Maryland's Infante Named ACC Defensive Player of the Year
11/2/2005 7:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
Nov. 2, 2005
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -
Maryland's Paula Infante was voted the ACC's Defensive Player of the Year by the conference coaches, while seniors Emily Beach and Lauren Powley, along with Infante, were named to the all-conference team. The all-conference teams and three major awards were announced by the league office at the annual ACC Tournament Banquet held on the campus of the University of Maryland.
A two-time All-American and a defensive midfielder, Infante (Santiago, Chile) becomed the first Defensive Player of the Year in school history and the sixth Player of the Year overall at Maryland. She, along with fellow defender Beach (Bethesda, Md.), has helped the second-ranked defense in the nation post six shutouts on the season, limiting opponents to just 0.96 goals per game. Infante also has a knack for scoring. Garnering All-ACC nods for the third time in her career, she leads the team with five game-winning goals and is tied for second with 11 tallies. She is also third with 25 points.
One of the team's co-captains, Beach has also scored a career-high seven goals on the season, while handing out six assists. Her selection to the All-ACC team is the first of her career.
Powley (Mountaintop, Pa.) earns All-ACC honors for the third-consecutive year. She ranks in the top 10 at Maryland in career assists and, this fall, helped the U.S. Junior National team to its best-ever finish at the Junior World Cup, placing seventh. A co-captain, Powley has started every game she has played in at Maryland and has scored four goals with five assists this season.
Third-ranked Maryland is playing host to the ACC Championship beginning Thursday, Nov. 3. Game times are 1 and 4 p.m. Semifinal action takes place on Friday, Nov. 4. The Terps play the winner of the Duke-Virginia first-round matchup at 7 p.m. Top-seeded Wake Forest takes on the winner of the North Carolina-Boston College game at 4 p.m. The championship game will be played on Sunday, Nov. 6 at noon. The ACC boasts four of the top five teams in the nation and five teams that are ranked in the top 20.
For more information on the ACC Tournament, log on to www.umterps.com or www.theacc.com.
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