WINTHROP, Mass. – Simmons University's Lucy McNamara (Brewster, Mass.) was named the Great Northeast Athletic Conference Field Hockey Goalkeeper of the Year in addition to being named to the All-Conference First Team. Maggie Fuzak (Buffalo, N.Y.) and Abby Anderson (South Yarmouth, Mass.) both joined her on the First Team, while Olivia Trull (Lowell, Mass.) was selected to the Second Team, it was announced today by the league. Senior Megan Pereira (New Bedford, Mass.) was chosen for the All-Sportsmanship Team.
McNamara becomes the first Simmons goalie to earn the GNAC's top goalie award and the second keeper to earn First Team honors since Brianna Rastello (2013-16) was named in 2014. She was consistently one of the highest-regarded goalies in the conference, earning GNAC Goalkeeper of the Week honors five times to tie Rastello for the most times the award has been handed out during a season and was also an All-Tournament Team selection. The junior was the league's stingiest goalie all season, posting a .830 save percentage to lead the GNAC by a healthy margin, while standing 10th among the nation's leaders. McNamara's percentage is the highest at the Fenway school in at least the last 15 years and is even more impressive considering she averaged 8.55 saves per game to rank 21st in NCAA Division III. Her save total of 171 stops ranked second among GNAC leaders, while placing her third on the Sharks all-time single-season list. A graduate of Nauset Regional High School, she logged the most minutes in the conference with 1237:53 and ranked third in the GNAC with a 1.70 goals against mark and five shutouts. McNamara tightened up even more in GNAC contests, posting a 1.18 GAA, while owning a .844 save percentage. She recorded an 8-12 record for the second-most wins for any goalie in the league and started all 20 matches for Simmons. The Public Relations & Marketing Communications major registered double-digit save totals on 10 occasions, including a season-high of 17 in a 1-0 loss at Smith College on October 1.
For her career, McNamara has started all 57 matches she's appeared in, while playing 3746:54 minutes. She ranks third on the Sharks career list with 384 saves and 10 shutouts, while posting a 1.86 goals against average and a .785 save mark. The Cape Cod native was named the GNAC Rookie of the Year in 2017 and was also tapped to the All-Conference Second Team. Following each of her first two seasons, she was tabbed to the Zag Field Hockey/National Field Hockey Coaches Association Division III National Academic Squad and earned a spot on the GNAC Academic All-Conference Team a year ago.
Anderson earns First Team honors and becomes the first defender in school history to be named to the GNAC All-Conference Team three times after landing on the Second Team in each of her first two seasons. The junior was one of three players on the team to start all 20 games and helped Simmons post a 1.18 goals against average in league-only matches. The back led the conference with eight defensive saves, while ranking 13th in the nation. The Dennis Yarmouth Regional High School product was a key cog in the Sharks' six shutouts and put together a pair of three-game stretches with at least one defensive save.
The Biology major has started 56 of 57 matches she's appeared in during her time at Simmons, while recording 26 defensive saves to place her first in the nation among active defensive save leaders. She was named to the NFHCA Division III National Academic Squad following her rookie season.
Fuzak becomes the first midfielder in school annals to earn GNAC All-Conference accolades three times and is a First Team selection for the first time this season. The New York native started all 18 contests that she appeared in and tallied a career-high three goals, while maintaining an imposing presence in the midfield for the Sharks. The junior made her goals count with all three of them counting as the game-winner to rank her sixth among league leaders, while leading Simmons.
The three-year standout has started all 56 matches she has suited up for and collected 20 points on five goals and 10 assists. She has been named to the NFHCA Division III National Academic Squad, in each of her first two years, in addition to earning a spot on the GNAC Academic All-Conference Team.
Trull saved her best season for last, earning Second Team honors after leading the team and placing fifth among conference leaders with 11 goals to go with an assist to give her 23 points to rank sixth in the GNAC. The forward was among the top players in the league in the final stretch of the season, scoring at least one goal in five of the last seven games, including a four-game goal-scoring streak from October 12-26. A two-year Captain, Trull was one of two players in the conference to earn multiple Player of the Week honors and tied for the conference lead, scoring seven of her goals in league-only contests. The Exercise Science major started all 20 matches for the Sharks and tallied multiple goals twice, while registering a pair of game-winning markers to rank ninth within the conference.
The Lowell High School graduate has started all but five of the 77 matches she's played in during her career and ends her time as Simmons, ranking second on the school's games played list. Trull also stands seventh on the Sharks career goals leaderboard with 23 to go with 11 assists to give her 57 lifetime points. She has been outstanding in the classroom, earning a spot on the NFHCA Division III National Academic Squad three times and was also selected as a NFHCA D-III Scholar of Distinction after achieving a grade point average of at least 3.90 through the Fall semester of her first year.
Simmons finished the season with an 8-12 record, including 4-4 in GNAC play. The Sharks earned the number three seed in the GNAC Championship Tournament, before their season came to an end in the Semifinals.