WALTHAM, Mass. - Brandeis University senior co-captains Melissa Gorenkoff of Woodbury, N.Y., and Hillary Rosenzweig of Boca Raton, Fla., have been selected to the 2009 University Athletic Association (UAA) All-Association women's soccer teams. Gorenkoff was a first-team All-UAA selection, while Rosenzweig was a second-team choice. Additionally, five other Brandeis players earned honorable mention All-UAA honors.
Gorenkoff earned All-UAA honors for the third time in her career. She was a second-team All-Association performer in 2007 and 2008. Gorenkoff finished the regular season tied for second in the Association with eight assists. She also had three goals, totaling 14 points during the regular season, third-most on the squad. Gorenkoff finished her regular-season as Brandeis's career leader with 26 assists. She had three helpers in UAA play, including an assist and the game-winning goal in a 4-2 win at Emory on Oct. 18 that snapped the Eagles' 27-match home unbeaten streak. That assist was her 24th, giving her the career record.
Rosenzweig is recognized by the UAA coaches for the first time in her career. She led the conference in total saves in the regular season with 85, 19 more than the next closest player. Her 36 stops in conference play were second-most, while her .857 save percentage was tops in league play. Overall this season, Rosenzweig finished with 13 goals allowed for a 0.76 goals-against average. With eight regular-season wins and five shutouts, she became Brandeis's all-time leader in both categories with 36 victories and 21 shutouts.
On the UAA's honorable mention list for the Judges were five underclassmen. The team's two leading scorers, sophomore midfielder/forward Mimi Theodore of Walpole, Mass., and junior forward Tiffany Pacheco of Rehoboth, Mass., were both selected. Theodore tied for second with four goals and third with eight points in Association play, while Pacheco had two UAA goals. In the full season, Theodore led the Judges in scoring (9 g-4 a-22 p), while Pacheco was second (7 g-6 a-20 p). Both earned UAA Player of the Week honors during the season. Three of the Judges' four starting defenders were recognized as well, with junior Taryn Martiniello of Wilmington, Mass., and sophomore Francesca Shin of Bayside, N.Y., getting honored for the second year in a row, while sophomore Allison Maresca of Wyckoff, N.J., was recognized for the first time.
Overall, the Judges finished the regular-season at 9-6-3 and 3-3-1 in the UAA, tied for fourth place. In head Denise Dallamora's 30th season on the Brandeis sidelines, Brandeis earned the top seed in the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III New England tournament. After winning their first-round match, 3-0, over Castleton State College, on Nov. 11, the Judges advanced to the semifinals for the sixth-straight season and picked up 10 wins for the fifth time in that span. They will try for their third-straight ECAC crown this weekend.