Jessica Kulesa '04

Sarah Silverio '05

Maggie Dolan '06

November 20, 2003

GENEVA, N.Y.—Three William Smith College field hockey players were among the 16 student-athletes honored by the National Field Hockey Coaches Association as first-team All-North Atlantic Region, and will be placed on the All-America ballot. The Herons also placed two on the second-team.

Senior goalie Jessica Kulesa (Garden City/Garden City, N.Y.), junior midfielder Sarah Silverio (Radnor/Villanova, Pa.), and sophomore forward Maggie Dolan (Towson/Towson, Md.) received first-team praise, while junior back Lea Desforges (Woodstock Union/Woodbridge, Vt.) and first-year forward Sophie Dennis (Dana L. West/Port Byron, N.Y.) earned a spot on the second-team.

Making her third appearance on the All-North Atlantic team, including her second straight first-team selection, Kulesa led the Upstate Collegiate Athletic Association with a 0.75 goals against average and boasted an .837 save percentage. She was named the UCAA Defender of the Week three times this season and was a UCAA All-Tournament team member. A three-time All-UCAA selection, Kulesa will represent William Smith in the NFHCA North-South Senior All-Star Game at Lebanon Valley College on Nov. 22.

Silverio enjoyed a breakthrough season for the Herons. A strong defender and a key component of the William Smith midfield game, she posted a goal and an assist this season. A first-team All-UCAA selection, Silverio is making her first appearance on the All-Region team.

Among the league leaders in goals (9th), assists (8th), and points (9th) this season, Dolan was second on the team in all three categories, notching eight markers and seven helpers for 23 points. The second-team All-UCAA selection never went more than two games this season without recording at least one point, and logged a career best five points in a UCAA semifinal win over Rensselaer.

Desforges was the leader of the Herons’ backline this season. William Smith lead the UCAA in scoring defense, allowing a palrty 0.71 goals per game. Desforges was named second-team All-UCAA and earned a spot on the UCAA All-Tournament team.

Dennis led William Smith in scoring this season with 17 goals and three assists. Her tally total broke the Heron record for goals by a first-year. The UCAA Rookie of the Year, Dennis scored four or more points in a game five times, including a season-high six points (3-0) in the regular season finale against Nazareth.

The 12th-ranked Herons finished the season with a 14-6 record, including a perfect 7-0 in the Upstate Collegiate Athletic Association. William Smith finished first in the UCAA regular season standings, but lost in the UCAA Tournament Championship in double overtime to Skidmore. The Herons received a postseason invitation to the ECAC Mid-Atlantic Tournament, falling in the quarterfinals to Oneonta, also in overtime.

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