COLONIA, N.J. – The 2026 East Coast Conference Regular Season champion Mercy collected a quartet of major awards while Queens snagged a trio of trophies to headline the ECC Women's Soccer All-Conference honors, as voted on by the league's head coaches and announced on Tuesday ahead of the start of the 2026 ECC Women's Soccer Championship. ECC Co-Offensive Players of the Year went to Mercy’s Astrid Borglund and Queens Ashley Kieblesz, while the trio of Mercy’s Sarah Lill Hanks, Queen’s Anna Tavantzis, and Molloy’s Meghan Wetzel were named ECC Tri-Defensive Players of the Year. The duo of Samantha Hines-Hirsch from Queens and Oksana Zahirna of Staten Island were selected as Co-Goalkeepers of the Year. Borglund was also unanimously picked as ECC Rookie of the Year, while Mavs head coach Jack Nicholson unanimously repeated as the ECC Coach of the Year.
In total, Mercy led the way with an ECC-leading nine All-Conference selections and tied for first with four First Team choices. Molloy and Queens each finished with seven All-Conference honorees, with the Lions tying for first-place with four First Team picks. Roberts Wesleyan placed five on All-Conference teams, D’Youville was next with three, Daemen had two, and Staten Island wrapped up the teams with one.
Mercy freshman forward Borglund, double-dipped by taking home the ECC's Co-Offensive Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year after leading the conference in points (27), points per game (1.69), goals (12), goals per game (0.75), game-winning goals (6), and shot accuracy (0.625). Her game-winning goals ranked fifth nationally, while her total goals were 19th in the NCAA Division II ranks. Borglund added three assists and took 32 shots on the season with 20 shots on goal. She led the ECC with five total weekly selections, boasting a pair of ECC Offensive Player of the Week awards and leading all newcomers with three ECC Rookie of the Week awards.
Kieblesz, a senior forward for Queens, earned Co-Offensive Player of the Year accolades after wrapping up the regular season with 22 points, behind 10 goals and two assists, ranking second in the ECC in total points and total goals. She recorded an ECC-high 58 shots, while her 26 shots on goal and 3.63 shots per game were second in the ECC and her 1.63 shots on goal per game were third-best. Kieblesz also posted averages of 1.38 points and 0.63 goals – both ranked second in the ECC – and cashed in on four game-winning tallies, the second most among ECC players.
Hanks repeated as Defensive Player of the Year, being named as one of three recipients after making 16 starts and playing in 1,296 minutes as the leader of Mercy’s backline. The senior played 11 full matches and anchored the Mavs to eight clean sheets on the season, which included four against ECC foes. Offensively, she accounted for six points, scoring a pair of goals and dishing out a pair of assists. Hanks led the Mavericks to a .471 shutout percentage, which ranked third in the ECC.
Tavantzis was tabbed as Tri-Defensive Player of the Year after staring in the midfield for Queens. The senior appeared and started in all 16 matches for the Knights, logging 1,351 minutes and going the distance 11 times. Tavantzis aided a defensive unit that produced nine shutouts and led the ECC in shutout percentage (.563). On the offensive side of the pitch, she ranked second on Queens in points (14), goals (5), assists (4), and game-winning goals (2), ranking top-10 in the ECC in each, with her points sixth, her goals fifth, her assists fifth, and her game-winning goals fourth.
Molloy’s junior back, Wetzel, was a Tri-Defensive Player of the Year winner, starting in all 15 of the Lions contests. She led all Molloy field players with 1,341 minutes of action and played all 90 minutes in every game except one during the regular season, going 81 minutes in that match. With Wetzel as the leader of the Lions pack, the team held six of their opponents scoreless.
Claiming ECC Co-Goalkeeper of the Year was Queens Hines-Hirsch. A senior keeper, Hines-Hirsch went 8-3-4 overall and 3-1-3 in conference play, clocking 1336:13 minutes in net for the Knights. She was the ECC-leader in shutouts, recording a clean sheet in nine matches. Hines-Hirsch made 58 saves with 3.87 saver per game and had a .829 save percentage, and only allowed 12 goals on the year, owning a .808 goals against average. On the ECC leaderboard, she was also second in goals against average, third in minutes, fifth in total saves, and eighth in saves per game. Moreover, Hines-Hirsch led the ECC in Goalkeeper of the Week awards, winning a total of three this season.
Staten Island’s Zahirna captured Co-Goalkeeper of the Year after making 10 starts in net for the Dolphins, logging 900:00 minutes. The CSI junior sat in second place in the ECC in total saves with 92, in saves per game with 9.20 (ranked ninth nationally), and in save percentage with .852. Zahirna posted five or more saves in all 10 matches, making double-digit stops in four games which included a season-high 13 saves twice. She added three shutouts and a goals against average of 1.60, which ranked sixth in the ECC.
Following the Mavericks second straight ECC Regular Season Championship – their fifth in program history – Nicholson was voted by his peers as the unanimous selection for ECC Coach of the Year for the second year in a row. Mercy finished the regular season 10-3-4 overall and 6-1 in the ECC, totaling 18 points in conference play, to earn the No. 1 seed heading into the ECC Championship.
2026 ECC Women's Soccer All-Conference First Team
F - Astrid Borglund, Mercy
F - Ashley Kieblesz, Queens
F - Jana Strait, Molloy
M - Mia Hanson, Queens
M - Bella Juliano, Molloy
M - Alyssa Santiago, Mercy
M - Anna Tavantzis, Queens
B - Femke Demets, Mercy
B - Sarah Lill Hanks, Mercy
B - Meghan Wetzel, Molloy
GK - Samantha Hines-Hirsch, Queens
GK - Oksana Zahirna, Staten Island
2026 ECC Women's Soccer All-Conference Second Team
F - Samantha Cipolla, Roberts Wesleyan
F - Hailey Metzger, Mercy
F - Ysabelle Perillo, Molloy
M - Nevaeh Bunch, Roberts Wesleyan
M - Kayla Camacho, Queens
M - Gabrielle Giesing, D’Youville
M - Camila Salvador, Mercy
B - Ava Lekanides, Queens
B - Casey Szczotka, Mercy
B - Ava Thompson, Daemen
GK - Elyse Muñoz, Molloy
2026 ECC Women's Soccer All-Conference Third Team
F - Mackenzie Hagen, Roberts Wesleyan
F - Connor Leahy, Mercy
F - Emily Stefik, D’Youville
M - Roslyn Almodovar, Mercy
M - Gabrielle Justiniano, Molloy
M - Bridey McKenzie, Daemen
M - Savannah Sweet, Roberts Wesleyan
B - Carsyn Corydon, D’Youville
B - Keeley Harden, Queens
B - Madison Keenan, Molloy
GK - Rebecca Hoffman, Roberts Wesleyan
Co-Offensive Player of the Year: Astrid Borglund, Mercy, F, Fr.
Co-Offensive Player of the Year: Ashley Kieblesz, Queens, F, Sr.
Tri-Defensive Player of the Year: Sarah Lill Hanks, Mercy, B, Sr.
Tri -Defensive Player of the Year: Anna Tavantzis, Queens, M, Sr.
Tri -Defensive Player of the Year: Meghan Wetzel, Molloy, B, Jr.
Co-Goalkeeper of the Year: Samantha Hines-Hirsch, Queens, GK, Sr.
Co-Goalkeeper of the Year: Oksana Zahirna, Staten Island, GK, Jr.
Rookie of the Year: Astrid Borglund, Mercy, F, Fr.
Coach of the Year: Jack Nicholson, Mercy
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Founded as the New York Collegiate Athletic Conference in 1989 and rechristened the East Coast Conference in July 2006, the ECC was formed to enhance intercollegiate athletic competition among member institutions and to assist them in integrating athletics into their academic program in a fiscally sound way. The ECC is committed to the highest standards of scholarship, sportsmanship, teamwork, and citizenship. Its mission is to promote the total person concept in its student-athletes, which stresses the abilities to excel in academic achievement, athletic competition, and positive character traits. East Coast Conference members include: Daemen University (Amherst, N.Y.); University of the District of Columbia (Washington, D.C.); D'Youville University (Buffalo, N.Y.); Mercy University (Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.); Molloy University (Rockville Centre, N.Y.); Queens College (Flushing, N.Y.); Roberts Wesleyan University (Rochester, N.Y.); College of Staten Island (Staten Island, N.Y.); and St. Thomas Aquinas College (Sparkill, N.Y.). The ECC also is home to 13 associate members in the sports of women’s bowling (3), men’s and women’s indoor track & field (3), men's volleyball (2), field hockey (1), and men’s lacrosse (1).
The ECC sponsors the following championship sports: baseball; men’s and women’s basketball; women's bowling; men’s and women’s cross country; field hockey; men’s and women’s lacrosse; men’s and women’s indoor track and field; men’s and women’s outdoor track and field; men’s and women’s soccer; softball; and men's and women’s volleyball.
The East Coast Conference is a proud member of the NCAA and Division II. Division II is a dynamic and engaging group of colleges, institutions and conferences of varying sizes and educational missions. Division II members encourage and support diversity; value sportsmanship, fairness and equity; and place the highest priority on the overall educational excellence of the student-athlete.