Deschenes Named Defensive Player of the Year; One of Five Named GNAC All-Conference
WINTHROP, Mass. - Five players from the Emmanuel College women's soccer team were honored Monday morning earning Great Northeast Athletic Conference All-Conference honors as announced by the conference office. Senior Kaylin Deschenes (Lynn, Mass.) becomes the first player in GNAC history to earn back-to-back Defensive Player of the Year honors while fellow senior Natalie Dash (East Hampton, Conn.) joined her for the second consecutive year on the GNAC All-Conference First Team. Junior Sydney Allen (Charlestown, R.I.) was named to the Second Team and senior Abba McKenelley (Middleton, Mass.) and junior Rachel Prevost (Tewksbury, Mass.) both earned Third Team honors. In addition, senior Taylor Rathbun (Sheffield, Mass.) was named to the GNAC All-Sportsmanship Team.
WINTHROP, Mass. - Five players from the Emmanuel College women's soccer team were honored Monday morning earning Great Northeast Athletic Conference All-Conference honors as announced by the conference office. Senior Kaylin Deschenes (Lynn, Mass.) becomes the first player in GNAC history to earn back-to-back Defensive Player of the Year honors while fellow senior Natalie Dash (East Hampton, Conn.) joined her for the second consecutive year on the GNAC All-Conference First Team. Junior Sydney Allen (Charlestown, R.I.) was named to the Second Team and senior Abba McKenelley (Middleton, Mass.) and junior Rachel Prevost (Tewksbury, Mass.) both earned Third Team honors. In addition, senior Taylor Rathbun (Sheffield, Mass.) was named to the GNAC All-Sportsmanship Team.
Deschenes made history becoming the first player in the GNAC to earn back-to-back Defensive Player of the Year honors after finishing her career strong with EC. The senior played in and started 18 games for Emmanuel and helped the Saints post a 1.03 goals against average in games she was healthy including four shutouts. She added 11 points on four goals and three assists.
Over her career, Deschenes appeared in 75 games earning 64 starts and started every game from her sophomore campaign on. She made the transition from forward to defender following her sophomore season and the change helped the Saints defense post 14 shutouts over her final two seasons. She closed her career with 42 points on 15 goals and 12 assists.
Dash earns First Team honors for the second straight year after capping her career with a 21 point campaign on nine goals and three assists. Her nine goals ranked seventh in the GNAC while 21 point effort ranked tied for 11th. The Connecticut native scored four game-winning goals to rank second in the GNAC despite missing two weeks (four games) in the middle of the year due to injury.
Dash will graduate among the all-time leaders at Emmanuel in several offensive categories. Her 61 career points rank tied for 12th in EC annals while her 23 goals are tied for 10th. Dash ranks tied for 11th in career assists with 15 and over her career appeared in 74 contests, starting 51.
Allen makes her first career appearance on the All-Conference team with Second Team accolades. The Rhode Island native was one of only two players to play in and start all 20 games for the Saints as she finished the campaign with a career-high 11 points on three goals and five assists. Her five helpers shared the team lead while ranking tied for 12th overall in the GNAC.
Through three seasons, Allen has played in 57 contests, earning 40 starts and has accumulated 22 points on six goals and 10 assists.
McKenelley earns returns to the All-Conference team after a one-year hiatus. The 2017 GNAC First Team honoree earned Third Team honors to cap her career in style. McKenelley played in 19 games and earned 18 starts in the midfield unit for the Saints. The senior posted six points on two goals and two assists, scoring both goals in a huge 2-1 road victory over University of Saint Joseph (CT) on October 23.
The Middleton, Mass. native closed her career with 18 points on 12 goals and four assists, appearing in 73 games including 54 starts.
Prevost earns GNAC All-Conference honors for the first time of her career, landing on the Third Team following an impressive effort in the EC defensive unit. Often tasked with marking the oppositions top offensive threat, Prevost held some of the GNAC's leading scorers scoreless in key conference showdowns consistently throughout the year. She added four points on one goal and two assists.
Through three seasons, Prevost has been a constant in the Saints starting line-up, appearing in 56 games while earning 53 starts. Prevost has nine points over that span on three goals and three assists.
Emmanuel wraps the 2019 campaign with an overall record of 10-9-1, posting an 8-3-1 mark in GNAC play to earn the No. 3 seed in the GNAC postseason tournament. The Saints advanced to the GNAC Semifinals for the second straight season before falling to the No. 2 seed Saint Joseph's College (ME), 2-1.