Bolton, Iritxity Irigoyen, Rhodes and Conolly Earn Preseason BIG EAST Honors
8/19/2021 2:04:58 PM | Field Hockey
Liberty field hockey’s Jill Bolton, Azul Iritxity Irigoyen, Daniella Rhodes and Jodie Conolly each earned Fall 2021 Preseason All-BIG EAST team honors, with Bolton and Iritxity Irigoyen garnering major honors. Bolton was selected as the Preseason Co-BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year, while Iritxity Irigoyen received Preseason BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year distinction.
Bolton, a fifth-year senior forward is receiving Preseason BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year recognition for a second straight season. Old Dominion’s Marlon de Bruijne shares offensive player of the year honors with Bolton this fall. Iritxity Irigoyen, a sophomore goalkeeper and last spring’s BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year and Co-Freshman of the Year, earns her first preseason major award from the conference.
Meanwhile, Liberty was slotted to finish second in the preseason coaches’ poll. Both the Lady Flames and Connecticut Huskies received four first-place votes, with UConn (46 points) edging Liberty (45 points) for the top spot. Liberty has now been pegged to finish runner-up in the BIG EAST in each of its first six years in the conference.
Rounding out the poll are Old Dominion (third, 38 points), Temple (fourth, 31 points), Providence (fifth, 22 points), Villanova (sixth, 20 points), Quinnipiac (seventh, 15 points) and Georgetown (eighth, seven points).
Liberty and UConn both featured four preseason All-BIG EAST honorees to lead the league. This is the second time that Liberty has featured both the preseason offensive and defensive player of the year. In 2018, Ashley Dykema received Preseason BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year distinction, and Agueda Moroni was tabbed Preseason Co-BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year.
Jill Bolton | Senior | Forward | Souderton, Pa.
• NFHCA All-America first team (2020)
• Longstreth/NFHCA All-America third team (2019)
• Four-time NFHCA All-South Region (2017-20)
• Four-time All-BIG EAST first team (2017-20)
• Four-time VaSID All-State team (2017-20)
• VaSID Offensive Player of the Year (2020)
• Two-time Play Safe/NFHCA Division I Offensive Player of the Week
•Ranked third in country in assists per game (0.81), fifth in points per game (2.56) and 10th in goals per game (0.88) during spring 2021 campaign
• No. 3 in program history for career assists (27), tied for third in points (111) and fourth in goals (42)
Azul Iritxity Irigoyen | Sophomore | Goalkeeper | Buenos Aires, Argentina
• BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year (2020)
• BIG EAST Co-Freshman of the Year (2020)
• VaSID Defensive Player of the Year (2020)
• VaSID Co-Rookie of the Year (2020)
• All-BIG EAST first team (2020)
• VaSID All-State first team (2020)
• Play Safe/NFHCA Division I Defensive Player of the Week (March 24)
• Ranked No. 9 in nation in goalie win-loss percentage (.769), No. 11 in save percentage (.800) and No. 15 in goals-against-average (1.19)
Daniella Rhodes | Junior | Forward | Durban, South Africa
• Two-time NFHCA All-South Region first team (2019-20)
• BIG EAST Freshman of the Year (2019)
• VaSID Rookie of the Year (2019)
• Two-time All-BIG EAST first team (2019-20)
• Two-time VaSID All-State first team (2019-20)
• Led team in goals each of the last two years and has 29 goals in two seasons, tied for sixth most in program history
• Finished spring 2021 season ranked fifth in the country in goals per game (1.00) and sixth in points per game (2.38)
Jodie Conolly | Junior | Back | Durban, South Africa
• NFHCA All-South Region second team (2020)
• All-BIG EAST first team (2020)
• VaSID All-State first team (2020)
• Started all 16 games during spring season, tallying seven goals, two assists and 16 points
*Note that the spring 2021 season is being labeled as 2020 for conference and national awards purposes.
Fall 2021 BIG EAST Field Hockey Preseason Honors
Preseason Co-BIG EAST Offensive Players of the Year
Jill Bolton, Liberty, F
Marlon de Bruijne, Old Dominion, F
Preseason BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year
Azul Iritxity Irigoyen, Liberty, GK
Preseason All-BIG EAST Team*
Azul Iritxity Irigoyen, Liberty, GK
Kourtney Kennedy, UConn, B
Claire Jandewerth, UConn, B
Jodie Conolly, Liberty, B
Nienke Oerlemans, Temple, B
Abby Gooderham, UConn, M ^
Delphine Le Jeune, Old Dominion, M ^
Nora Goddard-Despot, Providence, M
Jess Dembrowski, UConn, F
Jill Bolton, Liberty, F ^
Daniella Rhodes, Liberty, F
Marlon de Bruijne, Old Dominion, F
* There are 12 members of the preseason All-BIG EAST team due to a tie in voting.
^ indicates a unanimous selection
2021 Fall BIG EAST Field Hockey Preseason Coaches’ Poll
- Connecticut – 46 points (4 first-place votes)
- Liberty – 45 points (4 first-place votes)
- Old Dominion – 38 points
- Temple – 31 points
- Providence – 22 points
- Villanova – 20 points
- Quinnipiac – 15 points
- Georgetown – 7 points
Liberty will begin its fall 2021 season in California with games at UC Davis (Aug. 27), California (Aug. 29) and Stanford (Aug. 30). The Lady Flames will return to a normal BIG EAST slate this season with seven conference regular season contests. Liberty will open its league schedule at Georgetown on Sept. 17, with its BIG EAST home opener versus UConn a week later (Sept. 24).
