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Burnett-Kurie named Player of the Year
November 2, 2006
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Liberty League Player of the Year Laura Burnett-Kurie. (Photo by Kevin Colton) |
GENEVA, N.Y.—William Smith College junior Laura Burnett-Kurie (Oyster River/Durham, N.H.) was named the Liberty League Women’s Soccer Player of the Year this morning. Eight of her teammates also collected All-Liberty League honors.
Joining Burnett-Kurie on the first team is senior Alex Rieben (Guilford/Guilford, Conn.), while senior Heather Phillip (Cayuga/King Ferry, N.Y.), sophomore Katie Compton (The Loomis Chaffee School/West Hartford, Conn.), and junior defenders Tracy Stankavage (Chittenango/Chittenango, N.Y.) and Leigh Williamson (Arlington/Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) were all named to the second team. Seniors Nikki Dudley (Chittenango/Chittenango, N.Y.) and Ashley Kent (Westfield/Westfield, N.J.), along with sophomore Ali Art (Herricks/Manhasset Hills, N.Y.), were named All-Liberty League honorable mention.
The 2004 Liberty League Rookie of the Year, Burnett-Kurie led the league in goals (10) and points (23), while leading the Herons to a 10-5-1 overall record and a 6-1-0 league mark. She was named the ECAC Upstate Player of the Week and the Liberty League Offensive Performer of the Week after netting three goals in two games. Burnett-Kurie was an All-Liberty League first-team pick last year.
Rieben is an integral part of the William Smith offense. She tallied four goals, including three game-winners, and was a consistent leader on the field all season. Rieben started all 15 games she played in and scored the game-winning goals against Allegheny, Elmira, and Vassar.
Second-team members Phillip and Compton are also offensive leaders for the Herons. Phillip ranked second on the team in points (11), totaling four goals, including three game-winners, and three assists on the season. She was named the league’s Offensive Performer of the Week once. Compton ranked third on the team in scoring with four goals and two assists, with three of her goals coming off of penalty kicks.
Defenders Stankavage, Williamson, Art, Kent, and goalkeeper Dudley are the heart and soul of a talented William Smith defense that allowed just eight goals and recorded nine shutouts. They led the team to a 0.49 goals against average, third in the Liberty League, while allowing just 3.06 shots on goal per game, lowest in the league. The Herons tied for the league lead in goals allowed during conference play, yielding just two. Stankavage, Kent, and Dudley were all named the Liberty League Defensive Player of the Week once this season.
William Smith garnered more league awards (9) than any other Liberty League team this year. Hamilton collected six awards, while Union, Skidmore, and St. Lawrence all received five.
The Liberty League Tournament will be held at No. 1 seeded Union on Nov. 3-4. The host Dutchwomen will meet No. 4 Hamilton at 11 a.m. in the semifinals on Friday, followed by No. 2 William Smith taking on No. 3 Skidmore at 1:30 p.m. The winners will play in the championship game at noon on Saturday.