PITMAN, NJ --- Montclair State University sophomore forward Aileen Cahill (Little Egg Harbor, NJ/Pinelands Regional) and TCNJ senior back Jess Hall (Chester, NJ/Mendham) have been named the New Jersey Athletic Conference Women’s Soccer Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year respectively for the 2021 season. The pair headlined this year’s slate of NJAC Women’s Soccer major awards.

TCNJ earned the remainder of the awards as junior Gianna Coppola (Montville, NJ/Montville Twp.) was named Midfielder of the Year; senior Alexandra Panasuk (Wall, NJ/Wall) is Goalkeeper of the Year; Ava Curtis (Hillsborough, NJ/Hillsborough) is Rookie of the Year; and head coach Joe Russo was tabbed Coach of the Year.

In total, 41 student-athletes earned all-conference recognition in NJAC women’s soccer during the Fall 2021 season. All selections and major awards were determined by a vote of the league’s head coaches.

Cahill earns the Offensive Player of the Year honor just months after being named the Rookie of the Year this past spring. She tallied nine points in conference play on three goals and three assists. Overall, she was the second leading scorer in the NJAC with 19 points this season on seven goals and five assists and tallied three game winners.

Hall claimed the Defensive Player of the Year honor after anchoring the nationally top-ranked TCNJ back line to 13 shutouts this year, including seven in conference action. The two-time Defensive Player of the Week helped the Lions limit conference opponents to two goals (0.22 goals against average) and just 33 shot attempts. Overall, the Lions yielded just four goals all season, two of which were to national No. 2 Johns Hopkins in a draw.

Coppola was pivotal in the midfield for the top-ranked Lions. The two-way player helped the Lions to 13 total shutouts, seven in conference action. On the offensive side, she was the third-leading scorer at TCNJ with 13 points on six goals and one assist overall; she scored two goals and assisted on a third against NJAC opponents.

Panasuk earned the starting keeper spot this year and went 9-0-0 in conference play with a scant 0.24 goals against average. She posted seven shutouts against NJAC opponents and recorded a 0.750 save percentage. Panasuk is currently 15-0-1 overall with 13 shutouts on the year with a 0.883 save percentage.

Curtis has made an immediate impact on the Lions’ defense this year. A Week 5 Defensive Player of the Week, Curtis helped the back line limit conference opponents to just two goals and 33 attempted shots.

TCNJ head coach Joe Russo was selected as the NJAC Coach of the Year by his peers. In his farewell season before retirement, Russo has led his Lions to a 15-0-1 record and a top national ranking. He mentored seven all-conference honorees this season. Overall, Russo’s program owns 19 NJAC titles and three national titles, and his career record currently stands at 549-66-45.  

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR:  Aileen Cahill, Montclair State
MIDFIELDER OF THE YEAR:  Gianna Coppola, TCNJ
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR:  Jess Hall, TCNJ
GOALKEEPER OF THE YEAR:  Alexandra Panasuk, TCNJ
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Ava Curtis, TCNJ
COACH OF THE YEAR:  Joe Russo, TCNJ
FIRST TEAM
Name	Year	Pos.	School	Hometown/High School
Aileen Cahill^	SO	F	Montclair State	Little Egg Harbor, NJ/Pinelands Regional
Bailey Kellenberger	SO	F	Rutgers-Newark	Sparta, NJ/Sparta
Julia Obst	SR	F	TCNJ	Hopewell, NJ/Hopewell Valley Central
Zoe Steck	SR	F	Montclair State	Nutley, NJ/Nutley
Gianna Coppola	JR	M	TCNJ	Montville, NJ/Montville Township
Amelia Curtis#	SR	M	TCNJ	Hillsborough, NJ/Hillsborough
Aidan Sheehan#	SR	M	Rowan	Hamilton Square, NJ/Steinert
Sydney Williams*#	SR	M	Stockton	Millville, NJ/Millville
Ava Curtis	FR	D	TCNJ	Hillsborough, NJ/Hillsborough
Arianna Durling#	SR	D	Rowan	Hamilton, NJ/Steinert
Jess Hall	SR	D	TCNJ	Chester, NJ/Mendham
Breana Winder*%@	SR	D	Rutgers-Camden	Washington Township, NJ/Washington Township
Alexandra Panasuk	SR	G	TCNJ	Wall Township, NJ/Wall
SECOND TEAM
Name	Year	Pos.	School	Hometown/High School
Gracie Casais	JR	F	Kean	Toms River, NJ/Toms River East
Julia Fiorito	SO	F	William Paterson	Toms River, NJ/Toms River North
Carla Goodwin	SR	F	Ramapo	Wayne, NJ/Wayne Valley
Jessica Heitmann	SR	F	Stockton	Rockaway, NJ/Morris Knolls
Celine Brady~	JR	M	Kean	Marlboro, NJ/Marlboro
Catherine Carnevale*#@&	SR	M	Montclair State	Princeton Junction, NJ/Pennington School
Emily DeGeyter*+@	SR	M	Montclair State	Long Valley, NJ/West Morris
Lindsay Hernandez%	JR	M	Rutgers-Camden	Brick, NJ/Brick Memorial
Emmi DeNovellis	FR	D	Montclair State	Old Bridge, NJ/Old Bridge
Sophia Drea	FR	D	Stockton	Medford, NJ/Shawnee
Laura Noseworthy*#	SR	D	Montclair State	Freehold, NJ/Freehold Township
Megan Ponce~	SR	D	William Paterson	Clifton, NJ/Paramus Catholic
Bristol Pizzuto	JR	G	Rowan	Whitehouse Station, NJ/Hunterdon Central
HONORABLE MENTION
Name	Year	Pos.	School	Hometown/High School
Kim Brites*	SO	F	NJCU	Carteret, NJ/Carteret
Nikki Butler@	SR	M	TCNJ	Franklin Lakes, NJ/Ramapo
Leila Ettayebi	FR	M	Rutgers-Newark	Clifton, NJ/Clifton
Emily Hauck	FR	M	Stockton	Lebanon, PA/Northern Lebanon
Salena LeDonne*+@	SR	M	Stockton	Parsippany, NJ/Parsippany
Daniella LoBue^	SR	M	William Paterson	Clifton, NJ/Clifton
Jessica Logan	JR	M	Rowan	Jobstown, NJ/Northern Burlington
Susan Porambo^	SR	M	Stockton	Millersville, PA/Penn Manor
India Barnes^	SO	D	Rutgers-Camden	Philadelphia, PA/William Penn Charter
Emma DeMaise	FR	D	Rowan	Wenonah, NJ/Gateway Regional
Tara Lambert	SO	D	Montclair State	Waldwick, NJ/Waldwick
Kayla Miller^	SR	D	William Paterson	Hawthorne, NJ/Hawthorne
Maria Miranda	JR	D	Rutgers-Newark	Cliffside Park, NJ/Cliffside Park
Gabi Triolo^	JR	D	Kean	Middletown, NJ/Middletown North
Katie McLaughlin	FR	G	Rutgers-Newark	Howell, NJ/St. Rose
Key: * - First Team All-Conference 2020-21 ^ - Second Team All-Conference 2020-21 ~ - Honorable Mention 2020-21 + - First Team All-Conference 2019 # - Second Team All-Conference 2019 % - Honorable Mention 2019 @ - Second Team All-Conference 2018 & - Honorable Mention 2017