LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ – Led by All-MAAC First Team selections Kourtney Cunningham (Whitehall, PA/Whitehall) and Valeria Pascuet (Bunuel, Navarra, Spain/San Fermin Ikastola), five Rider University women's soccer players have been named All-MAAC, the league office today announced. Joining Cunningham and Pascuet were Second Team honorees Meghan McCabe (Massapequa Park, NY/Massapequa) and Sam Picinich (North Bellmore, NY/Mepham) and All-Rookie Team selection Niamh Cashin (Nottingham, England/All Saints Academy).

Cunningham, McCabe and Picinich also earned MAAC All-Academic Team honors, and were joined by Gabrielle Jara (Flanders, NJ/Mount Olive), Ashlyn Johnson (Santa Clarita, CA/Valencia), Amy Kozlowski (Middletown, CT/Middletown), Maddie Lipton (Los Angeles, CA/El Camino Real Charter), Erica Ludwikowski (Williamsport, PA/Williamsport), Cameron Santers (Wayne, NJ/Wayne Hills), Kaitlyn Siciliano (Barnegat, NJ/Barnegat) and Sofia Soares (Sao Paolo, Brazil/St. Nicholas). To be eligible for the MAAC All-Academic Team, student-athletes much compiled a 3.2 grade-point average and have spent at least one calendar year at the institution.

"It is fantastic for five of our student-athletes to be recognized by the other coaches in the league for a great season," said Rider Head Coach Drayson Hounsome. "In January, several of these players set goals about earning postseason MAAC recognition, so it is extremely rewarding for them to work hard for 10 months, deal with the adversity and challenges that come along during this period and then perform at a high level to achieve their goals. For seniors Kourtney, Meghan and Sam, it is a great way for them to end their soccer careers at Rider, playing at their very best. It has been fun to be part of their personal growth and development. Valeria had an excellent season and continues to develop. She has now gone from the All-Rookie team, to Second Team All-MAAC to now First Team All-MAAC in her first three seasons. Finally, congratulations to Niamh Cashin on being named to the All-Rookie team in her first season. The coaching staff are excited about where she will be able to progress her game over the next 3 years."

Cunningham led the team with nine goals and 21 points this season and finished her career fifth in assists (15) and sixth in both goals scored (21) and points (57) in program history. She was named MAAC Offensive Player of the Week twice on Sept. 17 and Oct. 22. The first honor came after she became one of only seven players in program history to score three goals in a single game, the program single-game record, with three tallies and an assist at Delaware State on Sept. 12. She started all 18 games, joining Pascuet and Lipton as the only Broncs to do so. Cunningham scored in each of the Broncs' first two games – the equalizer in a 1-1 tie on Aug. 17 at Drexel and the game winner in a 2-1 overtime victory at Wagner on Aug. 21 – and assisted on Emily Curteis' (Llanfyllin, Wales, England/Liverpool John Moores) equalizer in the 90^th minute of an overtime win over Fairleigh Dickinson on Aug. 27. She scored in consecutive wins at Iona (Oct. 3) and against Manhattan (Oct. 10, game winner) and added the equalizer in the Broncs' 2-1 win over Quinnipiac on Oct. 17. Cunningham also assisted on Curteis' would-be game-winner in a tie against Canisius on Oct. 24 before the Griffs equalized in the 88^th minute. She also scored in the MAAC Quarterfinals at Niagara on Oct. 28.

Picked to the Preseason All-MAAC First Team, Pascuet lived up to the hype, leading the team with seven assists, while finishing second with six goals and 19 points. She scored a team-best three game-winning goals and joined Cunningham and Lipton in starting all 18 games. She posted her first-career brace in a 2-1 win over Columbia (Sept. 9) and again scored twice in a 3-2 win at Iona (Oct. 3). Her corner kick led to Cashin's game-winning goal against Monmouth (Sept. 16) and she equalized in the 90^th minute of a 1-1 tie at Fairfield (Sept. 26). Pascuet contributed an assist in three-straight games – vs. Quinnipiac (Oct. 17), vs. Canisius (Oct. 20) and at Saint Peter's (Oct. 24) – and also assisted on Sam Picinich's equalizer in a 2-1 overtime win at Wagner (Aug. 21).

McCabe started all 17 games played on the Broncs' back line. She assisted on Niamh Cashin's game-winning goal against Monmouth (Sept. 16) and scored the go-ahead goal at Niagara on Sept. 22. McCabe contributed to clean sheets against Monmouth (Sept. 16) and Manhattan (Oct. 10). Five of her 11 shots were on target.

Picinich finished second on the team with five assists and third in both goals (2) and points (9). She was one of only six players on the team to play in all 18 games, starting 16. She scored the equalizer and assisted on the game-winner in a come-from-behind 2-1 overtime victory at Wagner (Aug. 21), before scoring the game-winning goal in overtime from beyond midfield against Fairleigh Dickinson (Aug. 27). Picinich also dished out single assists against Delaware State (Sept. 12), Iona (Oct. 3), Quinnipiac (Oct. 17) and Canisius (Oct. 20).

Cashin saw action in eight games, including six starts, and finished the year with a goal and an assist. She contributed 60 or more minutes on the Broncs' back line in both of the team's shutouts against Monmouth (Sept. 16) and Manhattan (Oct. 10). She missed time due to injury and to play for the England U19 National Team in UEFA Qualifying, but immediately made an impact in her first start, scoring the game-winning goal in the 1-0 clean sheet against Monmouth on Sept. 16. For her effort, Cashing was named to TopDrawerSoccer.com National Team of the Week. Cashin also assisted on Johnson's game-winning goal against Quinnipiac on Oct. 17.