PLYMOUTH, N.H.- The National Soccer Coaches Association of America has announced its
Division III All-America Teams, and two Plymouth State College players have been named to the exclusive squads.
Senior forward Brett Scaccia (Stratham, NH) from the Panther men’s team and freshman forward Carrie Poulin (Westfield, MA) from the women’s team were each named to the All-America Second Team.
Scaccia ended a fabulous Panther career as the second all-time leading scorer in Plymouth State history. He surpassed Reiner Bertelmann, who had 98 points for PSC, this year and ended the season with 139 points (65 goals, 9 assists). He scored a remarkable 26 goals and assisted on four others in 1997, which is second all-time for goals scored in a season for a PSC player. He was selected All-New England First Team, Little East Conference Player of the Year, and All-LEC First Team. Scaccia scored at least one goal in 14 of the Panthers 19 games, and led a scoring attack that outscored its opponents 67 to 17.
Poulin had a phenomenal first year in the collegiate ranks, finishing with 22 goals and three assists, and establishing two school records. Poulin scored in 14 of 18 games, put together a streak of six consecutive games with a goal or more and never went more than two games without scoring. She tallied seven multiple scoring games, had PSC’s two lone NCAA tournaments goals, and led the team in goals (22) and points (47). Poulin surpassed the school record of 20 goals set by Mary-Bridget Pawlik in 1992, when Pawlik was named National Player of the Year.
Scaccia and Poulin were instrumental in the Panther squads having outstanding seasons, as both teams were invited to the NCAA Tournaments. The men’s unit, guided by sixth-year coach Shawn Griffin, made its 14th appearance in the national tournament since 1975 and advanced to the NCAA New England Regional final before falling to Amherst College, 3-2. The women’s team, under third-year coach Marti Kingsley, made its 10th NCAA appearance since 1986 as the top seed in the New England regional, falling to Colby College on penalty kicks in the opening round, 4-3.
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