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5 Herons receive All-State Honors
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Jessica Kulesa '04 |
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Sarah Silverio '04 |
November 19, 2003
GENEVA, N.Y.—The New York State Women’s Collegiate Athletic
Association (NYSWCAA) recently named five William Smith College field
hockey players to its All-State teams, including two first-team selections.
Senior Jessica Kulesa (Garden City/Garden City, N.Y.) and junior Sarah Silverio (Radnor/Villanova, Pa.) were named to the top team, while sophomore Maggie Dolan (Towson/Towson, Md.) and junior Lea Desforges (Woodstock Union/Woodbridge, Vt.) earned spots on the second-team. First-year Sophie Dennis (Dana L. West/Port Byron, N.Y.) rounded out the recipients with third-team accolades.
Kulesa, who was named UCAA Defender of the week three times this season, started all 20 games, posted a 14-6 record, and finished with five shutouts. She recorded 72 saves with a UCAA leading 0.75 goals against average and an .837 save percentage. The three-time All-UCAA selection was named to the first-team this year. Kulesa leaves the Herons with a 40-15 record, including 12 shutouts, a 1.00 goals against average, and 273 saves.
Silverio also was named to the All-UCAA first team. In her second year as a starter, Silverio finished with a goal and an assist; the one goal being the game-winner against Oswego. For her career, she has nine goals, and three assists.
Desforges, who anchors the William Smith defense, was selected second-team All-State and All-UCAA. A three-year starter, she has played in all but one game in her career (58). The Heron defense stands as the strongest in the league holding teams to 0.71 goals per game.
Dolan had a break out year for the Herons recording eight goals and seven assists. A first-year starter, she received second-team accolades from both the NYSWCAA and the UCAA. Dolan finished second on the team in points (23), behind Dennis.
Dennis, the team and league leader in goals (17) rewrote the record books as she broke the 16-year-old William Smith record for goals in a season by a first-year. The UCAA honored her with the UCAA Rookie of the Year award following her 37-point season. The UCAA named Dennis the Rookie of the Week twice and Offensive Player of the Week once. She finished her spectacular season with four game-winning goals; one coming in a 1-0 overtime win over Skidmore, who at the time was ranked seventh in the nation.
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 overtime to Skidmore. The Herons received a postseason invitation to the ECAC Mid-Atlantic Tournament, falling in the quarterfinals to Oneonta, also in overtime.