2020-21 MAAC Women’s Soccer Major Awards and All-MAAC Team Announced
EDISON, N.J. (April. 21, 2021) – The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) has announced the 2020-21 Women’s Soccer All-MAAC Team and Major Award winners. All awards were voted on by the league’s 11 head coaches.
The 2020-21 MAAC Women’s Soccer Co-Offensive Players of the Year are Makenzie Rodrigues of Rider University and Lauren Karabin of Monmouth University. Rodrigues becomes just the third Bronc to be selected for the award, and the first since Tara Ballay in 2014. In just a six-game span, her MAAC-leading six goals and 14 points surpassed the four goals and 10 points she collected over a 17-game season in 2019. Her offense helped Rider to return to the semifinal round of the MAAC Women’s Soccer Championship for the first time since 2015. Karabin becomes the third consecutive player from Monmouth to receive Offensive Player of the Year honors, and the sixth since 2013. She has been the leader of a strong Monmouth offense that averaged 1.56 goals and 4.22 points per game as the Hawks made an appearance in the MAAC Championship game for the fifth consecutive season. Karabin was the team leader in points (9), assists (3), shots on goal (16), and ranked third in minutes played (839).
The 2020-21 MAAC Women’s Soccer Co-Defensive Players of the Year are Monmouth’s Sarina Jones and Siena’s Brianna Montinard. With Jones’ selection, Monmouth has now held at least a share of the award for the past four seasons. Jones has established herself as one of the conference’s top defenders. A three-time MAAC Champion, the 2019 MAAC Championship Most Valuable Player, a three-time All-MAAC Selection, a selection to the 2019 United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-East Region Third Team, and more, Jones adds Co-Defensive Player of the Year to what is an already impressive collegiate career. Montinard has led an outstanding Siena defense which has surrendered only three goals over the entire regular season and MAAC Championship. Among those eight games are five clean sheets and a GAA (0.36) that ranks eighth nationally. Montinard has started all eight matches, playing 724 out of a possible 760 minutes, and has even recorded an assist for the Saints.
The 2020-21 MAAC Women’s Soccer Rookie of the Year is Quinnipiac’s Rebecca Cooke. Cooke is the second straight Bobcat to earn the award (Josie Horosky) and the fourth Quinnipiac player since 2015 to be named Rookie of the Year. She led the way on offense over the course of the season, topping the team in points (10), goals (4), shots (26), and shots on goal (11). The highlight of the season came in the 2020-21 MAAC Women’s Soccer Quarterfinals, where she scored the double overtime, game-winning goal off a breakaway to help the Bobcats defeat Fairfield, 1-0, and advance to the semifinal round.
The 2020-21 MAAC Women’s Soccer Goalkeeper of the Year is Leslie Adams from Siena. Her .930 save percentage currently ranks fifth among NCAA Division I goaltenders and first in the MAAC. Nationally, she’s also tied for 11th in saves per match (6.67), and is 19th in GAA (0.47). The Saints are 4-0-2 with Adams in net, recording three shutouts in the process. In the 2020-21 MAAC Women’s Soccer Championship Game, she made a career-high 12 saves – along with two critical stops in penalty kicks – to help lead the Saints to their first title since 2015.
The 2020-21 MAAC Women’s Soccer BSN Sports Coach of the Year is Siena’s Steve Karbowski. His first Coach of the Year award since 2002, Karbowski’s 22nd season at the helm of the Saints featured the program’s third MAAC Championship and first-ever MAAC Regular Season title. Siena has maintained an unblemished 6-0-2 overall record this spring while outscoring their opponents by an 18-3 margin.
For the full list of awards, including the All-MAAC Team, see below.
| 2020-21 MAAC Women’s Soccer Major Awards |
| Award |
Player |
School |
| Co-Offensive Player of the Year |
Makenzie Rodrigues |
Rider |
| Co-Offensive Player of the Year |
Lauren Karabin |
Monmouth |
| Co-Defensive Player of the Year |
Sarina Jones |
Monmouth |
| Co-Defensive Player of the Year |
Brianna Montinard |
Siena |
| Goalkeeper of the Year |
Leslie Adams |
Siena |
| Rookie of the Year |
Rebecca Cooke |
Quinnipiac |
| BSN Sports Coach of the Year |
Steve Karbowski |
Siena |
| 2020-21 MAAC Women’s Soccer All-MAAC Team |
| Player |
Class |
School |
Position |
| Lauren Karabin |
Jr. |
Monmouth |
Forward |
| Rebecca Cooke |
Fy. |
Quinnipiac |
Forward |
| Makenzie Rodrigues |
So. |
Rider |
Forward |
| Maddison Perna |
So. |
Monmouth |
Midfielder |
| Selena Salas |
Jr. |
Quinnipiac |
Midfielder |
| Emily McNelis |
Jr. |
Siena |
Midfielder |
| Kelsie Kearns |
Sr. |
Iona |
Defense |
| Sarina Jones |
Sr. |
Monmouth |
Defense |
| Jesi Rossman |
Jr. |
Monmouth |
Defense |
| Brianna Montinard |
Jr. |
Siena |
Back |
| Leslie Adams |
Jr. |
Siena |
Goalkeeper |
Keep up with all MAAC soccer action by following @MAACSports on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram and by searching #MAACSoccer.
About the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference:
With 11 institutions strongly bound by the sound principles of quality and integrity in academics and excellence in athletics, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) celebrates its 40
th year of competition during the 2020-21 academic year. Current conference members include: Canisius College, Fairfield University, Iona College, Manhattan College, Marist College, Monmouth University, Niagara University, Quinnipiac University, Rider University, Saint Peter’s University, and Siena College.