University of New Hampshire Athletics
van den Brekel Named America East Defensive Player of the Year
11/3/2021 1:39:00 PM | Field Hockey
Lindsay Lee Voted All-Conference Second Team; Ella Pratt Selected All-Rookie
BOSTON – Bloem van den Brekel (Eindhoven, Netherlands), a redshirt senior captain on the University of New Hampshire field hockey team, was named the 2021 Defensive Player of the Year by America East on Wednesday to headline a total of four UNH conference awards.
van den Brekel was also voted to the All-Conference First Team; she was previously named to the East Division First Team (2019) and All-Conference East Division (2018).
Sophomore Lindsay Lee (Eindhoven, Netherlands) was selected to the 2021 All-Conference Second Team and freshman Ella Pratt (Greenwood Village, Colo.) was named to this year's All-Rookie Team.
"I am so happy for Bloem," UNH head coach Robin Balducci said. "She has been the most unselfish player since arriving on campus her freshman year. We have moved her position around her entire career, and yet again this season we asked her to play in the backfield and anchor our defense. Bloem has been outstanding for us this entire season so I am thrilled she is being recognized for all of her hard work."
In addition to anchoring the defensive unit – including the penalty corner unit – van den Brekel pushes upfield to join the Wildcats' attack and is an integral part of the offensive penalty corner. She has made those contributions from one end line to the other while playing 1,112 of a possible 1,118 minutes.
van den Brekel is UNH's leader in goals (nine), game-winning goals (four), points (19) and shots (65). With those numbers in 18 games (all starts), she ranks third in America East in shots on goal per game (2.61), fifth in shots per game (3.61), ninth in goals, and tied for third in game-winning goals.
van den Brekel recorded 11 points (five goals, one assist) during UNH's four-game winning streak from Oct. 17-29 with a goal in all four games. She scored both the game-tying and game-winning goals in the Wildcats' overtime win against Columbia during that stretch. Earlier this season, she also scored an overtime game winner at Bryant, and scored a goal in consecutive games against Cal and UC Davis.
van den Brekel is the second Wildcat to be named Defensive Player of the Year. The first was current assistant coach Megan Bozek in 2013.
Lee has started all 17 games that she has played with a total of 982 minutes played; as the primary insert, she has been an integral part of the team's success on offensive penalty corners. The forward is atop the UNH leaderboard in assists with nine, and she is third in the conference in assists per game (0.529). Lee ranks second on the team in both goals (four) and points (17), and she has scored four goals on just 10 shots for a .400 shooting percentage.
Lee ended the regular season on four-game assist and point streaks with a goal and six assists for eight points in that stretch, which included matching her career high of two assists against both Merrimack College and Stanford University.
She also had a five-game point streak spanning Sept. 17 to Oct. 1 with nine points (three goals, three assists). Lee scored a career-high two goals at UMass Lowell to establish her personal best of four points.
Pratt has played in 17 of 18 games with 12 starts. She started the last 12 regular-season games and that streak began by playing the full 60 minutes eight consecutive games. Pratt has been a vital cog in UNH's defense and midfield, especially during her start streak.
New Hampshire (7-11 overall, 3-5 America East) is the No. 5 seed of the America East Championships. The Wildcats play Cal in a Thursday, Nov. 4 first round game at Maine.
van den Brekel was also voted to the All-Conference First Team; she was previously named to the East Division First Team (2019) and All-Conference East Division (2018).
Sophomore Lindsay Lee (Eindhoven, Netherlands) was selected to the 2021 All-Conference Second Team and freshman Ella Pratt (Greenwood Village, Colo.) was named to this year's All-Rookie Team.
"I am so happy for Bloem," UNH head coach Robin Balducci said. "She has been the most unselfish player since arriving on campus her freshman year. We have moved her position around her entire career, and yet again this season we asked her to play in the backfield and anchor our defense. Bloem has been outstanding for us this entire season so I am thrilled she is being recognized for all of her hard work."
In addition to anchoring the defensive unit – including the penalty corner unit – van den Brekel pushes upfield to join the Wildcats' attack and is an integral part of the offensive penalty corner. She has made those contributions from one end line to the other while playing 1,112 of a possible 1,118 minutes.
van den Brekel is UNH's leader in goals (nine), game-winning goals (four), points (19) and shots (65). With those numbers in 18 games (all starts), she ranks third in America East in shots on goal per game (2.61), fifth in shots per game (3.61), ninth in goals, and tied for third in game-winning goals.
van den Brekel recorded 11 points (five goals, one assist) during UNH's four-game winning streak from Oct. 17-29 with a goal in all four games. She scored both the game-tying and game-winning goals in the Wildcats' overtime win against Columbia during that stretch. Earlier this season, she also scored an overtime game winner at Bryant, and scored a goal in consecutive games against Cal and UC Davis.
van den Brekel is the second Wildcat to be named Defensive Player of the Year. The first was current assistant coach Megan Bozek in 2013.
Lee has started all 17 games that she has played with a total of 982 minutes played; as the primary insert, she has been an integral part of the team's success on offensive penalty corners. The forward is atop the UNH leaderboard in assists with nine, and she is third in the conference in assists per game (0.529). Lee ranks second on the team in both goals (four) and points (17), and she has scored four goals on just 10 shots for a .400 shooting percentage.
Lee ended the regular season on four-game assist and point streaks with a goal and six assists for eight points in that stretch, which included matching her career high of two assists against both Merrimack College and Stanford University.
She also had a five-game point streak spanning Sept. 17 to Oct. 1 with nine points (three goals, three assists). Lee scored a career-high two goals at UMass Lowell to establish her personal best of four points.
Pratt has played in 17 of 18 games with 12 starts. She started the last 12 regular-season games and that streak began by playing the full 60 minutes eight consecutive games. Pratt has been a vital cog in UNH's defense and midfield, especially during her start streak.
New Hampshire (7-11 overall, 3-5 America East) is the No. 5 seed of the America East Championships. The Wildcats play Cal in a Thursday, Nov. 4 first round game at Maine.
Players Mentioned
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