Owls Place Five on All Conference Teams; Ditmar Named Coach of the Year
Highlighted by conference Player and Rookie of the Year Delaney Parker (Orange, Mass./Mahar), and the Champions’ Choice Coach of the Year Todd Ditmar.
WESTFIELD, Mass. – Westfield State University women's soccer soccer fared well in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference all-conference balloting, as five players were named to the all-conference teams, highlighted by conference Player and Rookie of the Year Delaney Parker (Orange, Mass./Mahar), and the Champions' Choice Coach of the Year Todd Ditmar.
Parker has obliterated the Owls single season scoring record in her rookie year. She has tallied 31 goals (10 more than the Owls previous season record), eight assists, and a school-record 70 points for the season. She was named the league's rookie of the week in all 10 weeks in which it was awarded, named the player of the week five times, and was most recently the league tournament MVP after scoring the lone goal of the match in the championship game. She leads NCAA Division III in goals scored and points.
Senior forward Jenn Rennich (Bedford, Mass.) was named to the first team, and accrued eye-popping numbers of her own with 14 goals and 18 assists this season. Rennich has set the Owls single-season mark for assists, and ranks second in the nation. In her three-year playing career at Westfield she has 27 goals and has tied a school record with 38 career assists for 92 points, tied for sixth on Westfield's career scoring list. Rennich was named the league's player of the week three times this season.
She was named as a first-team selection for the third straight time, having been selected as a first-year and a sophomore before the pandemic caused the cancellation of the season her junior year.
Junior midfielder Jenna Hurlburt (Kingston, Mass./Silver Lake) tallied five assists while playing a key role in the Owls' central midfield, keying the defense-to-offense transition for Westfield while starting all 19 matches this season.
First-year back Jaida Cochran (Middleboro, Mass.) is a first-team pick with five goals and four assists while helping anchor the Owls back line. She serves as a free kick specialist and has the ability to go forward and contribute on the offensive end of the field as well.
Junior goalkeeper Lauryn Davis (Templeton, Mass./Quabbin Regional) was named as a second team all-conference selection. Rarely tested due to the Owls' offensive firepower, Davis posted nine shutouts (four solo) between the pipes. She has a 1.10 goals-against average and a .800 save percentage. She was named the league's player of the week one time this season.
Ditmar gets the nod as the league's coach of the year, having led the Owls to 15-4-1 overall record, and the MASCAC's regular season and tournament championships. It's the third time that Ditmar has won the league's coach of the year award, last claiming it in 2006 and 2012.
It's the eighth time that Ditmar has guided the Owls to the league tournament title and an NCAA Tournament bid, all in the last 12 seasons. He has a 175-103-27 record at Westfield for a .618 winning percentage, while guiding the Owls to six regular season conference championships, including a 7-0 mark vs. the league this season.
Westfield will play in the first round of the NCAA Division III women's soccer tournament on Saturday at national #1 The College of New Jersey.