Somerset, NJ -- Another year, another NEC women’s soccer awards haul for Central Connecticut, but this time they had company.
 
The Blue Devils, who received 3-of-the-6 major honors in the year-end voting conducted by head coaches, went 8-2 in conference play en route to a record fourth-straight NEC regular season title. CCSU also earned the right to serve as the host for 2021 NEC Women’s Soccer Championship this weekend, where the Blue Devils will look to match their own league record by taking home a fourth consecutive tournament crown.
 
CCSU junior midfielder Roma McLaughlin (Greencastle County Dongeal, Ireland/Moville Community College) was voted as the NEC Midfielder of the Year for a third consecutive season and teammate Erica Bardes (Montvale, NJ/Pascaak Hills) took home NEC Defensive Player of the year honors. Longtime Blue Devil head coach Mick D’Arcy was named the NEC Coach of the Year for a fourth consecutive season and eighth time overall.
 
NEC regular season runner-up FDU also fared well in the postseason balloting, matching CCSU by securing three major awards.
 
Fairleigh Dickinson’s freshman phenom, Aitana Martinez-Montoya (Fuenlabrada, Madrid, Spain/IES Ortega Y Gasset M86), was voted as both the NEC Offensive Player of the Year and NEC Rookie of the Year, marking the first time a player has won both major awards since LIU’s Ariana Calderon in 2008. Fellow Knight and classmate Malene Nielsen (Juelsminde, Denmark/Ikast-Bradne Gymnasium) was named the NEC Goalkeeper of the Year.
 
The major awards and All-Conference first and second teams were announced on the eve of the NEC Women’s Soccer Championship. The semifinals kickoff on Friday at 1:00 pm and 4:00 pm, and the title tilt is set for noon on Sunday. The entire tournament will take place at CCSU Soccer Field in New Britain, CT.
 
McLaughlin added yet another trophy to her crowded case as she continues to cement her legacy as one of the most illustrious CCSU and NEC competitors of all-time. The two-time All-American, who was named to the Hermann Trophy Watch List back in August, became the fifth NEC women’s soccer player to win three major awards in any category and the first-ever three-time Midfielder of the Year. The center attacking mid from Greencastle County Donegal, Ireland heads into the postseason tied for fourth in the NEC with seven goals and seventh in scoring with 17 points. She is tied for first with four game-winning goals. McLaughlin was also named to the All-NEC first team for a fourth straight year.
 
Remarkably, this marks the eighth consecutive year and tenth time in the 17-year history of the award that a Blue Devil has been named the NEC Defensive Player of the Year with Bardes becoming the latest recipient. The Montvale, NJ native joined Brianna Williams (2020-21 season), two-time honoree Shauny Alterisio (2018-19), four-time winner Jennifer Cafferky (2014-17), Megan McClements (2007) and Ashley Ferra (2005) as CCSU awardees. Bardes, a 3x first team All-NEC defender who earned a place in CCSU women’s soccer folklore back in 2019 with her late NCAA game-winner vs. Rutgers, anchors a Blue Devil back line that ranks first among NEC leaders in goal against average (0.87) and second in shutouts (7). The Blue Devils conceded just five goals in 10 NEC matches. Bardes also provided some offensive punch from the backline with a goal and five assists.
 
Now in his 22^nd season, D'Arcy guided the Blue Devils to their sixth straight NEC Tournament appearance and 17^th overall under his leadership. Considered the dean of NEC coaches, D’Arcy has led the program to nine conference championships and nine regular season titles. He is now the lone coach to be recognized as the NEC Coach of the Year in four consecutive seasons and his eight NEC Coach of the Year honors are three more than any other recipient in league history. Under D’Arcy’s leadership, CCSU has posted a 30-3-1 regular season mark in conference play over the last four years. He has guided CCSU to NCAA Tournament wins vs. Boston College (2003) and Rutgers (2019).
 
The honors have come fast and furious for Martinez-Montoya, the NEC Offensive Player and Rookie of the Year, as well as an All-NEC first team and All-Rookie performer. The lethal striker led the Knights and heads into her first postseason tied for second among NEC leaders with eight goals. She also ranks fifth in points (17) and is tied for third in game-winning goals (3). Martinez-Montoya’s seven goals in NEC competition was the most in the conference. The freshman from Madrid, Spain became the first Knight to win NEC Rookie of the Year accolades since Sofia Albertsson (2017) and fourth in the last decade. Martinez-Montoya joined Amanda Goulet (2015) as FDU’s NEC Offensive Player of the Year honorees.
 
Named to the All-NEC first team and All-Rookie team, Nielsen leads the conference circuit and ranks 21st nationally with eight shutouts. The freshman goalkeeper out of Juelsminde, Denmark allowed one goal or less in 9-of-10 NEC contests during the regular season and currently boasts the second-highest save percentage (.815) and second-lowest GAA (1.01) in the league. In wins over top-seeded CCSU and third-seeded Sacred Heart during the regular season, she yielded just one own goal. Sage DoVale (2013) and Amanda Fitzgerald (2019) previously won this award for the Knights.
 
AWARD WINNER HIGHLIGHTS
 
CCSU led all teams with five of the 11 All-NEC first team selections. Fairleigh Dickinson was well represented with five honorees total on the first and second teams. Both squads each had two student-athletes named to the All-Rookie team. Sacred Heart was next on the list with four players collected All-NEC accolades.
 
For CCSU, junior midfielder Roma McLaughlin (Donegal, Ireland/Moville Community College) was named to the first team for a fourth consecutive season, and senior defender Erica Bardes (Montvale, NJ/Pascaak Hills) earned her third straight All-NEC first team honor. Kelly Brady (Tomkins Cove, NY/North Rockland), the 2020-21 NEC Rookie of the Year, continued to elevate her game and landed a spot on the first team.
 
FDU senior defender Christa Waterman (Perry Hall, MD/Eastern Technical) earned her third All-NEC first team accolade with teammate Naemi Hausen (Freiburg, Germany/Walter-Eucken Gymnasium) named to the All-NEC first team for the first time in her career. Hausen was tabbed to the All-NEC second team last season.
 
Wagner junior forward Madison Carr (Perryville, MD/Perryville) finished the regular season ranked first in goals (9), making her the NEC’s unofficial Golden Boot winner and a first team All-NEC selection.
 
The future looks bright in the conference as four NEC freshman or redshirt freshman were tabbed to the All-NEC first team and four more to the second team.
 
Bryant freshman forward Catherine Bean (Westfield, MA/Westfield) was named to the All-NEC second team after leading the league in total points (20) over the course of the regular season with seven goals and six assists. She was one of a conference-high four Bulldogs voted to the All-Rookie team, including freshman midfielder Emma Pedolzky (Westfield, MA/Westfield), a high school teammate of Bean who was also chosen to the second team.
 
Sacred Heart junior defender Julie Gallotto (Medway, MA/Rivers) picked up first team NEC all-star plaudits. High-scoring SHU freshman forward Grace O’Hara (Pittsford, NY/Pittsford Mendon) joined junior midfielder Nichol Green (Shamong, NJ/Haddonfield Memorial) and Anna Ludkiewicz (Granby, MA/The MacDuffie School) on the All-NEC second team as the Pioneers qualified for the postseason for the second time in three years. O’Hara was a two-time NEC Rookie of the Week in the regular season and is currently tied for first on the circuit in points per game (1.29) and game-winners (4), and second in total points (18) on seven goals and four assists.
 
Howard freshman striker Melea Earley (La Mirada, CA/La Serna), who wrapped the regular season tied for the NEC lead in points per game with 1.29 on eight goals and two assists, collected second team and All-Rookie honors for the NEC newcomers.
 
About The Northeast Conference
Now in its 40th anniversary season, the Northeast Conference is an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic association consisting of 10 institutions of higher learning located throughout seven states. Media coverage of the NEC extends to a number of the largest markets in the United States - New York (#1), Boston (#9), Baltimore (#26), Hartford/New Haven (#33) and Providence (#53). Founded in 1981 as the basketball-only ECAC Metro Conference, the NEC has grown to sponsor 24 championship sports for men and women and now enjoys automatic access to 16 different NCAA Championships. NEC member institutions include Bryant, Central Connecticut, Fairleigh Dickinson, LIU, Merrimack, Mount St. Mary’s, Sacred Heart, St. Francis Brooklyn, Saint Francis U and Wagner. For more information on the NEC, visit the league’s official website (www.northeastconference.org) and digital network (www.necfrontrow.com), or follow the league on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and TikTok, all @NECsports.