GORHAM, Maine  –  Seventeen members of the University of Southern Maine Huskies' field hockey team have earned academic distinction from the National Field Hockey Coaches' Association (NFHCA) with their selection to the 2022 OPA Winning Teams/NFHCA National Academic Squad. The Huskies' 17 student-athletes earning the honor is the most since the program's inception – USM had 16 student-athlete recognized in 2021.
 
The NFHCA's National Academic Squad recognizes student-athletes who have achieved a cumulative grade point average of 3.50 or higher through the first semester of the current  academic year, and were nominated by their NFHCA member coach.  
 
Seniors Samantha Ellis (New Vineyard, Maine), Julianna Kiklis (York, Maine) and Mackenzie Banks (Belfast, Maine) are each four-year recipients of the academic honor and served as team captains of the Huskies' 2021 Little East Conference Regular Season Championship team.  A four-time William B. Wise Scholar-Athlete and a two-time all-conference pick at forward, Ellis is a Nursing major.  Kiklis, who earned second team All-Little East Conference honors as a goalkeeper in 2021 and third team in 2022, is studying Business Management.
 
Four Huskies are earning the award for the third time in their career, including juniors Chloe Arsenault (Boothbay, Maine), Hannah Banks (Belfast, Maine), Brooke Carson (Bryant Pond, Maine/Oxford Hills) and Mary Keef (Westbrook, Maine).  Arsenault is a Health Sciences major, while Banks and Carson are Business majors. Keef is pursuing a degree in Finance.  Both Banks and Carson earned post-season honors from the Little East. Banks, now a two-time all-conference designee, earned second team honors at defense this season, while Carson was selected to the third team as a forward.
 
Earning the award for the second time in their careers were junior Jordan Cummings (Auburn, Maine/Edward Little), sophomore Sage Drinkwater (Steep Falls, Maine/Bonny Eagle), sophomore Julia Edwards (Gorham, Maine), Emma Samson (Auburn, Maine/Edward Little) and sophomore Adelle Surette (Sabattus, Maine/Oak Hill).  Edwards and Samson are both earning degrees in Health Sciences, while Surette is pursuing a degree in Accounting.
 
The 2022 LEC Defensive Player of the Year, Cummings was selected to the all-conference first team.  Cummings, a Health Sciences major, played and started in all 23 of the Huskies games, recording a team-high eight defensive saves, which was ranked third in the Little East Conference.
 
Drinkwater, the 2021 LEC Rookie of the Year, repeated as a first team All-Conference forward and NFHCA All-Region selection. The Huskies' leading scorer with 15 goals and five assists for 35 points, Drinkwater had four game-winning goals during the season.  She finished the season ranked fifth in goals, ninth in points and eighth in game-winning goals. In two seasons, Drinkwater, a Linguistics major, has 26 goals and 10 assists for 62 points.
 
Five first-year recipients round out the list for the Huskies, including sophomore Abigail Chartier (Lewiston, Maine – Sports Management), freshman Megan Nason (Turner, Maine/Lewiston – Health Sciences), sophomore Maggie Powers (Fryeburg, Maine/Fryeburg Academy – Political Science), freshman Olivia Staggs (Sabattus, Maine/Oak Hill – Exercise Science), and sophomore Ginny Twitchell (Turner, Maine/Leavitt – Social Work).
 
Southern Maine finished the 2022 season with 15-8 overall record and a 10-2 mark in Little East Conference regular season action, claiming the conference's regular season title.  During the season, the Huskies set a single-season record for goals (52), and head coach Bonny Brown Denico '91 earned her 250^th career win, and was named the LEC Coach of the Year.
 
2022 NFHCA Division III National Academic Squad

Name	Class	Hometown	Major
Chloe Arsenault	Jr.	Boothbay, Maine	Health Sciences
Hannah Banks	Jr.	Belfast, Maine	Business Management
Mackenzie Banks	Sr.	Belfast, Maine	Business
Brooke Carson	Jr.	Bryant Pond, Maine	Business
Abigail Chartier	So.	Lewiston, Maine	Sports Management
Jordan Cummings	Jr.	Auburn, Maine	Health Sciences
Sage Drinkwater	So.	Steep Falls, Maine	Linguistics
Julia Edwards	So.	Gorham, Maine	Health Sciences
Samantha Ellis	Sr.	New Vineyard, Maine	Nursing
Mary Keef	Jr.	Westbrook, Maine	Finance
Julianna Kiklis	Sr.	York, Maine	Business Management
Megan Nason	Fr.	Turner, Maine	Health Sciences
Maggie Powers	So.	Fryeburg, Maine	Political Science
Emma Samson	So.	Auburn, Maine	Health Sciences
Olivia Staggs	Fr.	Sabattus, Maine	Exercise Science
Adelle Surette	So.	Sabattus, Maine	Accounting
Ginny Twitchell	So.	Turner, Maine	Social Work

 
–cac–