ANNVILLE, Pa. – Four first-team selections highlighted seven members of the Manhattanville College women’s hockey team named to the inaugural All-Middle Atlantic Conference teams, as announced by the conference office.
Junior forward Nicole Mensi (Mamaroneck, N.Y./Northwood School) was named the conference’s co-Offensive Player of the Year and one of four Valiants named to the all-conference first team, joined by the senior trio of forward Sarah Sinning (Southold, N.Y./National Sports Academy), and defensemen Maeve O’Brien (Chicago, Ill./Chicago Fury) and Kristi Peters (Newport Beach, Calif./Anaheim Lady Ducks). Mensi and Sinning finished first and second on the team, respectively, in points for the second straight year, while O’Brien and Peters each recorded double-digit points for the second straight year.
Senior forward Cassie Kent (Lake Placid, NY/Northwood School) and sophomore defensemen Zoey Pellowitz (Arlington, Va./Washington Pride) were both named to the second team, while junior goalie Rose Pijaca (Worcester, Mass./Worcester Academy) was named a conference honorable mention. Kent and Pellowitz combined for eight goals and 20 points while Pijaca posted a sub-2.20 goals against average for the second straight year, setting program single-season records for saves and minutes played.
Mensi, the two-time MAC Offensive Player of the Week, recorded 12 goals and 12 assists on the season, while Sinning scored six of her 10 goals against King’s and Lebanon Valley, including her second career hat trick. Peters scored all three of her season goals against King’s, and added an assist in five of the six MAC contests, while O’Brien added a goal and three assists in conference play.
Kent scored all four of her goals for the year against King’s, earning MAC Offensive Player of the Week honors, while Pellowitz had three assists each against King’s and Lebanon Valley, then scored Manhattanville’s lone goal in the Stevenson series.
Pijaca posted a 1.12 goals against average in five MAC appearances, including a 26-save shutout in the penultimate game of the season, a scoreless tie with Stevenson.
