BUFFALO — The University at Buffalo women’s soccer team saw a program record eight student-athletes named to the Academic All-MAC team, as announced by the conference office on Thursday. Senior Andrea Niper was named to the team for the third straight season while Julia Benati, Carissima Cutrona and Laura Dougall earned the nod for the second straight season. Jessica Marlowe, Nicole Gerritz, Ashley Evans and Meghan Simmons each earned the academic recognition for the first time.
Niper and Gerritz were two of 12 student-athletes to achieve a 4.0 GPA while the Bulls were one of two teams with multiple players with a 4.0 GPA.
Niper, an economics major with a 4.0 GPA, was a key member of the stingy Buffalo defense that earned six clean sheets this season. The strong midfielder was a terror in the middle for the Bulls winning every ball in the air and shutting down the most dangerous offensive threat on the opposing team game in and game out. The Princeton, NJ native also netted two goals and an assist for five points while notching a career-high 31 shots as a senior.
An exercise science major with a 3.984 GPA, Benati had a strong season for the Bulls as she appeared in 14 matches and made 13 starts while earning Second Team All-MAC honors for the second straight season. The Dorchester, Ontario native netted two goals and two assists for six points while ranking second on the squad with 39 shots on the year.
Cutrona, a social sciences major with a 3.907 GPA, turned in one of the best seasons in recent memory for a Buffalo forward as she netted a career-high 10 goals and one assist for 21 points. She became just the second UB player in 13 seasons to record at least 10 goals in a season while starting all 20 matches. The Williamsville, NY native also led the Bulls with a career-high four game-winning goals and 54 shots over 1,424 minutes of action.
A psychology major with a 3.386 GPA, Dougall earned Academic All-MAC honors for the second straight season after another strong year between the pipes. The junior finished off her season with a 6-8-4 record to go along with a 0.75 goals-against average, .837 save percentage and six clean sheets. The Mississauga, Ontario native moved into first place on the Bulls all-time shutouts list with 27 career clean sheets while ranking second in program history for wins in a career with 32.
Gerritz, a structural & environmental engineering major with a 4.0 GPA, earned the academic honors for the first time after a strong sophomore campaign. Gerritz was a force in the midfield for the Bulls after making the switch from defense as she recorded a career-high four assists and 13 shots. The Ontario, NY native used her speed to create dangerous scoring opportunities for her teammates.
An occupational therapy major with a 3.346 GPA, Evans earned a starting spot from the beginning of the season and never looked back as she started 16 of 19 matches during her senior campaign. The Fort Collins, CO native was able to notch a career-high three assists while being a force on the back line for the Bulls who were able to preserve six clean sheets on the year.
Marlowe, a speech & hearing science major with a 3.632 GPA, was named to the Academic All-MAC squad for the first time in her career. The Greece, NY native appeared in a career-high 16 matches this season while notching 10 shots while providing UB with a spark up top off the bench.
Simmons, an exercise science major with a 3.491 GPA, closed out her sophomore campaign earning Academic All-MAC honors for the first time. The Toronto, Ontario native appeared in 13 matches on the back line for the Bulls while playing a total of 266 minutes. Simmons was able to provide UB with a consistent presence in the back off the bench.
The Bulls have now earned 22 Academic All-MAC honorees over the past three seasons under head coach Shawn Burke, a program record.
The Academic All-MAC honor is for a student-athlete who has excelled in athletics and academics. To qualify, a student-athlete must have at least a 3.20 cumulative GPA and have participated in at least 50 percent of the contests for that particular sport. First-year students and junior college transfers in their first year of residence are not eligible for the award.
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