Centenary Athletics Holds Annual Banquet
- Bianca Santulli (above) receives her honor from Assistant Athletic Director Josh Huber and Caitlin Veverka (below) stands with Athletic Director Billie Jo Blackwell.
HACKETTSTOWN, N.J. (May 5, 2009) – Centenary athletics held its annual banquet Tuesday night, handing out awards for the 2008-09 season. Coach of the Year honors went to first-year men’s basketball coach Enrico Mastroianni, Rookie of the Year went to Caitlin Veverka (Bayonne, N.J./Holy Family Academy) and Owen Vernon (Great Meadows, N.J./Hackettstown), the Scholar Athlete winners were Bianca Santulli (Bridgewater, N.J./Bridgewater) and Adam Achillies (Lanoka Harbor, N.J./Lacey Twp.) and the Cardy Gemma Award went to Jolyn Veres (Denville, N.J./Morris Knolls) and Chris Hill (Flanders, N.J./Gil St. Bernard's).
Veverka competed with women’s soccer in the fall and led the team with 11 goals and 24 points. She also recorded two assists and three game-winning goals and was named Second Team All-CSAC Forward. She joined the softball team in the spring after injuries affected the squad. In 18 games, she has a .286 batting average (12-for-42) with eight runs, six RBI, four doubles and two home runs, and she was named Second Team All-CSAC Designated Hitter.
Santulli finished the academic year with a GPA of 3.923. She earned First Team All-CSAC and Third Team NSCAA/adidas All-Mid-Atlantic Region honors after recording four goals and five assists for 13 points. She was also named to the CSAC All-Academic Team.
Centenary 2008-09 Athletic Awards
Bianca Santulli Named to NSCAA/Adidas Third Team
- Bianca Santulli
HACKETTSTOWN, N.J. (December 9, 2008) - Earlier today the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)/Adidas announced its 2008 Women’s Soccer All-Region Selections. Centenary sophomore midfielder Bianca Santulli (Bridgewater, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan) was named as a Third Team All-Mid Atlantic Region performer for her outstanding play this fall.
Santulli finished the year tops on the team in assists with five, tied for fourth in goals with four, and tied for fourth in overall points with 13. In the Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) she finished 2008 tied for third in assists with five, third in assists per game, and tied for fourth with a pair of game winning goals. Santulli was named a First Team All-CSAC midfielder, following her Second Team selection a year ago. She was also named to the Conference’s Weekly Honor Roll twice, during the season.
Her numbers this fall have moved her onto the Centenary women’s soccer all-time scoring list in career goals (eight), career assists (11), and career points (29). Santulli helped the Lady Cyclones to an overall mark of 9-9-2, and their second straight appearance in the conference playoffs.
Complete All-Region Team
Host Griffins Down Lady Cyclones 1-0 in CSAC Semi-final
GWYNEDD VALLEY, Pa. (November 5, 2008) - The conference championship run for the Centenary women’s soccer team ended this afternoon, as the Lady Cyclones dropped a 1-0 decision to Gwynedd Mercy College in their CSAC Semi-final match up. The loss gives Centenary an overall record of 9-9-2, as it waits to see if its season will continue in the ECAC Metro Region Tournament. As for Gwynedd Mercy, the Griffins will move on to Saturday’s conference final versus Marywood University.
In today’s action the Lady Cyclones were unable to get on track offensively for much of the opening half despite recording five shots in the period to GMC’s six. The teams goalkeepers combined to make six first half saves keeping the game scoreless at the halftime break. As both teams continued to look for the go ahead tally through the first ten-plus minutes of the second half, Gwynedd Mercy did just that in the 62nd minute. The Griffins Kirstyn Varas scored her sixth goal of the season, off a cross from Gwen Conte, giving the hosts the 1-0 lead.
Over the final twenty minutes of the game, Centenary created a few scoring opportunities for themselves, but all were turned away by GMC’s goalkeeper Kristie Pollock. She was able keep Centenary off the scoreboard, including a diving save with just less than 10 minutes to go in the contest off the foot of Centenary's Brittany Overland (Andover, N.J./Newton), which would have tied the game.
In the loss for the Lady Cyclones Ashley Denti (Sergentsville, N.J./Hunterdon Central) made three saves. Boxscore
Lady Cyclones Advance to Semi-finals with 1-0 Win
- Jen Dexter
HACKETTSTOWN, N.J. (November 3, 2008) - Junior Jen Dexter (Kenvil, N.J./Roxbury) scored the game's only goal in the 20th minute to give the Centenary women's soccer team a 1-0 win over Immaculata University. With the win, the Lady Cyclones advance to Wednesday’s CSAC semifinal at Gwynedd-Mercy.
Today’s win came on the heels of Centenary’s 2-1 win over the same Immaculata team on Saturday afternoon. However today, the host women took control early when junior Kiti Ovaskainen (Helsinki, Finland/Vaskivuoren Lukio) found Dexter just twenty minutes into the opening half. For the remainder of the half, the two teams traded a few opportunities with the pair of goalkeepers combining for five saves, keeping the lead at 1-0 at the halftime break.
In the second period it was the visiting Mighty Macs who held a slight 6-5 advantage in shots, but were unable to find the back of the net. The biggest play of the game however came with just over six minutes remaining when Immaculata’s Anna Marie Popgoshev took the ball into the Centenary defensive third, and what appeared to be the games tying goal. Yet just before the ball could cross the goal-line, Centenary defender Lauren Loe (Dana Point, Calif./Corona del Mar) came sliding through and kicked the ball away preserving the one goal cushion and ultimately the Lady Cyclone victory.
In the victory for Centenary, goalkeeper Ashley Denti (Sergentsville, N.J./Hunterdon Central) made five saves, while recording her seventh shutout of the season. Boxscore
Six Lady Cyclones Recognized by Conference
HACKETTSTOWN, N.J. (November 3, 2008) - On Sunday evening the Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) released its 2008 women’s soccer All-Conference Awards. Five Lady Cyclones were recognized as All-Conference performers. Heading the list for Centenary were sophomore Bianca Santulli (Bridgewater, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan) who was named a First Team All-Conference midfielder, and junior Lisa Stankiewicz (Moylan, Pa./Archbishop Prendergast) who was chosen as a First Team All-Conference defender.
Joining the aforementioned selections, were freshman forward Caitlin Veverka (Bayonne, N.J./Holy Family) who was named a Second Team All-Conference forward and senior Lauren Loe (Dana Point, Calif./Corona del Mar) who was named a Second Team All-Conference defender. Rounding out the list for the Lady Cyclones was sophomore defender Sam Pena (Ogdensburg, N.J./Wallkill Valley) who was named to the CSAC Honorable Mention team. Santulli, Stankiewicz, and Loe are all repeat selections to the CSAC All-Conference Teams.
Also being recognized by the conference was senior Melissa Hoffman (Riverside, N.J./Riverside). Melissa was chosen as Centenary’s recipient of the CSAC Sportsmanship Award for her outstanding leadership this season with the women’s soccer program.
For complete listing of All-Conference selections, click here.
Overland Named to CSAC Honor Roll
HACKETTSTOWN, N.J. (November 3, 2008) - For the Lady Cyclones, Brittany Overland (Andover, N.J./Newton) was named to the CSAC Honor Roll for her week, when she scored two goals in their win over over Immaculata, a win which clinched the No. 3 seed for Centenary. Centenary was 1-0-1 over this week. This is the second time Overland has been named to the Honor Roll and now has six goals and three assists for 15 total points.