Bridgewater, NJ - Senior defender Kayla Barbosa and freshman forward Jess Maraia earned All-Northeast Conference (NEC) honors, the conference announced Tuesday.
Barbosa was named First Team All-NEC, while Maraia was named to the All-Rookie Team.Â
Barbosa achieved career-highs in points (six), goals (two) and minutes (1452) in 2023.
The veteran defender displayed tremendous defense along with clutch offense throughout the year. She has contributed to seven shutouts as a major piece of Wagner's backline and has produced offensively too with a pair of game-winning goals this season.
Barbosa, who was named captain ahead of the campaign, started all 17 games she played in this season. If she draws the start at Merrimack in the NEC Tournament semifinals, it will mark Barbosa's 50th start as a Seahawk.
Maraia burst onto the scene against Binghamton on September 3. The New City, NY native scored the first two goals of her collegiate career on just three attempts in the 2-2 draw versus the Bearcats.Â
Two games later, the freshman netted two more goals against LIU on September 17 for her second career multi-goal game in just eight appearances as a Seahawk. An additional goal versus FDU on October 19 gave Maraia five goals, which led the team in the regular season.Â
Maraia also finished the regular season with a team-high 19 shots on goal. She currently has 14 points through 16 regular season games and one postseason match.
CCSU's Giavanna Inzerillo and Aoife Horgan won Offensive Player and Midfielder of the Year, respectively. Saint Francis U's Lauren Perischetty won Defensive Player of the Year, Howard's Trinity Knox won Goalkeeper of the Year and Merrimack's Isabella Keogh won Rookie of the Year. Head coach Gabe Mejail took home Coach of the Year honors for Merrimack.
After defeating #3 seed FDU in the first round of the NEC Tournament for the program's first playoff victory, the Seahawks will head to North Andover, MA for their semifinal matchup at Merrimack on Thursday, November 2 at 7:00 pm.
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