Lloyd of Amherst Scores Player of the Year

HADLEY, Mass. – Junior defender Geneva Lloyd (Calgary, Alberta) of Amherst has been selected by the conference coaches as the 2012 NESCAC Player of the Year. Lloyd, one of the most dynamic players in the league, has helped the Lord Jeffs achieve 20 wins in a single season for the third time in the last four years along with a spot in this weekend's NESCAC semifinals. She is the second Amherst player to ever be named Player of the Year, joining former Jeff Krystyn Elek, who was honored in 2009.

In addition to earning the conference's top honor, Lloyd was appointed to the All-NESCAC First Team for the third consecutive year, a rare accomplishment across all conference sports. Through 24 games this season, Lloyd leads all league blue-liners in scoring and ranks second among her teammates with 23 points on nine goals and 14 assists. Of her nine tallies, seven have come on the power play. She has netted two goals in a game on three separate occasions and recorded three assists, her highest single-game output of the year, in a 6-0 victory over Oswego St. on Dec. 10. As talented as Lloyd is in the offensive zone with the puck, the junior defender has helped the Jeffs frustrate opponents in their own end, as Amherst has held teams to a league-low 1.20 goals per game.

Middlebury led all programs with three representatives on the All-Conference First Team. Junior Madison Styrbicki (Edina, Minn.) garnered All-NESCAC honors for the third year in a row, as she was one of three skaters to repeat on the First Team. Second only to Lloyd among defenders in points with 20 (4-16-20), Styrbicki plays a vital role on the blue line for the Panthers on the power play and penalty kill units. Also recognized from Middlebury were forwards Lauren Greer (North Hampton, N.H.) and Sara Ugalde (Burlington, Conn.). Greer, a talented two-sport junior who was selected as the NESCAC Field Hockey Player of the Year this past fall, is second in the conference in scoring with a career-best 27 points on 11 goals and 16 assists. The sophomore Ugalde is not far behind her teammate with 13 tallies and 11 helpers for 24 points (8th NESCAC). Eight of her goals have come on the man-advantage, tops in the league.

After a breakout sophomore season that rewarded her with All-NESCAC First Team honors, junior forward Kayte Holtz (New Berlin, Wis.) of Bowdoin returned to the First Team for a second tour. Holtz paces the Polar Bears in scoring for the third-straight year with a league-leading 32 points on 15 goals and 17 assists through 25 games. Five of her tallies have come on the power play, while four have been game-winners for Bowdoin. During the Polar Bears' quarterfinal outing against Williams, Holtz had a hand in all three goals in a 3-2 overtime victory.

Rounding out the All-Conference First Team was Trinity sophomore goaltender Alexa Pujol (New Canaan, Conn.). Pujol has backboned the Bantams during their surge over the second half of this season. Through 20 appearances, Pujol has posted a .935 save percentage, second among the netminders in the NESCAC, along with a 1.73 goals against average heading into the final rounds of the NESCAC tournament.

Forward Jordan Schildhaus (Woodbury, N.Y.) of Wesleyan came away as the NESCAC Rookie of the Year. In her first stint with the Cardinals, Shildhaus led her squad on the ice with eight goals and five assists for 13 points, a total that put her sixth among first year skaters in the conference. Ten of her 13 points came against NESCAC competition.

Trinity head coach Carson Duggan was honored as Coach of the Year. An assistant coach for the Bantams last season, Duggan took over the reins of the Trinity program a little over a month before the start of the 2011-12 campaign after nine-year bench boss Andy McPhee moved on to Brown. The Bantams had a slow start to the year but turned things around after January 1, going 13-4-0 to finish the regular season and wrapping up the fourth seed in the NESCAC championship. Trinity advanced to this weekend's NESCAC semifinals for the third consecutive year following a 3-1 decision over Hamilton.