(From Left) Danielle Dixon, Brooke Labrie, Alex Lemekha, Morgan Smith, Erin Grimes, & Marielle Caron earned All-CCC honors with Smith being named CCC Rookie of the Year.

Posted: Oct 27, 2017

Lemekha & Labrie Earn First Team All-CCC Honors; Smith Named CCC Rookie of the Year

Grimes (2^nd team), Dixon (3^rd) and Caron (3^rd) also recognized

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (October 27, 2017) – Six members of the Western New England University women's soccer team were recognized when the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) announced its major award winners and All-Conference teams on Friday afternoon.

Freshman forward Morgan Smith (Manchester, Conn.) took home a major award with her selection as the CCC Rookie of the Year, while second-year head coach Kristin Hensinger '07 was named the CCC Co-Coach of the Year.

Sophomore goalkeeper Alex Lemekha (Stamford, Conn.) and senior forward Brooke Labrie (Granby, Mass.) were both named to the All-CCC first team, while junior defender Erin Grimes (Attleboro, Mass.) received second team honors. Smith, senior midfielder Danielle Dixon (Plainville, Conn.) and senior defender Marielle Caron (East Longmeadow, Mass.) garnered third team recognition.

Smith made an immediate impact during her first year at Western New England, as her five goals and ten points both led the team. The freshman scored when it mattered most, with four of her five goals coming in the second half, including three in the 77^th minute or later, and two serving as game-winners.

Lemekha earns All-CCC first team honors following a breakout sophomore campaign in which she led the CCC with seven shutouts and also ranked third in goals against average (1.03) and fifth in save percentage (.812). The Stamford, Conn. native has been named the CCC Defensive Player of the Week for three consecutive weeks and four times overall this season.

Lemekha made five or more saves in nine of Western New England's 18 contests this season, including a career-high 12 on October 3 as the Golden Bears earned a 1-1 draw at No. 23 ranked Western Connecticut State University. She also made eight saves each in key CCC victories at the University of New England (Sept. 16) and against Roger Williams (Oct. 17).

Coming of an All-CCC third team selection last fall, Labrie caps her career with first team recognition after starting all 18 matches for the Golden Bears during the regular season and compiling six points with one goal and four assists. The Granby, Mass. native made her lone goal count, as it served as the game-winner in the 79^th minute of Western New England's 2-0 win over Nichols on October 7. Labrie also recorded two assists each in CCC victories over Eastern Nazarene (Oct. 11) and Roger Williams.

Grimes and Caron receive All-CCC second and third team honors, respectively, after anchoring Western New England's defensive unit this fall. Grimes started all 18 matches after appearing in just ten last season due to injury, while Caron started 17 of the 18 contests that she appeared in.

Rounding out Western New England's six All-Conference selections is Dixon, who was an important offensive contributor during her senior season. The Plainville, Conn. native started all 18 matches this fall and tallied five points with two goals and one assist. Her first half goal at UNE proved to be the game-winner and helped set the tone for the Golden Bears successful CCC campaign.

Western New England (9-7-2), which earned the third seed in the CCC Tournament, will host sixth-seeded UNE in the quarterfinal round on Saturday afternoon at 1:30 p.m.