IT'S A MAJOR AWARD: Gniadek, Andrade, Brown Honored by MASCAC

WESTFIELD, Mass. -  Westfield State field hockey landed six players on the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference's All-Conference team, led by Defensive Player of the Year Emma Gniadek (Worcester, Mass./Doherty HS) and Rookie of the Year Caroline Andrade (Watertown, Mass.).  Owls' coach Carden Brown was named the league's coach of the year.

The Owls placed four players on the first team, where Gniadek and Andrade were joined by senior forward Kaleigh Murphy (Pembroke, Mass.) and junior back Lee Gould (Southborough, Mass./Algonquin), while first year forward Kacey Curran (Fall River, Mass.) and back Maddy Barry (Norwood, Mass.) were on the second team.

Gniadek finished the year with a 9-0 record in conference play and a 1.06 GAA against the league, and posted a shutout in the conference semifinals.  Overall, she started 15 games with a 1.96 GAA and a .801 save percentage.  In addition to being named to the Defensive Player of the Year, she earned first-team all conference honors for the first time in her four-year career.

"I was ecstatic to learn that Emma got the award, she was super deserving this season," said Brown.  "She is incredibly talented and comes up in the big moments.  This was her best, most-consistent season.  She just kept growing and maturing as a leader on the team, and I am excited for her."

Andrade made a splash in her debut as an Owl, finishing the season, scoring 13 goals with seven assists for 33 points in 16 games played.   She was named the league's rookie of the week on four occasions this season, and picked up NFHCA National Offensive Player of the Week honors in October. 

"Caroline jumped right in, and clicked with the team right away as soon as she was healthy," said Brown.   Andrade missed the first six games of the season due to injury. "She has excellent skills, I think it's fair to say a step above many of the players in our league, and I am excited that it is only her first year and she still has room to grow as a player."

Brown earned coach of the year honors for the first time, leading the Owls to an 18-4 record, a 12-0 mark in the league's regular season, and a second straight conference tournament title and NCAA tournament bid.   The Owls record 16-game win streak was snapped to end the season in the NCAA tournament loss at seven-time defending national champion Middlebury.  Brown has led the Owls to record number of wins in each of her three seasons at the helm of the program – matching the record of 12 in 2023, extending it to 13 in 2025 and then 18 this season for an overall collegiate head coaching record of 43-21 (.672).

"It's always nice to have your peers recognize your accomplishments," said Brown.  "But really the award is a credit to the team, they trusted me, and put in the work, but ultimately they had to go out and do it on the field and execute game plans, so it is as much a credit to the players."

Among the players propelling the Owls to the top of the league, Murphy was the Owls top scorer all season long, finishing with 44 points on 18 goals and 8 assists.  She scored seven game winning goals, and was the MVP of the MASCAC Tournament.    Murphy finishes her four-year career as an Owl with 42 goals and 19 assists for 103 points.  She became the fourth-leading scorer in program history.   She ranks fourth in career points and assists and fifth in assists.  Her 44 points this year are the third-best single season total in Owls' history.

Gould started all 22 games this season in the back, finishing with one defensive save.   Her strength is in defending at the point of attack to help limit shots getting off at all, and frequently foiled opponent's penalty corner plays as a flyer for the Owls defense.

Barry was a steadying influence as a low defender for the Owls.  She finished with four defensive saves on the season, and scored two goals and an assist as a factor in the Owls' offensive penalty corners.  For her career she played in 74 games with 53 starts, including every game as a junior and senior.

Curran was the bookend rookie sensation along with Andrade.  Curran earned conference rookie of the week honors three times during the year, including last week when she scored both goals in the Owls' 2-0 MASCAC semifinal win.   She capped the season with 12 goals and eight assists for 32 points.