Bloomsburg University field hockey standout Chelsea Due (Pen Argyl/Pen Argyl) has been named the 2009 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division Athlete of the Year in voting by the conference coaches, while head coach Jan Hutchinson was named the PSAC Eastern Division Coach of the Year.
In addition, six other players earned All-PSAC honors. Named first team All-PSAC East were Due, Amanda Riley (Tannersville/Pocono Mountain East) and Amanda Deloy (Milton, DE/Cape Henlopen). Named second team All-PSAC East were Maggey Bloskey (Danville/Danville), Aubrey Carman (Dallastown/Dallastown), Betsy Renn (Herndon/Line Mountain) and Caitlin Koczynski (Langhorne/Neshaminy).
Due, a four-time All-PSAC selection and the 2006 PSAC Freshmen of the Year, is the third straight Bloomsburg player to be named a PSAC Athlete of the Year, following Jamie Vanartsdalen, who was named the PSAC East Athlete of the Year last year and the overall PSAC Athlete of the Year two seasons ago under the previous one division format. Due enters the NCAA Tournament with eight goals and four assists for 20 points from her midfield position. She has also helped contribute to a defense that leads the PSAC in goals against average at 0.71 and has allowed just 15 goals in 21 games.
Riley, who earned her first All-PSAC East honor, leads the Huskies in both points with 50 and in goals scored with 24. She has also assisted on eight others for Bloomsburg. Her best game of the season came against CW Post when she scored three times in a 6-3 victory. She also has seven other games with two goals and earned the PSAC East Player of the Week award the final three weeks of the season.
Deloy earned her first All-Conference honor. The junior played a key role in the midfield for the Huskies and helped limit opponents to just 6.2 shots on goal per game. Deloy also contributed offensively for the Huskies with a goal and two assists this season.
Bloskey, who named the MVP of last week’s PSAC championship game, earned her first All-Conference selection. The senior forward scored 13 goals during the year, including the game winner in OT against Shippensburg in the PSAC title game. She also assisted on 11 other goals and is third in the country in assists per game with a mark of 0.52. Bloskey’s best game of the year came at Seton Hill when she scored two goals and assisted on three others.
Carman was named All-PSAC for the first time this season. The senior defender was a key member of the Huskies defense that has limited opponents to just 0.71 goals per game. Offensively she also scored one goal and had one assist.
Renn also earned her first All-PSAC honor this season. The sophomore defender led a defense that kept opponents from a shot on goal in five games this season.
Koczynski, a senior, also earned her first All-PSAC honor this season. The goalie posted a goals against average of 0.79 in 1,321 minutes of play. She allowed just 15 goals posting two solo shutouts. She stopped 68 shots and had a saves percentage of .819.
The East Coach of the Year award for Hutchinson marks the sixth time that the longtime Bloomsburg coach, who is retiring after this season, has claimed the award, although each of the previous five were under the one-division format. She was last honored by her peers in 2006. After losing several key players, including Division II’s all-time leading scorer, from last year’s team that claimed the program’s third consecutive national championship, Hutchinson led the Huskies to a 20-1 record this season and a PSAC tournament championship for the second straight year. The Huskies will be the No. 1 seed in the region in the upcoming NCAA Tournament.
