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Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2005
BOOTH, ORME NAMED ALL-NEW ENGLAND
Two Warriors are picked to NEWISA first team for first time
WILLIMANTIC, Conn. – Midfielder Meghann Booth (WINDSOR LOCKS) and forward Jenn Orme (CENTEREACH, NY) of the Little East Conference champions have been named first team All-New England by the New England Women’s Intercollegiate Soccer Association (NEWISA).
Booth and Orme are among 13 selections to the first team, which includes four forwards, three midfielders, five backs and one keeper. Fifteen players were also named to the second team and 17 to the third team.
It marks the first time that two Eastern players have been honored as first-team picks in the same season. Until this year, the Warriors’ most recent first-team pick came in 1992, when Lisa Matukaitis earned All-NEWISA accolades for the fourth time on the way to third-team All-America honors. Eastern has now had 11 All-NEWISA selections since 1988.
Earlier this month, Booth and Orme were among 20 Division III selections to the NEWISA Senior Bowl, which featured the top New England players from Division I, II and III in an all-star game which was played December 3 at Merrimack College. In November, Booth was named to the all-conference team for the third straight year and Orme for the second straight season. Booth was a second-team pick in 2003 and 2004, Orme a first-teamer in 2004.
Booth and Orme completed standout four-year careers last month when the Warriors competed against Bates College in the NCAA Division III regional tournament at Medford, MA. The match was the record-setting 81st for each, making them co-leaders in career matches in the program’s 20-year history. Each played in every possible match.
Both Booth and Orme started all 20 matches this year for the 12-6-2 Warriors, who won their second conference playoff title in three years and their first outright regular-season conference title and first unbeaten (6-0-1) regular-season record.
This year, Orme became only the fifth player in program history to lead the team in goals (13), assists (10) and points (36) in the same season. She finished as the conference leader in points, assists, shots (94) and game-winning goals (6), and was second in goals. She became the second Eastern player in as many years to lead the conference in assists, shots, and game-winning goals (6). Her point and assist totals this year tied her for the fourth-highest in a season in program history and her goal total tied her for the sixth-highest. The MVP of the conference tournament this year, Orme finished third all-time at Eastern in career points (86) and assists (28), third in game-winning goals (11), and fifth in goals (29).
Orme concluded her career on a strong note, contributing to the team’s final seven goals by scoring five (including the final four) and assisting on two. Her goal proved to be the margin of victory in a 2-1 win over the University of Southern Maine in the conference tournament opener. She then scored the game’s only two goals in the conference tournament-clinching win over Keene State College, and her goal five minutes into play gave the Warriors a 1-0 lead over Bates in the NCAA tournament opener. With her late scoring burst, she tied the program record for most consecutive team goals (4) and set records for scoring or assisting on seven straight team goals and for consecutive team points (12/five goals, two assists).
Enjoying her finest all-around season, Booth was third on the team in average minutes (76.8) and fourth in points (14). She contributed five goals and four assists. Her final career goal was a game-winner, coming midway through the first half of the conference tournament semifinal win over Southern Maine. Booth finished fourth all-time with 30 career goals, fifth with 73 points and fourth with ten game-winning goals.
In the four-year career of Booth and Orme, Eastern compiled an 81-game record of 52-23-6 (67.9 per cent) – averaging 13 wins per year -- and lost only three of 28 (23-3-2) regular-season conference matches. They won two conference tournament titles, won or shared two regular-season crowns (finishing second the other two years), qualified for two NCAA tournaments and were the No. 1 seed in the ECAC tournament in each of the other two seasons. In 2002, they set a program record of 15 wins, which they tied in 2004. In 2005, the Warriors set a program ercord with eight straight wins and tied the season mark with nine straight matches without a loss (8-0-1).
Joining Booth and Orme as first-team all-NEWISA selections from the conference were senior forward Nicole Corbin and junior midfielder Jessica Gomes of Western Connecticut State University and senior keeper Sarah Campbell of Keene State.
