HOFSTRA PLACES FOUR ON ALL-CAA FIRST TEAM

11/6/2009 1:00:00 AM

Boston, MA - The Hofstra Women's Soccer team had four players named to the All-Colonial Athletic Association first team and had six players honored overall, it was announced at the league's annual awards banquet this evening.

Senior defender Jess Crankshaw (Lanoka Harbor, NJ), sophomore midfielder Courtney Breen (Hicksville, NY), junior midfielder Tiffany Yovino (Holtsville, NY) and junior forward Salma Tarik (Bellmore, NY) gave the Pride more first-team selections than any other team in the CAA. James Madison was second with three selections. Senior defender Diane Caldwell (Balbriggan, Ireland) was named to the All-CAA third team, while freshman defender Amy Turner (Stocksbridge, England) was named to the All-Rookie team.

Crankshaw earned All-CAA honors for the third time in her career, including her second appearance on the first team. She was a third-team selection in 2007, then earned the CAA Co-Defensive Player of the Year honor last season. This year, she has started every game for the Pride and has four goals and four assists for 12 points, including a hat trick in a win over Drexel back on Sept. 27, the first three-goal game for a Hofstra player in five years.

Yovino also earned All-CAA honors for the third time, including a second-team selection as a freshman and first-team honors in each of the last two years. This year, she has started every game and has tallied three goals and an assist. Two of her goals came in dramatic fashion, as she scored the tying goal against Richmond with 1:45 left in regulation in the Pride's 2-1 win on Aug. 28, and the game-winning goal with 1:49 left in Hofstra's 3-2 comeback win over Delaware on Sept. 24 in its CAA opener.

Breen earned first-team honors this fall after being chosen to the second team as a freshman last season. She has started every game during the 2009 campaign and has scored three goals for the Pride, including the overtime game-winner in a 2-1 win over Richmond on Aug. 28, and the game-winner in the second half of a 2-1 win over Princeton on Sept. 4. She also added the tying goal in a 4-1 comeback win over defending league regular season champion William & Mary on Oct. 11.

Tarik earned all-conference honors for the first time in her career, after leading the Pride in the regular season with 10 goals and four assists for 24 points. She became the ninth player in school history to record a 10-goal season when she converted a goal in the second half of a 3-0 win over VCU on Oct. 23. She also had two goals in a win over Towson on Oct. 4, and a goal and an assist in rapid succession in key CAA wins over William & Mary (Oct. 11) and UNC Wilmington (Oct. 16).

Caldwell was named third-team All-CAA despite missing two conference games to play for the Irish National team in World Cup qualifiers. She had three goals this season, including late game-winners in the final 10 minutes of a 1-0 road win over George Mason (Oct. 2) and a 3-2 win over Harvard (Sept. 13). She also scored the game's first goal in a 3-0 victory over VCU on Oct. 23, accouting for her third game-winner of the year.

Turner started every game for the Pride at center back in her rookie campaign, helping the Pride to six shutouts in 11 conference games. She had an assist on the game-winning goal in a 2-1 win over Princeton on Sept. 4, and has played all but 10 minutes for Hofstra this season.

The second-seeded Pride, which finished the regular season with a 10-5-3 overall record and a 7-2-2 mark in the CAA, opens conference tournament play on Friday afternoon, when it faces third-seeded UNC Wilmington for a 3 p.m. contest at Northeastern University. Top-seeded Northeastern meets fourth-seeded James Madison in the other semifinal, and the two winners will meet on Sunday at 1 p.m. for the CAA championship and an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

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