Farmington players among NAC's best

Five Women's Soccer Players Honored

November 7, 2008

Five University of Maine at Farmington women's soccer players were honored by the North Atlantic Conference Wednesday.

Junior forward Amber Murphy (Manchester, NH) was named to the All-NAC First Team, while senior defender Katie Schwarz (Scarborough, ME), junior midfielder Amanda Byrne (Winslow, ME) and sophomore keeper Mckell Barnes (Durham, ME) were recognized on the All-NAC Second Team and senior back Heidi Jackson (York, ME) was named NAC Honorable Mention.

NAC all-conference selections are determined by a vote of conference coaches.

Murphy scored six goals and assisted on a pair of scores in seven NAC matches. Four of those goals were game-winners.

A four-year starter in the backfield, Schwarz anchored the Beavers' defense, which allowed just five goals in seven NAC contests.

Also a four-year starter, Byrne was honored by the NAC for the fourth time in her career. She was an All-NAC First Team choice in 2006 and named to the All-NAC Second Team in 2005 and 2007.

Barnes manned the pipes for the Beavers with a 0.84 goals-against average in over 500 minutes of NAC action, while also keeping three clean sheets in conference play.

Jackson -- also a NAC Honorable Mention honoree is 2006 -- is another defensive standout for Farmington.

The Beavers (9-7) is scheduled to face Husson University in the NAC title game Saturday in Bangor. The match is scheduled for an 11 a.m. start.

For the men, freshman forward James Tollefson (Middletown, RI) was named the North Atlantic Conference Men's Soccer Rookie of the Year.

Tollefson scored a league-leading nine goals in conference play. The forward -- twice honored as the NAC Men's Soccer Rookie of the Week during the season -- was also named to the All-NAC First Team.

A pair of Beaver midfielders -- senior Andrew Harner (Naperville, IL) and junior Ryan Pelletier (Orrington,ME) -- received All-NAC Second Team accolades. Harner netted a pair of goals in NAC play, while Pelletier scored a goal and assisted on three other scores.

Senior defender Andrew Merriken (Salem, NH) and sophomore midfielder Sean Raph (Waterville, ME) were named NAC Honorable Mentions. Merriken led the Farmington defense with Raph collected three assists in NAC action.

The men closed out their season at 7-8 with a 2-1 NAC semifinal loss at Castleton State College on Saturday.