The College of New Jersey sophomore midfielder Dana DiBruno and Lion sophomore back Courtney Krol have been named the New Jersey Athletic Conference Women’s Soccer Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year respectively for the 2005 season.

The 2004 NJAC Rookie of the Year, DiBruno currently leads the conference in both points (40) and goals (17). After winning the NJAC Championship with a 1-0 title match victory over Kean, DiBruno and the Lions earned the league’s automatic qualification to the NCAA Division III National Championship Tournament. The Lions will open NCAA play on November 12 when they host Westminster in a second round match at Mercer County Community College.

A staple in the TCNJ defensive backfield, Krol earned Defensive Player of the Year honors after capturing both NJAC and ECAC Defensive Player of the Week accolades during a championship week in which the Lions did not allow a single shot on goal in two tournament matches. Krol is a key cog in a Lion defensive unit that has surrendered just two goals on the season and currently leads the NJAC in team goals against average (0.11).

TCNJ senior net-minder Alissa Kacar was the recipient of the conference’s newly instituted Goalkeeper of the Year Award. A two-time NJAC all-conference selection, Kacar earned NJAC Defensive Player of the Week honors three times during the season. She currently leads the league in both goals against average (0.12) and save percentage (.935), while ranking second and sixth respectively in the two categories nationally.

William Paterson University freshman forward Amanda Kurdyla was tapped as the 2005 NJAC Rookie of the Year. A four-time NJAC Weekly award selection, Kurdyla currently ranks second in the NJAC in both points (38) and goals (16).

Kean University head coach Brian Doherty was selected as the NJAC Coach of the Year by her peers. In 2005, he has guided the Cougars to a 12-7-2 record while leading third-seeded Kean to an appearance in the NJAC Championship Match. Now in his seventh season at the helm of the Cougar program, his overall career coaching mark stands at 55-64-11. After leading Kean to a victory in the first round of the ECAC Metro NY/NJ Tournament, Doherty and the top-seeded Cougars will host second-seeded FDU-Florham in the ECAC Championship Match on November 12.

2005 NJAC WOMEN'S SOCCER ALL-CONFERENCE SELECTIONS