21 in 1989.