Five Soccer Players Named to Northeast-10 All-Academic Teams

SOUTH EASTON, Mass. – Five members of the Southern New Hampshire men’s and women’s soccer teams were named to their respective Northeast-10 Conference All-Academic Teams, it was announced by the conference office on Wednesday.  Senior Laurie Boland (Worcester, MA) of the women’s soccer team was a First Team All-Academic selection, as were senior Matt Delaney (Wallasey, England) and graduate student Simon Kearney (Barrow-upon-Humber, England) of the men’s soccer team.  Junior Nicole Ebner (Rochester, NY) was a women’s soccer Second Team choice, while classmate Cary Rivett (Uxbridge, MA) was a women’s soccer Third Team selection.

For Boland, it marks the third straight time she has been a First Team All-Academic selection.  Over her four-year career, Boland has played in 66 games with 55 starts and totaled 17 goals and 15 assists for 49 points, including a team-best five goals and four assists for 14 points this season.  A NE-10 Third Team All-Conference selection in 2005, Boland was selected as SNHU’s Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 2005-06.  A Marketing major with a 3.64 grade point average, Boland is also a member of the Penmen softball team and was named to that sport’s NE-10 All-Academic Team last spring.

Delaney has started all 36 contests over his two-year career.  A back, he was a Northeast-10 First Team All-Conference as well as a Second Team NSCAA All-New England selection in 2006.  The anchor of a defense that has posted six shutouts and allowed just 13 goals in 15 games, Delaney is also SNHU’s leading scorer this season and has totaled 10 goals and three assists for 23 points over his career.  Delaney is a Sport Management major who carries a 3.83 GPA.

Kearney, another two-year member of the men’s soccer program, has appeared in 35 games, earning 32 starts.  In 2006 Kearney was SNHU’s leading scorer with six goals and four assists for 16 points, and over his two-year career he has posted totals of 8-6-22.  He was also a Northeast-10 Second Team All-Conference selection last season.  Kearney is currently pursuing his MBA at SNHU and has compiled a 3.80 GPA.

Ebner, a Business major sporting a 3.49 GPA, is a member of the All-Academic Team for the second time.  In 2007 she has totaled two goals and an assist and ranks second on the squad in scoring despite missing six games earlier in the season due to injury.  Ebner has appeared in 11 games this season with 10 starts, and over her three-year career has appeared in 47 contests, earning 41 starts.

Rivett, a junior Communications major with a 3.59 GPA, has been a three-year starter in the midfield for the Penmen.  In 2007, she is one of five players to start all 17 games thus far for Southern New Hampshire, while over her three-year career, Rivett has appeared in 53 of a possible 53 games while starting 48 times.

To be eligible for selection to the academic teams, a student-athlete must have met and/or exceeded the following minimum requirements: 1) participated in at least half of the team’s competitions and be either a starter or significant contributor; 2) achieved a 3.2 cumulative grade point average (on a 4.0 scale); and 3) completed at least one academic year at his/her current institution. The Northeast-10 All-Academic Teams are chosen by a vote of the Northeast-10 Sports Information Directors.