BOSTON, Mass. – Simmons College field hockey player Brianna Rastello (Salem, N.H.) was named the Eastern College Athletic Conference New England Field Hockey Defensive Player of the Week and the Great Northeast Athletic Conference Field Hockey Goalkeeper of the Week for the week of September 7-13, it was announced by each league. The award marks the seventh time in her career that she has earned the GNAC accolade and the first that the ECAC has honored her.
Rastello was 2-1 on the week and posted a 1.50 goals against average, while posting a .571 save percentage. The junior shared a pair of shutouts on the week, helping the Sharks post a 9-0 victory over host Wheelock College on September 9 and then a 6-0 win at Rivier University to open the conference schedule on September 12. The keeper capped the week by making four saves in a 3-2 defeat at Thomas College on September 13.
Rastello is currently 5-1 on the season with a 0.84 goals against average to lead all GNAC goalies with more than one match played on the season. In 333:32 minutes played, the Salem High School graduate has made six saves for a .600 save mark to place sixth among league leaders. She has only been score upon in two of the six matches she has appeared in this year.
The junior was named a GNAC First Team selection last season and earned North Atlantic Conference Second Team honors as a first year player. She has started all 32 matches that she's appeared in, while logging 2,154:07 career minutes. Her .784 career save percentage is the highest in school history and includes 171 saves. She also owns a 1.53 career goals against mark and has posted seven career shutouts as part of a 21-11 (.656) lifetime record.
The Sharks were voted the favorite to win the GNAC in the Pre-Season Coaches Poll and are currently 5-1 on the season, including 1-0 in league play. Simmons returns to action on Saturday, September 19 when it heads to Newton, Mass. to take on Lasell College at 12:00 p.m. in the final contest of a seven-game road trip to begin the season.