Cavanaugh, D'Arcy Headline Women's Soccer All-ECAC Honorees
Three Blue Devils earned All-ECAC honors.
Central Connecticut women's soccer head coach Mick D'Arcy and senior goalkeeper Ashley Cavanaugh headlined the Blue Devils' All-ECAC honorees announced by the organization. D'Arcy was named the ECAC Coach of the Year and Cavanaugh was named the Defensive Player of the Year. Seniors Charlotte Maurer and Danielle Pearse joined Cavanaugh on the All-ECAC Team.
DIVISION I WOMEN'S SOCCER ALL-ECAC
D'Arcy led the Blue Devils to an outstanding 16-2-2 record, including an 8-0 mark in Northeast Conference play. He was named Northeast Conference Coach of the Year for the fifth time and guided the program to its ninth Northeast Conference Championship. In addition, the CCSU coaching staff was named the United Soccer Coaches North Region Coaching Staff of the Year. In 2018 coach D'Arcy led his team to their ninth NCAA tournament appearance and ranked fourth in the NCAA with a .850 winning percentage. CCSU earned votes in the final United Soccer Coaches Top 25 Poll and was ranked No. 7 in the North Region.
Cavanaugh, a Belchertown, MA native, started all 20 games for the Blue Devils on her way to logging over 1800 minutes in goal. Amongst NCAA leaders she ranked sixth in shutouts with 11, 21st in save percentage at .854 and 23rd in goals against average at .646. Her accolades this season include being named Northeast Conference Defensive Player of the Week three times, Northeast Conference Goalkeeper of the Year for the second time and Goalkeeper of the Year by New England Soccer Journal. Cavanaugh was named to the NEWISA Senior Bowl and finished her career with a 27-11-4 record with 23 shutouts and a 0.69 goals against average.
Maurer, who earned United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-America Second Team honors, was named the NEC Midfielder of the Year and All-NEC First Team after recording 21 points on eight goals and five assists as a senior. The Northampton, MA native scored three game-winning goals on the season and earned the NEC Player of the Week honor on Oct. 2 after scoring the only goal in a 1-0 victory over Fairleigh Dickinson and adding a goal and assist in a 6-1 win against Wagner. Maurer, who tallied 10 career goals and seven assists in 64 games played, was the top vote-getter among midfielders for the NEWISA Senior Bowl and was also named to the Scholar All-East Region Team.
Pearse was also selected for the NEWISA Senior Bowl and named All-NEC First Team. The senior forward led the team with 25 points and 11 goals. Pearse also earned Northeast Conference Tournament Most Valuable Player after scoring three goals in the tournament, including both goals in a 2-1 semifinal win over Fairleigh Dickinson, and helping CCSU to its ninth conference title. The forward also scored the game's opening goal in CCSU's NCAA Tournament game at top-seeded Georgetown. Also an All-Scholar East Region selection, Pearse finished her career with 21 goals and six assists.
