11/5/2026 12:04:00 AM | Field Hockey
BRIDGEWATER, NJ – Quinnipiac field hockey senior forward Ava Bleier has been named NEC Co-Offensive Player of the Year, while goalkeeper Meike van Schoot has earned Rookie of the Year honors in the Bobcats' first season back in the conference. Seven Bobcats were named to All-Conference Teams.
Bleier also earned All-NEC First Team honors, joined by sophomore forward Rozemarijn van Keulen, sophomore midfielder Charlie Caunter, junior defender Jule Hoefer and senior defender Katie Shanahan. Van Schoot and senior forward Martina Calveira rounded out with All-NEC Second Team honors.
Ava Bleier - Co-Offensive Player of the Year and First Team (Forward): Bleier emerged as one of the NEC's top offensive threats, leading the conference with 12 goals and ranking second with 27 points after scoring just one goal last season. She recorded three multi-point games and scored two game-winning goals, including an overtime winner against Hofstra. From Oct. 9-18, Bleier tallied 17 points over a four-game span, highlighted by her first collegiate hat trick against Merrimack on Oct. 18 and a game-high eight points. Bleier earned NEC Offensive Player of the Week honors three times.
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Meike van Schoot - Rookie of the Year and Second Team (Goalkeeper): van Schoot made an immediate impact in her rookie campaign, appearing in 16 games with 15 starts. Van Schoot posted an 11-5 overall record and a 7-1 mark in NEC play. She recorded a 1.71 goals-against average, a .760 save percentage, 79 saves and two shutouts, while stopping three of four penalty stroke attempts. Van Schoot earned NEC Defensive Player and Rookie of the Week honors on Sept. 9 after recording 23 saves against Bucknell and Brown, including a career-high 18 saves against Brown, the most by a Quinnipiac goalkeeper in a single game since Sept. 4, 2011. She earned her second NEC Defensive Player of the Week honor on Sept. 22 after making 16 saves while allowing just two goals vs Sacred Heart and Columbia. On Oct. 13, van Schoot earned NEC Rookie of the Week honors after helping the Bobcats secure back-to-back victories over LIU and Dartmouth, highlighted by a crucial overtime penalty stroke save against Dartmouth to seal the win.
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Rozemarijn van Keulen - First Team (Forward): van Keulen put together another impactful season, leading the NEC with 1.86 points per game while ranking second with eight assists, third with 26 points and fourth with nine goals. The sophomore recorded at least one point in 11 of 14 games, including four multi-point performances. On Oct. 18, van Keulen recorded her first collegiate hat trick against Merrimack, joining Ava Bleier, while finishing with a game-high seven points.
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Charlie Caunter - First Team (Midfielder): Caunter started all 16 games, recording a career-high seven points on three goals and one assist. The sophomore recorded her first collegiate goal and point in a 5-1 victory over Rider before delivering a clutch overtime game-winning goal against Dartmouth on her lone shot on goal. Caunter also recorded her first collegiate multi-point performance with a goal and an assist in a 6-0 win over New Haven.
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Captain Jule Hoefer - First Team (Defender): Hoefer started all 16 games, logging a team-high 947 minutes while recording a career-high four assists on the season. The junior tallied her first collegiate point with an assist in a 5-1 win over Rider and later recorded assists in back-to-back games against Merrimack and New Haven. Hoefer was also one of the team's three defenders to make a defensive save off a penalty corner.
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Captain Katie Shanahan - First Team (Defender): Shanahan started all 16 games on the season, logging 933 minutes while recording a career-high 13 points on five goals and three assists, a significant jump after totaling three assists last season. Shanahan recorded her first multi-goal performance with two goals and an assist in a 6-0 victory over New Haven. Two of the senior's five goals were game-winners, and she was the only player in the NEC to convert all three of her penalty stroke attempts.
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Martina Calveira - Second Team (Forward): Calveira started all 16 games, recording a career-high 25 points on 10 goals and five assists after finishing last season without a point. She recorded at least one point in 12 of 16 games, including three multi-goal performances and two game-winning goals. Calveira also recorded an eight-game point streak from Sept. 20 to Oct. 23. The senior finished the regular season ranked third in the NEC with 10 goals and fourth with 25 points.
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QU enters the NEC Championship this weekend with a 7-1 conference record while going 11-5 overall to earn the No. 2 seed in the upcoming tournament. The Bobcats are set to play No. 3 seed Sacred Heart on Thursday, Nov. 4th at 2:00 PM at Wagner Field Hockey Complex in Staten Island, NY.
For more information on Quinnipiac Field Hockey, visit gobobcats.com/fh and follow the team on Twitter and Instagram, @QU_FH.
Bleier also earned All-NEC First Team honors, joined by sophomore forward Rozemarijn van Keulen, sophomore midfielder Charlie Caunter, junior defender Jule Hoefer and senior defender Katie Shanahan. Van Schoot and senior forward Martina Calveira rounded out with All-NEC Second Team honors.
Ava Bleier - Co-Offensive Player of the Year and First Team (Forward): Bleier emerged as one of the NEC's top offensive threats, leading the conference with 12 goals and ranking second with 27 points after scoring just one goal last season. She recorded three multi-point games and scored two game-winning goals, including an overtime winner against Hofstra. From Oct. 9-18, Bleier tallied 17 points over a four-game span, highlighted by her first collegiate hat trick against Merrimack on Oct. 18 and a game-high eight points. Bleier earned NEC Offensive Player of the Week honors three times.
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Meike van Schoot - Rookie of the Year and Second Team (Goalkeeper): van Schoot made an immediate impact in her rookie campaign, appearing in 16 games with 15 starts. Van Schoot posted an 11-5 overall record and a 7-1 mark in NEC play. She recorded a 1.71 goals-against average, a .760 save percentage, 79 saves and two shutouts, while stopping three of four penalty stroke attempts. Van Schoot earned NEC Defensive Player and Rookie of the Week honors on Sept. 9 after recording 23 saves against Bucknell and Brown, including a career-high 18 saves against Brown, the most by a Quinnipiac goalkeeper in a single game since Sept. 4, 2011. She earned her second NEC Defensive Player of the Week honor on Sept. 22 after making 16 saves while allowing just two goals vs Sacred Heart and Columbia. On Oct. 13, van Schoot earned NEC Rookie of the Week honors after helping the Bobcats secure back-to-back victories over LIU and Dartmouth, highlighted by a crucial overtime penalty stroke save against Dartmouth to seal the win.
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Rozemarijn van Keulen - First Team (Forward): van Keulen put together another impactful season, leading the NEC with 1.86 points per game while ranking second with eight assists, third with 26 points and fourth with nine goals. The sophomore recorded at least one point in 11 of 14 games, including four multi-point performances. On Oct. 18, van Keulen recorded her first collegiate hat trick against Merrimack, joining Ava Bleier, while finishing with a game-high seven points.
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Charlie Caunter - First Team (Midfielder): Caunter started all 16 games, recording a career-high seven points on three goals and one assist. The sophomore recorded her first collegiate goal and point in a 5-1 victory over Rider before delivering a clutch overtime game-winning goal against Dartmouth on her lone shot on goal. Caunter also recorded her first collegiate multi-point performance with a goal and an assist in a 6-0 win over New Haven.
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Captain Jule Hoefer - First Team (Defender): Hoefer started all 16 games, logging a team-high 947 minutes while recording a career-high four assists on the season. The junior tallied her first collegiate point with an assist in a 5-1 win over Rider and later recorded assists in back-to-back games against Merrimack and New Haven. Hoefer was also one of the team's three defenders to make a defensive save off a penalty corner.
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Captain Katie Shanahan - First Team (Defender): Shanahan started all 16 games on the season, logging 933 minutes while recording a career-high 13 points on five goals and three assists, a significant jump after totaling three assists last season. Shanahan recorded her first multi-goal performance with two goals and an assist in a 6-0 victory over New Haven. Two of the senior's five goals were game-winners, and she was the only player in the NEC to convert all three of her penalty stroke attempts.
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Martina Calveira - Second Team (Forward): Calveira started all 16 games, recording a career-high 25 points on 10 goals and five assists after finishing last season without a point. She recorded at least one point in 12 of 16 games, including three multi-goal performances and two game-winning goals. Calveira also recorded an eight-game point streak from Sept. 20 to Oct. 23. The senior finished the regular season ranked third in the NEC with 10 goals and fourth with 25 points.
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QU enters the NEC Championship this weekend with a 7-1 conference record while going 11-5 overall to earn the No. 2 seed in the upcoming tournament. The Bobcats are set to play No. 3 seed Sacred Heart on Thursday, Nov. 4th at 2:00 PM at Wagner Field Hockey Complex in Staten Island, NY.
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