Hernan hailed for leadership amid tragedy
Red-shirt junior goalkeeper Julia Hernan and the St. Francis women’s soccer team saw the season end with a 2-1 loss to top seed Central Connecticut in the Northeast Conference title game last Sunday in New Britain, Conn.
Hernan, from Collegeville and a graduate of The Hill School, had nine saves in the game. She ended up with an 8-7-3 for the 8-9-3 Red Flash. In 19 games and 1,588 minutes of action, Hernan gave up 19 goals (1.03 goals against average) with 100 saves (.845 save percentage). She had seven shutouts and earned NEC second-team honors.
“Julia is such a tremendous leader in our program,” coach Brenda van Stralen said. “She is a hard worker who was rewarded this season by becoming the program’s lead in career shutouts. Her passion for the game is unrivaled and she has a unique ability to handle anything that is thrown her way.”
Hernan was hit with a big setback when her mother passed away during the summer.
“That was tragic but she has dealt with it with tremendous maturity,” van Stralen said. “I am sure she has made her family proud with her play on the field this season.”
The 5-foot-11 senior outside hitter was named to the MAC Commonwealth first team for her play with the Widener women’s volleyball team, the Pride finishing 16-17 after dropping a 3-0 match to Messiah in the first round of the league playoffs on Oct. 29 in Grantham. Dorman, who played in all 33 matches and all 113 sets, led the team in kills (326) and points scored (391.5) and finished second in digs (282) and service aces (42) and third in total blocks (43). She finished her career second in kills with 1,464.
The Clarks Summit women’s soccer team finished 5-9 overall and 1-7 in the Colonial States Athletic Conference but the 4-foot-11 sophomore showed enough to be named to the CSAC first team last Thursday. She led the Defenders in goals with 14, was second in assists with five and first in total points with 33. Clarks Summit scored just 29 goals on the season. Stewart had four goals and an assist in an 8-1 victory over Penn State Schuylkill and all three goals in a 3-2 triumph over Penn College.
The sophomore and the Miami (OH) women’s field hockey team earned a berth in the NCAA Division I Tournament with a 5-2 victory over Kent State in the MidAmerican Conference title game last Saturday in Oxford, OH. Nugent played in all 21 games with 11 starts and has four goals for the Redhawks who will take a 15-6 record into the tournament. She played in 21 games with 12 starts last year as a freshman and had 17 points on seven goals and three assists.
The junior forward and the St. Joseph’s field hockey team dropped a 2-1 decision to Virginia Commonwealth in the semifinals of the Atlantic 10 Conference last Saturday in Dayton, OH. Vagnozzi played in all 21 games with 20 starts for the Hawks who finished 14-5-2, the second most victories in program history. She had two goals and six assist for 10 points this season and has 12 goals and 20 assists with two game-winners in 60 career games with 56 starts.
The freshman was named to the PSAC third team last Wednesday after leading the Indiana women’s soccer team in scoring this season. Willis finished the season with 29 points in 18 starts with 14 goals, an assist and five game-winners. Her 14 goals are tied for second in both the PSAC and NCAA Division II and her 29 points are the most scored by a Crimson Hawk player since 2011. Indiana was beaten 4-0 by West Chester on Oct. 28 to end the season with a 9-8-1 record.