BUFFALO, N.Y. – D'Youville's Jimena Loustalot, Sydney Bolesta and Rowynn Pickering have been named to the inaugural All-East Coast Conference field hockey teams, and Loustalot was named the league's first Player of the Year.
Loustalot, a sophomore midfielder, was named to the First Team. Bolesta, a defender, and Pickering, a freshman forward, were named to the Second Team.
The honors cap the inaugural season of ECC field hockey for D'Youville, which played in PSAC in its two previous seasons. The No. 4 seed Saints now open the four-team ECC Championship on Wednesday, Nov. 11, at No. 1 seed Mercy.
A native of Tandil, Argentina, Loustalot transferred from Lincoln Memorial (Harrogate, Tenn.) alongside Marnie Reidell, who is in her first season as the Saints' head coach. Loustalot led D'Youville with 12 goals, five assists and 29 points, ranking second in the ECC in both goals and points. Five of her goals were game-winners, including the decisive goal against Mercy, now the top seed and the Saints' semifinal opponent, and she scored the lone goal in multiple D'Youville wins.
Bolesta was a key piece of a sturdy Saints defense that held Slippery Rock, then ranked No. 7 nationally, to five goals. Her impact on the back line went well beyond what the box score shows.
Pickering made an immediate impact in her first collegiate season. She played in all 17 games and ranked second on the team in minutes, goals and points.
Up Next: ECC Semifinals at Mercy
D'Youville faces Mercy in the semifinals at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Mercy Field in Dobbs Ferry, N.Y. The winner advances to the ECC Championship final Saturday, Nov. 14, to play the winner of Roberts-Wesleyan and Dominican University.
