Bentley Lands Four on NEWISA All-New England Teams
WALTHAM, Mass. – Four players from the Bentley University women's soccer team have landed on the NEWISA All-New England teams; forwards Ana Tantum (Trumbull, Conn./Trumbull HS) and Alyssa Valente (New Canaan, Conn./New Canaan HS), defender Haley Story (Bainbridge Island, Wash./Bainbridge HS) and goalkeeper Deirdre Macrorie (Winchester, Mass./Winchester HS).
Tantum was named to the 1st team, while Valente, Story and Macrorie were all named to the 2nd team. All four helped the Falcons post their highest win total (9) since 2003, and to contention for the Northeast-10 Conference playoffs up to the final day of the regular season.
Tantum concluded a stellar career in the fall that saw rank 4th all-time in program history in points (67) and T-2nd in goals (28). She led the team in goals (10) and points (24) for the 4th straight season in both categories, and ranked 5th in the NE10 in goals and T-5th in points.
The All-New England selection is Tantum's 3rd honor of the season. She was previously named 2nd team All-Conference by the NE10 and CoSIDA Academic All-District 1.
Valente was Bentley's 2nd leading scorer with 21 points, which ranked 8th in the NE10. She also led the squad in assists (9), which was T-2nd in the conference. Valente added six goals on the season, and the Falcons were unbeaten at 5-0-1 when she found the back of the net.
Story was a co-captain this season and started all 14 matches she dressed for at center-back, after she missed the first three matches of the season. In fact, those were the only three matches she missed during her entire career, and she finished her career having started 62 of the 65 matches Bentley played in her four seasons.
Macrorie's stellar goalkeeping was one of the big reasons for the team's success in 2016. She played every minute in between the posts for the Falcons. Her .817 save percentage ranked 4th in the NE10 at the end of the season, and her 98 total saves ranked 5th. She was named the NE10 Goalkeeper of the Week on two occasions during the season; Sept 6 and Sept. 26.