November 3, 2005

Alex Rieben	Pria Young
Nikki Dudley	Seraphine Hamilton
Aliceann Wilber	Laura Burnett-Kurie
Steph Gridley	Ashley Kent
Kate Warner

GENEVA, N.Y.—The William Smith College soccer team collected eight All-Liberty League honors this morning as voted by the League’s coaches. Senior defender Seraphine Hamilton (Peddie School/Trenton, N.J) was named the Player of the Year, while Head Coach Aliceann Wilber and her assistants were named the Coaching Staff of the Year.

Earning first-team honors were sophomore striker Laura Burnett-Kurie (Oyster River/Durham, N.H.), junior goalkeeper Nikki Dudley (Chittenango/Chittenango, N.Y.), senior midfielder Steph Gridley (Auburn/Auburn, N.Y.), junior midfielder Alex Rieben (Guilford/Guilford, N.Y), senior defender Pria Young (Council Rock/Richboro, Pa.) and Hamilton, while junior defender Ashley Kent (Westfield/Westfield, N.J.) and senior midfielder Kate Warner (Gould Academy/Glouster, Mass.) earned honorable mention.

Hamilton anchors a Heron defense that leads the nation in goals against average (0.07), having surrendered just one goal during the regular season. William Smith’s stifling defense also ranks third in the country in shutout percentage (.933). Hamilton was an All-Liberty League first-team selection in 2003 and 2004, and also an NSCAA third-team All-American last season.

Wilber led the Herons through the regular season unbeaten with a 14-0-1 record, including a 6-0-1 mark in the conference. She has guided William Smith to at least 13 wins in nine consecutive seasons. The only head coach the Heron soccer program has ever known, Wilber boasts a career record of 344-104-36. She is assisted by Leah Cornwell ’02 and Keith Perrigo.

The 2004 Liberty League Rookie of the Year, Burnett-Kurie is among the nation’s scoring leaders, ranking 12th in goals per game (1.2) and 15th in points per game (2.73). She leads the conference in goals (18), game-winning goals (7), and points (41). Against Clarkson earlier this year, Burnett-Kurie’s eight-point effort tied the William Smith single game records for points and goals (4). She has been named the Liberty League Offensive Performer of the Week six times this season.

Dudley has turned in an impressive season in net for the Herons. She has played all 1,380 minutes in goal and has allowed just a single goal. Dudley leads the nation in goals against average (0.065) and is second in save percentage (.980). She also broke the Herons’ single season record for solo shutouts with 14. The seven-time Liberty League Defensive Performer of the Week made a season-high 11 saves against Union. Dudley is making her third appearance on the All-Liberty League teams, following back-to-back second-team honors. She was the Liberty League Rookie of the Year in 2003.

A four-time All-Liberty League selection, Gridley is making her third straight appearance on the first-team. She is tied for second on the team in assists (4) and third in points (12). During a 2-0 win over St. Lawrence this year, Gridley registered a season-high three points, on a goal and an assist. Over the past four seasons, she has recorded 16 goals and 16 assists.

A starter in the midfield, Rieben netted the game-winning goal in back-to-back Liberty League matches against Clarkson and St. Lawrence. She completed the regular season tied for second on the team in goals (5) and fourth in points (11). In 56 career games, Rieben has 13 goals and four assists.

Young is making her second straight appearance on the first-team. Offensively, she is utilized on corner kicks, where she has registered five assists. Young was selected the Liberty League Defensive Performer of the Week for her efforts during the week ending Sept. 25. A starter in all but one of the 81 games she’s played for William Smith, she has a goal and 19 assists.

Kent, who has started 13 games this season, solidifies the left wing on the Herons’ stifling defense. William Smith was the last NCAA soccer team, men or women, any division, to allow a goal this season. The Herons are also the least scored upon team in NCAA soccer. Each of the 1,660 other NCAA soccer teams have allowed at least two goals this year.

A three-year starter, Warner earned Liberty League recognition for the first time this season. She has scored seven goals and assisted on six others over the past three seasons, including a pair of assists this year. Warner was named to the 2005 Heron Cup All-Tournament team.

William Smith will host the 2005 Liberty League Championship Tournament. The top-seeded Herons will face No. 4 Hamilton (7-5-1) in the first semifinal at 11 a.m., while No. 2 Union (15-1-2) will square off against No. 3 Skidmore (13-4-1) at 2 p.m. The championship match is schedule to begin at 1 p.m. on Nov. 5.

Admission to the tournament is free. Fans unable to make the trip to Geneva can follow all the action via real time statistics on the Liberty League Tournament home page.

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