BOSTON - The University at Albany field hockey team earned nine America East end-of-season awards, led by junior Pilar Lorenzini’s Defensive Player of the Year honor, the conference announced Monday.

Vermont led the conference with 16 selections - 12 on a team and four major awards, including Coaching Staff of the Year. New Hampshire and UAlbany followed, each with nine honorees, including one major award. UMass Lowell had the same number of honorees on a team (eight) without the major award.

For the full list of this year’s honorees, click here.

Lorenzini tallied three awards, being named the America East Defensive Player of the Year as well as being placed on the All-Conference First Team and the All-Academic Team. Graduate student Emma Peeters followed with two selections - Second Team All-Conference and All-Academic. Senior Sophia Schoonmaker landed a First Team All-Conference nod while junior Mara Küskes added a Second Team All-Conference honor. Jette Kurz and Lillian Willis were named to the All-Rookie Team.

Pilar Lorenzini opened her first competition season with UAlbany scoring six goals in three games with her first career hat trick. The Mendoza, Argentina native has led the team in goals and points ever since. Having started all 18 games for the Great Danes, Lorenzini is ranked top five in the conference in both goals per game (4th, .667) and points per game (5th, 1.39). Throughout the season, she has totaled four multi-goal games while helping to back a defense that has allowed just 1.33 goals per game with five shutouts and four additional games having only allowed one goal.

Joining Lorenzini on the America East’s All-Conference First Team was Sophia Schoonmaker. Starting nearly every game in her collegiate career, Schoonmaker represented the Great Danes as one of three captains during the 2025 season. Playing both forward and midfield in 2025, the Marbletown, N.Y. native was essential during gameplay. A force on the field, she led to several goals as she dribbled the ball or passed up the field, maintaining possession, and sending the ball into the circle. Able to finish a few times, Schoonmaker totaled one goal and three assists as one of just five field players with over 1000 minutes played in 2025.

Starting 17 games in goal, fifth-year Emma Peeters made her mark in just one season with the Great Danes. Totaling over 1000 minutes of action, she leads the conference with a .777 save percentage and a 1.25 goals against average for her Second Team All-Conference and All-Academic Team honors. Peeters has been the goalie of record in all 18 Great Dane contests, including five shutouts and four games with just one goal allowed. 

The third defender to be honored from the UAlbany field hockey team, Mara Küskes tallied her second conference award with a Second Team All-Conference nod. A junior from Germany, she has been a force on both sides of the field. Playing post during defensive penalty corners, Küskes ranks second in the conference with a team-high two defensive saves. In addition, she ranks in the conference in goals, assists, and points per game - tied for 18th with .278 goals per game (5), ninth with .444 assists per game (8), and tied for 13th with 1.00 points per game (18). As part of the Great Dane defense, Küskes has allowed just 1.33 goals per game with five shutouts and four additional games having only allowed one goal. Throughout the season, she has contributed at least one goal or assist in 10 contests. 

Rounding out the teams, the Great Danes secured two All-Rookie honorees in starters Jette Kurz and Lillian Willis. Both Kurz and Willis made an immediate impact with an assist in their first weekend of play. Kurz leads all rookies in the conference with eight goals in 18 contests, including 17 starts. She scored a career-high four goals in the America East quarterfinal game on Sunday (Nov. 2). Willis has also competed in all 18 contests, including 15 starts, for a total of one goal and three assists throughout her rookie season. 

The Great Danes will continue the season as the third seed in the America East Tournament (Nov. 2-7). UAlbany defeated Bryant in the quarterfinal round and is set to compete against New Hampshire on Tuesday (Nov. 4) in the semifinals.

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