Three Women's Soccer Players Named All-CCC

BOSTON, Mass. – Three members of the 2012 Wentworth Institute of Technology women's soccer team have been honored by the Commonwealth Coast Conference as they were named to the 2012 CCC Women's Soccer All-Conference Team. Senior midfielder Elizabeth Somma (Windham, Maine) was named Second Team All-CCC while sophomore defender Alexandrea Banks (Ellington, Conn.) and senior keeper Jess Gardner (Wilbraham, Mass.) were named honorable mention.

After missing most of the 2011 season with an injury, Somma returned to the Leopard lineup and led the team in scoring with five goals and three assists for 13 points. She had a career-high two assists in a 5-1 win over Framingham State on Oct. 9 and two of her goals were game-winning goals.

Somma started 55 of the 56 games in which she played, scoring 21 goals and assisting on five others for 47 career points. Her 21 goals tie her for sixth on the program's all-time list while her 47 points rank her ninth. A two-year captain, she earned New England Intercollegiate Soccer Association All-New England honors as a freshman and was named Second Team All-CCC during her sophomore season.

Banks stood out as one of the team's top defenders this season, helping the Black & Gold to hold opponents to one or fewer goals in nine of their 19 games this season, including four shutouts. Starting 16 of the 18 games in which she played, Banks tallied her lone goal of the season in a 5-1 win over Framingham State on Oct. 9.

Starting 29 of the 31 games in which she has played in during her two seasons, Banks has scored three goals and one assist for seven career points.

A mainstay in goal for four seasons, Gardner, a co-captain of this year's team, played in all 19 games as keeper and posted a 1.81 goals against average, a .844 save percentage, and three shutouts. Her 162 saves this season tied a program record for saves in a season and she ranked 13th in the country (Division III) in total saves as of Oct. 21. She recorded a career-high 20 stops in a 1-0 loss to Emmanuel on Sept. 17. In addition to starting 16 games as keeper, she started three games as a field player and notched her first collegiate goal – the game-winning goal – in a 5-1 win over Framingham State on Oct. 9.

Gardner was Honorable Mention All-CCC in 2010 and Second Team All-CCC in 2011 and holds the program's records for saves (507), saves per game (7.68), goalie games played (66), goalie games started (59), and ties (three). She ranks second with nine shutouts and 19 wins, third with a save percentage of .810, and sixth with a career save percentage of 1.98.

Wentworth finished the 2012 season with a 6-11-2 record. The Leopards made their first CCC Tournament appearance since the 2009 season with a sixth-place finish. Wentworth tied third-seeded Endicott in the quarterfinal round but fell, 3-1 in penalty kicks.