Numerous Women's Soccer Saints Earn Spots on All-Conference Teams
WINTHROP, Mass. – Announced by the Great Northeast Athletic Conference on Tuesday, Emmanuel women’s soccer placed six players on the GNAC’s All-Conference teams, with three Saints making the First Team, two making the Second Team, and one player making the Third Team.
WINTHROP, Mass. – Announced by the Great Northeast Athletic Conference on Tuesday, Emmanuel women's soccer placed a total of seven players on the GNAC's All-Conference teams, with three Saints making the First Team, two making the Second Team, and one player making the Third Team, as well as a Sportsmanship Team member.
The sophomore trio of Sarah Dullaghan (Belmont, Mass.), Maya Daryanani (Raynham, Mass.), and Annebel Balogh de Galantha (Grafton, Mass.), all received First Team nods at forward, midfield, and defense, respectively.
Graduate defender Catherine Manning (Peabody, Mass.) and sophomore goalie Gaby Baker (Grafton, Mass.) nabbed Second Team honors at their positions. First-year forward Ciara Horan (Braintree, Mass.) collected a Third Team honor and an All-Rookie Team selection.
Senior defender Melissa Mauro (Old Lyme, Conn.) was selected to the All-Conference Sportsmanship team from Emmanuel, after a season with career-highs of 19 appearances and four assists.
Dullaghan, a GNAC Player of the Year contender, makes her second consecutive GNAC First Team after leading the conference with 50 points while being tied for the most goals in the GNAC with 21. Her eight assists on the season were tied for third-most in the league. As of Nov. 7, Dullaghan ranks ninth in NCAA Division III in points and 11th in goals.
Daryanani makes her first career All-Conference Team with a First Team recognition. The sophomore midfielder finished the season with nine goals and five assists for 23 total points. Of her nine goals, four of them counted as game-winning tallies, most among midfielders in the GNAC and third-most among all players in the conference.
Balogh de Galantha, a GNAC Defender of the Year contender, adds a First Team honor after making the All-Conference Second Team a season ago. A center back for the Saints, Balogh de Galantha was part of a defense that allowed just 11 total goals to opponents this season, setting a new program record for fewest goals surrendered in a season. The second-year defender added six goals and three assists on the offensive end for Emmanuel.
Alongside Balogh de Galantha as a center back in the Saints defense is Manning, an All-Conference Second Team selection. The Saints captain makes the Second Team in consecutive seasons after earning the same honor in 2022. The Saints defense shutout opponents 12 times in the 2023 season.
Defending the Emmanuel goal for all but one match this season was Baker, an All-GNAC Second Team selection. A top contender for GNAC Goalie of the Year, Baker set the single-season program record for wins by a goalie, after going 17-3-0 this season, and shutouts, keeping a clean sheet on 11 occasions.
Baker finished the season with 20 appearances and starts, both top-five single-season marks. She added a 0.55 goals against average and an .871 save percentage, second and third, respectively, in single-season program history.
Rounding out the All-Conference selections is Horan, who was named to the Third Team and All-Rookie squads in her first season. A candidate for Rookie of the Year, Horan finished the season with nine goals and eight assists, totaling 26 points.
The Saints finished the 2023 campaign at 18-3-0 (14-1-0 GNAC). In the process, the team returned to the GNAC Championship Game for the first time since 2015 and set the program record for single-season overall wins and wins against GNAC opponents. The Saints winning percentage of .857 is also a program record for highest winning percentage.