PHILADELPHIA, Pa., Nov. 6, 2009 - Five James Madison field hockey players were honored by the Colonial Athletic Association as the league held its annual awards banquet Friday evening prior to the start of the 2009 CAA Championship on Saturday.

JMU was represented on the All-CAA teams by first team honorees in senior goalkeeper Kelsey Cutchins (Suffolk, Va./Lakeland) and junior midfielder Dolores de Rooij (Vlaardingen, The Netherlands/Erasmiaans).  Senior back Tara King (Emmaus, Pa./Emmaus) and freshman midfielder Vivienne Konijnendijk (Rotterdam, The Netherlands/Sint Laurens College) were on the All-CAA second team, while both Kinijnendijk and freshman forward Tori Lindsey (Audubon, Pa./Methacton) were named to the league's All-Rookie Team.

The 2009 CAA Player of the Year was handed out to Drexel's Christina Mastropaolo while Defensive Player of the Year went to teammate Sofia Sanguinetti.  Denise Zelenak was named Coach of the Year after leading the Dragons to their first CAA regular-season title.  Northeastern forward Crystal Poland was honored as CAA Rookie of the Year.

Cutchins picked up the third First Team All-CAA honors of her career.  Entering the tournament, the reigning two-time CAA Player of the Year and the league's preseason Player of the Year in 2009 led the CAA in saves per game (5.95), shutouts (3), goals against average (1.49), and save percentage (.796).  She also ranks seventh nationally in save percentage and 17^th in GAA.  At the start of the season, Cutchins was named to the CAA's Silver Anniversary Team as one of the top 25 players in league history.  In her career, she ranks 10^th in JMU history in games played (86), first in career GAA (1.09, top 30 in NCAA history), ninth in save percentage (.771), eighth in saves (289), and first in minutes in goal (5,500:05).  She is a two-time All-American, Academic All-American, ECAC Goalkeeper of the Year, and Virginia state Player of the Year along with last year earning CAA Female Scholar Athlete of the Year, JMU Female Athlete of the Year, and JMU Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year.  Entering the tournament, Cutchins has played all 422 minutes of JMU's last three trips to the CAA Championship, allowing just one goal with five shutouts for a 0.17 career tournament GAA.

De Rooij earned First Team All-CAA honors for the first time after earning Second Team recognition in 2008 and All-Rookie honors in 2007.  In 2009, de Rooij led the Dukes in overall scoring with 28 points on 13 goals and two assists, ranking sixth in the CAA in points and fifth in goals along with third in shots (78).  She also ranks second among active JMU players in career scoring with 62 points on 28 goals and six assists.  De Rooij played primarily in the midfield for the Dukes and filled the top striker position on penalty corners for most of the season.  Her scoring role picked up as the season progressed with 12 of her 13 goals in the final 11 games of the season, including one stretch where she scored six consecutive goals and three consecutive game-winning goals.

King has started on the JMU defense for all but one match of her four-year standout career with the Dukes.  She has one point as a senior, which came in the second game of the season at Kent State, and two total assists for her career.  King also this year had the clinching penalty stroke in a stroke-off victory over American.  With Saturday's CAA semifinals, King will move into a tie for seventh in JMU history in career starts with 84.  She was a member of the CAA All-Rookie Team in 2006 and last year was named Second Team All-State by the Virginia Sports Information Directors.

Konijnendijk started in the midfield for JMU from day one and made an immediate impact with the game-winning goal in the season-opening victory at Ohio State to earn CAA Rookie of the Week honors.  She has 13 points total for the season on the one goal at Ohio State and a JMU freshman-record 11 assists, which also leads JMU and ranks third in the CAA.  Konijnendijk had two matches this year with three assists in each and assisted a game-winning goal three times.

Lindsey shares the team lead with de Rooij with 13 goals along with one assist to rank second on the team with 27 points.  She also sits seventh in the CAA in points and fifth in goals.  Her 27 points, 13 goals, and four game-winning goals each rank third in school history.  She trails Julie Martinez (1996, 18-2-38) and teammate Meghan Bain (2006, 16-4-36) in points and goals while sitting behind Bain (9) and current volunteer assistant coach Ashley Walls (2005, 5) in freshman game winners.  Her standout season was highlighted by the first week of October when she scored six goals over three wins, including becoming the 20^th player in school history to score at least four goals in a match with four against Radford.  She is one of 15 Division I players this year to accomplish the feat.  Lindsey was named CAA Player of the Week, CAA Rookie of the Week, and Womensfieldhockey.com National Rookie of the Week for her performance.

Mastropaolo, who is the first Drexel player to earn Player of the Year status, leads the CAA in points (65), goals (27) and game-winning goals (10). She is also tied for third in assists with 11. Her 65 points are tied for second in the nation with Maryland's Katie O'Donnell and her 27 goals rank third in the nation, just one goal behind leaders Debbie Bell of Kent State and Loren Sherer of Connecticut. Her 10 game-winning tallies are the most in Division I. Mastropaolo contributed at least one point in 18 of Drexel's 19 matches and she scored at least one goal in the Dragons' final 12 contests.

Sanguinetti anchored a Dragons' defense that posted three shutouts in 2009 and allowed only 32 goals in 19 matches. Drexel currently ranks 18th in the nation in scoring defense. Sanguinetti also contributed offensively by tallying three goals and four assists. The back is the first Dragon athlete to be selected as league's top defender.

Poland had an excellent freshman season, ranking fourth in the CAA in points per game (1.88) and seventh in goals with 12. Her three game-winning goals were the fourth-most in the conference. Poland also contributed six assists and led the Huskies in every offensive statistical category. Poland's Rookie of the Year honor makes it two years in a row that a Northeastern freshman has garnered the award. Sophomore Kaela Barker was the top freshman in 2008.

In her 15^th season at Drexel, Zelenak earned her first CAA Coach of the Year honor after guiding the Dragons to their best record ever in the regular season (17-2) and clinching the CAA regular season title for the first time with a 7-1 mark. Drexel is currently ranked #10 in the nation, which is the highest ranking ever for the program. The coaching honor is the second for Zelenak since becoming head coach in 1994. In 2000, she was selected as the Mid-Atlantic Region Coach of the Year.

The CAA Field Hockey Championship begins Saturday at noon when top-seeded Drexel hosts Hofstra at Buckley Field in Philadelphia. The second semifinal match between #2 Delaware and #3 James Madison will follow at 2:30 p.m. Tickets are $5 for adults and children under 12 are admitted free. Students from participating schools are also free with a valid student I.D.

Player of the Year:  Christina Mastropaolo, Drexel

Defensive Player of the Year: Sofia Sanguinetti, Drexel

Rookie of the Year: Crystal Poland, Northeastern

Coach of the Year: Denise Zelenak, Drexel

2009 CAA FIELD HOCKEY AWARDS

First Team

Second Team

All-Rookie Team

Player of the Year:  Christina Mastropaolo, Drexel

Defensive Player of the Year: Sofia Sanguinetti, Drexel

Rookie of the Year: Crystal Poland, Northeastern

Coach of the Year: Denise Zelenak, Drexel