Gniadek, Andrade Secure MASCAC Weekly Honors
Gniadek receives her third defensive player of the week honors while Andrade claims her fourth rookie honors of the season.
WESTFIELD, Mass. – Westfield State senior goalkeeper Emma Gniadek (Worcester, Mass.) and first-year forward Caroline Andrade (Watertown, Mass.) have both received conference honors with Gniadek earning the MASCAC Defensive Player of the Week while Andrade earned the conference's Rookie of the Week.
Gniadek is the conference's Defensive Player of the Week after helping the Owls close out an undefeated conference regular season, making nine saves in a pair of victories. She began the week by making three saves in the Owls 5-1 win over Salem State, then stopped six shots on goal in a 2-1 triumph over Fitchburg State on Saturday to close the regular season.
Gniadek, who has now earned three conference defensive player of the week honors this season, is second in the MASCAC with an .812 save percentage and has allowed just 22 goals against in 13 games which are the second fewest in the league. She has won 10 consecutive starts in net, posting a 1.78 goals against in 13 games played. In conference contests, Gniadek's goals against drops to a 1.06 while holding a 9-0 record.
Andrade earns conference rookie honors for the fourth time this season after scoring in both games while adding an assist. She tallied the third Owls goal in the win at Salem, then netted an insurance marker which turned into the game-winning goal in Westfield's victory over Fitchburg this past weekend.
Andrade, a former NFHCA National Player of the Week recipient, has now scored in each of her last three games, improving her season goal total to 12 while dishing out seven assists for 31 points which is second on the Owls.
Westfield State capped a sensational regular season, shattering the program win record with a 16-3 overall mark and completing an undefeated conference regular season at 12-0. The Owls are also carrying the longest winning streak in program history (14) into the postseason, securing the MASCAC regular season title and the top seed in the conference tournament. The Owls will host a MASCAC Semifinal game on Thursday at 7:00 P.M. against the lowest remaining seed from first round games played on Tuesday.