EASTON, Mass. (April 29, 2006) – Senior attacker Grace Murphy of the Stonehill women's lacrosse team was honored as the NEC Offensive Player of the Year, while freshman midfielder Sophia Gouveia was selected as the NEC Rookie of the Year, the conference office announced Wednesday.

Stonehill, which earned a share of the NEC regular-season title with an 8-1 conference record, had seven players honored on the All-NEC team in total.

Joining Murphy and Sophia on the All-NEC first team were senior attacker Natalie Coutu and sophomore defender Ellison O'Shea. Senior defender Lauren Molinaro and junior goalie Nina Tremonte were tabbed to the All-NEC second team. Gouveia and freshman attacker Taylor Green were chosen to the All-NEC Rookie team.

Murphy, a native of Kearsarge, N.H., leads the NEC and Stonehill with 57 goals and is third with 70 points. Her 57 goals also rank 15th in the country. For her career, Murphy has 164 goals and 205 points, and her 164 goals rank ninth in school history.

Gouveia, a product of North Stonington, Conn., earned NEC Rookie of the Week honors eight times. Gouveia is second on the team with 39 goals and third with 44 points. She also paces Stonehill with 84 draw controls, good for third in the NEC.

Coutu, who hails from Brookline, N.H., leads the Skyhawks with 26 assists, ranks second with 61 points and is third with 35 goals. Her 26 assists are the third most in the NEC. For her career, Coutu has 109 goals, 84 assists and 193 points. Her 84 assists are tied for eight in team history.

O'Shea started all 17 games at defense and collected 40 ground balls and caused 18 turnovers. The 40 ground balls for the native of Spring Lake Heights, N.J. is second most in the NEC.

A product of Miller Place, N.Y., Molinaro also started all 17 games and caused 18 turnovers to go along with 25 ground balls.

Tremonte, a product of Brookfield, Conn., made 145 saves on the season, good for second in the NEC and 16th in the nation. Her 145 saves rank ninth in program history and her 295 career saves put her seventh as a Skyhawk.

Green, a native of Pelham, N.Y., was fourth on the team with 24 goals and tied for fifth with 27 points.

The Skyhawks, who finished 11-6 overall, are the No. 2 seed in the upcoming NEC tournament. Stonehill will face No. 3 seed LIU on Thursday, April 30 at 3 p.m. in Syracuse, N.Y.

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