Karly Martin, Western Connecticut State University soccer
The Colonials battled their way to an 11th Little East Conference championship, and they had a freshman goalkeeper from Bristol Eastern right in the middle of it.
Some may not expect a freshman goalkeeper to perform well in the postseason, but Martin turned that idea on its head with her performance in the LEC Tournament. Martin posted back-to-back shutouts in the tournament, and they came in the semifinal and championship games. For her efforts, Martin was named LEC Goalkeeper of the Week.
Martin made four saves for top-seeded WCSU in its 2-0 win over the fourth-seeded University of Southern Maine in the semifinal round. In the championship game against third-seeded UMass Boston, Martin recorded 10 saves, including eight after the halftime break, in a 2-0 victory. Martin improved her season record to 7-2 with a goals against average of 0.59 and a 90.6 save percentage.
Martin helped WCSU win its fourth straight LEC Tournament championship, and now it’s on to the NCAA Division III Championships. The Colonials will play The College of New Jersey on Saturday at 11 a.m. at TCNJ.
Christopher Lebeau and Terrell Patterson, SCSU cross country
The Owls pulled off a surprising first-ever Northeast-10 Conference championship, edging out favored Stonehill College by a 50-57 margin, and two local runners were at the front for the winners.
The former Bristol Eastern standout Lebeau finished third overall and ran the 8k race at the Hopkinton (N.H.) State Fairgrounds in a time of 25:02.5. The former Kaynor Tech standout Patterson came in seventh and ran the race in a time of 25:11.4. The local duo added up to 10 points, then the next three SCSU runners came in 10th, 11th and 19th to give the Owls their team total of 50 points.
SCSU will compete in the NCAA Regionals at Bethpage, N.Y., on Sunday. The Owls may wind up being voted the top team in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association’s East Region rankings when the final poll comes out on Saturday.
Lexi Kochin, Central Connecticut State University soccer
The Blue Devils wrapped up their ninth Northeast Conference championship by winning the semifinal and final games on campus, and this former Bristol Central standout got to take part.
As a matter of fact, you can see an exuberant Kochin, wearing No. 21, raising a No. 1 right above the “P” and the “I” in the NEC CHAMPIONS banner in a photo above the story about the championship game. That story is on the CCSU women’s soccer website.
Kochin came off the bench to play in the semifinal game against Fairleigh Dickinson University, a 2-1 victory. In the championship game against Saint Francis University, Kochin again came off the bench and played in the midfield. She took one shot in the game, but it was blocked.
The championship is CCSU’s first since 2014, and it gives Kochin a trip to the NCAA Tournament in her senior season. The Blue Devils will play top-seeded Georgetown in the first round on Saturday at noon at Shaw Field in Washington, D.C.
Brianna Root, Post University volleyball
She was a standout and a leader as a senior at Bristol Eastern, and she has done much of the same in her final season with the Eagles.
Root was named second team all-conference by the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference after a strong year that isn’t over yet. She finished third in assists in conference play with 660 and assists per set average at 10.48. Root posted 23 service aces and 184 digs. She played in 18 of 19 conference matches.
Root and Post, the Northern Division winner, began play in the CACC Tournament with a 3-0 quarterfinal victory (25-23, 25-11, 27-25) over Wilmington University of Delaware in front of a packed house at the Drubner Center on Post’s campus. Root tallied 33 assists and 13 digs in the victory. The CACC Tournament moves to Georgian Court University for the semifinals and final on Saturday and Sunday. Post faces host Georgian Court University, the No. 2 team in the Southern Division, on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.
Statistics and information compiled from the team website of each athlete/coach.
