Bloomsburg’s Amanda Riley Named PSAC East Field Hockey Athlete of the Year

BLOOMSBURG – Bloomsburg University field hockey forward Amanda Riley (Tannersville, Pocono Mountain East)has been honored as the 2010 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division Athlete of the Year, while head coach Nikki Rhoads was named the PSAC Eastern Division Coach of the Year, as voted by the conferences coaches.

In addition, five other BU players earned All-PSAC honors. Named first team All-PSAC East were Riley, Julia Rush (Quakertown, Quakertown) and Betsy Renn (Herndon, Line Mountain). Named second team All-PSAC East were Lauren McGinley (Wilkes-Barre, Coughlin) and Amber Aulenbach (Fleetwood, Oley Valley).

Riley, a junior, was named the MVP of last week’s PSAC Championship tournament. She is a two-time All-PSAC East selection and is the fourth straight Bloomsburg player to be named a PSAC Athlete of the Year. Riley enters the NCAA championships with a team-high 19 goals and 15 assists for 53 points from the forward position.Four times this season she has scored two goals in a game and three times she has had two or more assists, including three in a win over Mansfield. For her career Riley is tied for fifth all-time in school history with 58 goals, while her 25 career assists has her tied for 10th all-time in school history.

Rush is one of the Huskies most well-rounded players. The senior has played a key role in the midfield and helped to limit opponents to just 6.7 shots on goal per game. Rush also contributed offensively for the Huskies with one goal.

Renn, one of the Huskies’ top defenders, earned her second All-Conference selection. The junior is a starter on defense and also scored two goals during the year while assisting on three other goals. Renn also led a defense that allowed opponents only 1.10 goals scored per game.

McGinley earned her first All-PSAC honor this season. The sophomore forward is second in points for the Huskies (24) with 11 goals and two assists during the year. McGinley was also honored as PSAC East Player of the Week this season, after scoring three goals in games against Kutztown and Slippery Rock.

Aulenbach, a sophomore, also earned her first All-PSAC honor this season. The midfielder has started in all 20 games for the Huskies and has two goals and five assists for the season.

In her first season coaching the Huskies, Rhoads earned BU’s seventh-straight PSAC East Coach of the Year award. Following her mentor and longtime-Bloomsburg coach Jan Hutchinson, Rhoads led the Huskies to an 18-2 record this season and a PSAC tournament championship for the third straight year.

The Huskies will be the No.2 seed in the region in the upcoming NCAA Tournament.