Five Terriers Earn Dartfish/NFHCA All-Region Honors
November 15, 2005 | Field Hockey
BOSTON ??? After reaching the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2000 and posting a record of 16-6, the Boston University field hockey team had five players earn all-region honors from the National Field Hockey Coaches Association. Senior Colleen McClay (Mahopac, N.Y.) joined sophomores Pam Spuehler (Sudbury, Mass.) and Sarah Shute (Lincolnville, Maine) on the Dartfish/NFHCA Northeast All-Region First Team, while junior Erin Prediger (Telford, Pa.) and freshman Holly Wiles (Harare, Zimbabwe) earned second-team recognition.
McClay, who was named to the first team for the second consecutive year, started in all of BU???s 83 games since her arrival in 2002 and she served as a tri-captain for the 2005 squad. One of the top defenders to wear a Terrier uniform in recent history, McClay tied for second on the team in assists this season with six and she added a trio of goals, including a pair of game winners, to finish with 12 points. Her 22 career assists are the 10th most in program history. A two-time selection to the America East All-Conference First Team, McClay was named the Most Outstanding Player at this year???s conference tournament.
A year after earning all-region second-team honors as a freshman, Spuehler was selected to the first team following an injury-shortened sophomore campaign during which she tallied 17 points, including a team-best seven assists. The midfielder missed six contests early on in the season, but finished strong, tallying at least one point in seven of the final nine games. An all-conference first-team selection and a member of the America East All-Tournament Team, Spuehler registered a career-high five points in the Terriers??? 5-3 victory over Central Michigan in their NCAA play-in game.
It is the first all-region honor for Shute, who became the first Terrier to be named America East Offensive Player of the Year after tallying a team-best 26 points on the strength of 11 goals. Shute kick-started her season with a hat-trick performance against Michigan State and tallied three game-winning goals on the season, including one in the America East Championships, when she found the cage twice in a 3-1 victory over Maine in the title game. Shute also earned a spot on this year???s America East All-Conference First Team.
Due to their first-team status, McClay, Spuehler and Shute will all advance to the national All-America ballot.
Prediger earned her second consecutive selection to the all-region second team after turning in a standout season in the Terriers??? cage. A member of the America East All-Conference First Team and a winner in 16 of her 20 starts this fall, Prediger???s goals against average of 1.31 ranks seventh among all Division I netminders. She produced five shutouts this season and put together the second longest shutout skein in program history, holding opponents without a goal for a stretch of 407:30 during the middle of the season.
Wiles turned in a terrific freshman season, becoming the second consecutive Terrier to earn America East Rookie of the Year honors. Her team-high 12 goals set a new freshman record at BU and the goal total was tied for eighth in Terrier history. A member of the America East All-Conference Second Team and All-Rookie Team, Wiles scored a season-high five points in the Terriers??? 5-1 victory over Vermont in the conference semifinals. She tallied three game-winning goals on the year, including an overtime tally at Massachusetts.
Since the awards began in 1985, 55 different Terriers have earned a combined 91 NFHCA Northeast All-Region accolades under head coach Sally Starr, who completed her 25th season at the BU helm.
