Utica, NY (11/15/12)- Four members of the Utica College field hockey team were named to the 2012 Longstreth / NFHCA Division III North Atlantic All-Region team Thursday.  Sophomores Louise Steele-Norton (Avondale, PA/Millbrook School), Hannah Mackey (Locke, NY/Moravia Central), and Alaina Stojkovski (Liverpool, NY/Cicero-North Syracuse) earned first-team status, while freshman Kells Casey (Sandwich, MA/Kimball Union Academy) was named to the second-team.

Steele-Norton, who was a second-team selection last year, led the Empire 8 with 27 goals and 56 points on her way to being named the Empire 8 Conference Player of the Year.  She set a new league record for goals in a season, and broke the College's single season record for goals, points, points per game (2.80), and goals per game (1.35).  She also tied the league record for game-winning goals (seven), which is also held by Utica's Katie Kutas '08.  In her career, Steele-Norton is fourth place in points all-time in program history (87).  She is one point behind Carla Behe '06, and needs just 23 to become the highest scorer in UC history.  Her 42 career goals ranks third all-time, and is just four behind Shannon Rohacek '05 for first on the list.

Mackey is also making her second consecutive appearance on the all-region team after earning second-team accolades last season.  She finished second in the conference in goals (16), points (43), and game-winning goals (six).  She is second on the College's single season points scoring list and fourth in goals in a season.  Her 11 assists also rank third most in a season in program history.  In her career, Mackey ranks fourth all-time at UC with 29 goals, and is fifth in points (73.). 

Stojkovski is making her first appearance on the All-Region team after an impressive season in which she was named the MVP of the Empire 8 Tournament.  She totaled a league-best 15 assists on the season, which ranks second in UC history.  In her career, Stojkovksi also ranks second on the College's all-time assists list with 18 helpers.  She finished the season ranked 18th nationally with .75 assists per game. 

Casey earned second-team status after compiling a 10-3 record and helping Utica capture its first ever Empire 8 Championship as well as its second trip to the NCAA Tournament.  She was a first-team All-Conference Selection this season after finishing first in the E8 with a 1.57 goals-against average and a .804 save percentage.  She also ranked 16th nationally in save percentage.  She ranks fourth all-time in career saves at UC and is currently second all-time with 6.14 saves per game. 

As a team, the 2012 Pioneers set new single-season program records for points (172), goals (66), and wins (15).  Their 40 combined assists were second behind the 2003 team.  UC finished the season 15-6 and made it as far as the “sweet sixteen” before falling to DePauw University, 3-2 in overtime.  The Pioneers captured the College's first Empire 8 Championship and advanced to the NCAAs for just the second time ever.  UC returns almost the entire team next season, as it loses just one senior, Allee Straub (Granville, NY/Granville), to graduation.


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