COLONIA, N.J. – The inaugural 2026 East Coast Conference Field Hockey major award winners and All-Conference team selections have been released, as voted on by the league's six head coaches and announced on Tuesday afternoon prior to the start of the 2026 ECC Field Hockey Championship. Taking home major awards were Jimena Loustalot of D’Youville as the ECC Offensive Player of the Year, the Roberts Wesleyan duo of Mary Catherine Maloney and Avery Richardson, winning ECC Defensive Player of the Year and ECC Goalkeeper of the Year, respectively, Annabelle Docksteader from Dominican NY being named ECC Rookie of the Year, and Mercy head coach Marissa Spinazzola being voted by her peers as the ECC Coach of the Year.
2026 ECC Co-Regular Season Champions, Roberts Wesleyan led the way with seven total All-Conference honorees and five First Team choices. Mercy, which was also 2026 ECC Co-Regular Season Champions, followed with six All-Conference picks. Dominican NY placed four on All-Conference teams, D’Youville was next with three recipients, while St. Thomas Aquinas (2) and Molloy (1) wrapped up the teams.
The ECC's Offensive Player of the Year, Loustalot, started in all 17 contests for the Saints this season. She accounted for 29 points, scoring 12 goals and dishing out five assists, while having five game-winning goals and going 2-for-3 in penalty goals. Loustalot led the ECC in game-winning goals and tied for first in points, while sitting in second place in goals and tied for third in assists. Her points per game (1.71) ranked 11th nationally and led the ECC, while ranking 12th in the country and second in the conference in goals per game (0.71) and she was fourth in the ECC in assists per game (0.29). Loustalot also led the ECC with 76 shots and 4.47 shots per game and was fourth in shots on goal per outing (2.18). Additionally, she was named ECC Player of the Week a conference-leading three times this season.
Catherine Maloney secured unanimous ECC Defensive Player of the Year honors. She started in all 17 games for the Redhawks, logging 1,038 minutes on defense, which led all players on her team. The team captain, Catherine Maloney turned in three defensive saves, which ranked fifth in the ECC, and she anchored a defensive unit that allowed the least amount of goals in the ECC and rounded up seven shutouts during 2026. Not only did she produced on the defensive end, but she also provided offensive help this season, scoring a goal and handing out three assists for five points. Catherine Maloney was a three-time ECC Defensive Player of the Week, which led all defensive players in the ECC this year.
Collecting ECC Goalkeeper of the Year was Richardson for the Redhawks. Richardson was the starter in cage for all 17 games this season, going 9-6 overall with six shutouts and accumulating 997:36 minutes as keeper. She made 91 saves, allowing 30 goals, with a 1.80 goals against average and .752 save percentage. Richardson was the conference leader in goals against average and shutouts, and she ranked fourth in saves and fifth in saves per game. She was honored as ECC Goalkeeper of the Week four times this year, a quantity that was tied for the most amongst keepers this season and tied for the most weekly awards overall.
Docksteader took home ECC Rookie of the Year, representing Dominican NY. Despite being a true freshman, Docksteader appeared in all 17 contests for the Chargers, making 16 starts. Her statline featured 13 goals, three assists, for 29 points. She took 62 shots with 48 shots on goal and went 1-1 on penalty goals. Docksteader had averages of 1.71 points per game and 0.76 goals per game. She was first place on the ECC individual leaderboard in goals, goals per game, points, points per game, and shots per game, while ranking third in shots and tied for seventh in assists. Docksteader garnered three ECC Rookie of the Week awards and one ECC Player of the Week selection in 2026, and her four total weekly awards were tied for the ECC-lead among all players.
In her sixth season leading the Mavericks, Spinazzola was selected as the ECC Coach of the Year after guiding Mercy to a 9-7 overall record and 8-2 mark in the ECC, earning the top seed in the 2026 ECC Field Hockey Championship field and a share of the 2026 ECC Regular Season title. Her Mavericks ended the regular season riding a seven game winning streak overall and won eight straight ECC league games to cap off the campaign. Spinazzola’s squad led the ECC in defensive saves, save percentage, and shot percentage during the season.
2026 ECC Field Hockey All-Conference First Team
Mary Catherine Maloney, Roberts Wesleyan
Avery Carinci, Roberts Wesleyan
Annabelle Docksteader, Dominican NY
Jimena Loustalot, D’Youville
Kaylise McClure, Mercy
Jade Moncada, Roberts Wesleyan
Avery Richardson, Roberts Wesleyan
Charlotte Sabert, Mercy
Bodille Snijder, Dominican NY
Addison Testa, Mercy
Makena Tooley, Roberts Wesleyan
2026 ECC Field Hockey All-Conference Second Team
Alyssa Benvengo, Mercy
Sydney Bolesta, D’Youville
Madison Brefka, Mercy
Gabby Croniser, Roberts Wesleyan
Catie Horn, St. Thomas Aquinas
Iris Kuper, Dominican NY
Natalee Lawrence, Roberts Wesleyan
Evelyn McEwen, St. Thomas Aquinas
Katie Ogurick, Molloy
Rowynn Pickering, D’Youville
Lea Pilsl, Dominican NY
Gwendolyn Smith, Mercy
NOTE – 12 Second Team selections due to tie in voting for final spot
Player of the Year: Jimena Loustalot, D’Youville
Defensive Player of the Year: Mary Catherine Maloney, Roberts Wesleyan*
Goalkeeper of the Year: Avery Richardson, Roberts Wesleyan
Rookie of the Year: Annabelle Docksteader, Dominican NY
Coach of the Year: Marissa Spinazzola, Mercy
*Denotes unanimous selection
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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.