COLCHESTER, Vt. - Saint Michael's College women's soccer sophomore Scarlett Brookes (Rockaway, N.J./Morris Knolls) was named Division 2 Conference Commissioners Association (D2 CCA) East Region Player of the Year on Tuesday, as voted upon by athletic communications professionals. She and first-year goalkeeper Chloe Laizer (West Springfield, Mass./West Springfield) earned spots on the D2 CCA All-East Region first team, and sophomore back Julia Palmese (Berlin, Conn./Berlin) was placed on the second team.
 
The Purple Knight trio, which comprised a large portion of the Northeast 10 Conference's 11 selections, became the first players in program history recognized with D2 CCA postseason honors. In all, 13 student-athletes from around the region were chosen for the first team and another 13 were second team picks.
 
Brookes added to an awards haul that saw her named NE10 Player of the Year and to the NE10 All-Conference first team this fall. She was named College Sports Communicators Academic All-District earlier on Tuesday and, with a 3.96 cumulative grade-point average, advanced to the CSC Academic All-America ballot. Brookes was an NE10 All-Conference third team selection and NE10 All-Rookie Team pick last fall.
 
Despite missing four games, Brookes leads the NE10 in goals (13), points (31) and game-winning goals (6), taking second in the East in winners, tying for second in goals, and tying for fourth in points. She is top 10 in the nation in goals per game (9th) and points per game (10th) while scoring on nearly 42% of her shots on goal. Brookes set a school record for game-winners and had the most goals or points by a Purple Knight since Michelle Bougor '98, an SMC Athletic Hall of Famer and the program's all-time leading scorer, notched 15 goals and 37 points in 1996. Brookes' 31 points are fourth in program history, and her 13 goals tied for fourth. Her nine career winners are one short of Sara Pope '04 for the most by a Purple Knight since complete records became available in 1996.
 
Laizer becomes the fourth all-region goalkeeper in program history, regardless of awarding organization, after being named NE10 Goalkeeper of the Year this fall. She also landed on the NE10 All-Conference first team and NE10 All-Rookie Team. Laizer leads the NE10 in wins (16), shutouts (9) and goals-against average (0.74) after being thrust into a starting role as a rookie, breaking program marks for victories and clean sheets. Among East keepers, she is first in wins, one shutout short of the leader, and third in GAA. She is already fifth in program history in career wins and tied for fifth in shutouts. Laizer averaged 2.2 saves with a .759 save percentage.
 
An NE10 All-Conference first team selection, Palmese started all 20 games on defense, scoring an insurance goal at Assumption University on Nov. 5. She anchored a defense that posted a school-record 13 shutouts with a 0.70 GAA, good for second in program annals, while allowing exactly one goal three other times. Saint Michael's allowed single-digit shots 15 times, including yielding two or less on seven occasions. The Purple Knights compiled two different five-game shutout streaks while adding a school-record eight-game winning streak.
 
Under 13th-year head coach Wendy Elles, the Purple Knights finished a historic season at 16-3-1. They hosted their first postseason game since 1989, earned their initial postseason victory, and advanced to their first league semifinal since 1989, losing only 2-1 at eventual NCAA regional finalist Franklin Pierce University. Saint Michael's set school records for wins (16), shutouts (13) and assists (60) while tying the mark for goals (43).