Iwachiw of Trinity Garners Player of the Year

HADLEY, Mass. – Senior goaltender Isabel Iwachiw (New York, N.Y.) of Trinity has been selected by the conference coaches as the NESCAC Player of the Year. Iwachiw has backstopped the Bantams to their best record in program history, as they have achieved 20 wins for the first time ever this season. She is the first individual from Trinity to earn the conference’s top honor.

Iwachiw has nearly matched the numbers she recorded in net during her sophomore season with the Bantams, and like the 2007-08 campaign she has also received All-Conference First Team honors for her efforts. One of the top goaltenders in the country, Iwachiw boasts a 17-3-2 record with a 1.22 goals against average, a nation-leading .951 save percentage (522-for-549), and a career-best seven shutouts. She recorded a season-high 40 saves in a scoreless draw at Amherst on Dec. 4 before making 31 stops and allowing a single goal in a 2-1 overtime win against Middlebury on Jan. 8 - Trinity’s first win over the Panthers in school history.

Joining Iwachiw on the All-NESCAC First Team from Trinity were juniors Kim Weiss (Potomac, Md.) and Laura Komarek (Plymouth, Md.), as the Bantams’ three representatives are the most for the program ever. The only holdover from the 2009 First Team, Weiss heads into the weekend third among her teammates in scoring with 14 goals and 12 assists for 26 points, just one shy of the 27 she posted during her first year. The junior forward has found her name on the stat sheet in 17 of Trinity’s last 19 games, tying her personal best for points on Dec. 8 with two goals and an assist in a win over Wesleyan. Against conference foes, Weiss was fifth in scoring with an even nine goals and nine assists for 18 points.

The top blue-liner in the conference in both points (29) and power-play points (19), Komarek is enjoying a career year on the ice with a league-leading 24 assists along with five goals. Four of Komarek’s five tallies have come while the Bantams have been on the power play, as she is part of a extra attacker unit that ranks third in the conference with a 25.2 percent conversion rate. Twice this winter she has netted four points - an individual high for her - with a one-goal, three-assist performance in a win over Colby on Jan. 23 as part of a nine-game scoring streak, followed by four assists in a victory against Nichols on Feb. 6. As impressive as her offense has been, Komarek has also bolstered the conference’s best defense, as the Bantams have given up only 28 goals in 25 games, a 1.12 average.

Paired with Komarek on the First Team defense was Amherst junior Randi Zukas (Glen Head, N.Y.). The two-time Second Team selection is also in the midst of her best year in points production, registering five goals and 20 assists for 25 points through 23 appearances for the Jeffs. Amherst’s second leading scorer heads into this weekend’s conference semifinals on a five game hot streak with a goal and 10 assists during that time.

Along with Zukas from Amherst on the First Team was first year Geneva Lloyd (Calgary, Alberta). Playing in 24 of the Jeffs’ 25 contests, Lloyd moved from defense to forward at the beginning of February and has flourished in her new role, scoring 12 of her team-leading 27 points in the past seven games with an even six goals and six assists. Her scoring totals are tops for league rookies and tied for sixth among all skaters.

Middlebury junior forward Anna McNally completes the 2010 All-Conference First Team. The Rookie of the Year and a First Team member in 2008, McNally holds the conference lead in scoring with 16 goals and 20 assists for 36 points, just one point shy of the 37 she recorded in her first year with the Panthers. McNally played a part in all of Middlebury’s goals during a 5-0 victory at Colby on Nov. 29, scoring two and helping out on the other three. She is also in a three-way tie for first in power-play tallies with seven so far this winter.

Hamilton goaltender Rebecca Hazlett (Grosse Pointe Park, Mich.) came away with NESCAC Rookie of the Year. Hazlett had an impressive first year between the pipes for the Continentals with a .931 save percentage (4th NESCAC), a 2.31 goals against average (7th), and a 9-9-2 record with two shutouts. She made 40 or more saves on six occasions this year, stopping a season-high 49 in a 1-0 setback at RIT on Jan. 12.

Trinity head coach Andrew McPhee was chosen by his counterparts as the NESCAC Coach of the Year. Now in his eighth season at the helm of the Bantams, McPhee’s club has recorded the most wins in program history this season and will be in the hunt for their first NESCAC crown this weekend. McPhee previously won NESCAC Coach of the Year in 2005 and again in 2008.