2024 All-NJAC Women's Soccer

PITMAN, N.J. – Ava Curtis and Victoria D'Imperio claimed major awards and joined five other TCNJ women's soccer players on the All-NJAC Team released Tuesday by the league office.
 
Curtis was named Defender of the Year and D'Imperio repeated as Midfielder of the Year for the Lions, while head coach Danny Blank helmed the Joe Russo Coaching Staff of the Year award alongside assistants Fran Schmutz and Morgan Basileo.
 
Curtis and D'Imperio were the team's lone first-team selections. Alyssa Alfano, Rachel Burkhard, and Allie O'Keefe earned spots on the second team, with Abby Najdzinowicz and Rachel Robichaud receiving honorable mention.

All-conference and major award selections were determined by a vote of the league's 10 head coaches and were based on conference-only performances.
 
Now a four-time All-NJAC performer, Curtis is TCNJ's first DOTY honoree since Jess Hall in 2021. A force all over the field, the senior anchors the right side of the back line while carrying a constant attacking threat. She scored five goals – several on direct free kicks – and added three assists to tie for second on the team with 13 points in the regular season. One of her goals was a free kick stunner that gave the Lions a 1-0 victory over a Washington and Lee team currently ranked inside the top-10.
 
Alongside Burkhard and Caroline Rebele, Curtis helped form a back line that conceded only six goals all regular season – and just three in NJAC competition.
 
D'Imperio is now a three-time All-NJAC first team standout after another brilliant campaign in which she ranked second in both goals (9) and points (20) in conference play. With 12 goals overall, D'Imperio has run her career total to 49, good for fourth all-time at TCNJ, and her 110 career points are fifth. She found the back of the net in all but two NJAC contests, headlined by a hat-trick against Rutgers-Camden.
 
Alfano has developed into a force on the wing, leading the team and the conference with nine total assists, four of them coming in NJAC play. A first-time All-NJAC honoree, she had two assists in a 6-0 win at Rutgers-Newark and set up Ella Van Dine's goal in a 1-0 win at Rowan to clinch the conference's regular-season crown.
 
Burkhard is back on the second team after another tremendous season at left back. The senior has started every game over the last two years, an integral part of one of Division III's stingiest defensive units. She scored two goals during the regular season, including one of her signature 'Olimpicos' directly off a corner kick as part of a brace at Penn State Harrisburg.
 
O'Keefe joins Burkhard as a back-to-back All-NJAC second team performer after starting every game but one in the regular season. The midfield stalwart continues to give the Lions a steady presence in the middle of the pitch and has made 47 starts over the past three seasons.
 
Najdzinowicz made her mark as a transfer from Division I George Mason, hitting her stride and joining the starting XI midway through the season. She scored her first TCNJ goal in the win at Rutgers-Newark and added her first career assist against NJCU.
 
Robichaud makes her All-NJAC debut after a third consecutive season in which she has started every game. A veteran of 60 starts across 80 appearances, the senior scored a goal at Ramapo and dished out two assists at Rutgers-Newark.
 
Blank and his staff have the Lions in an enviable position once again. The reigning NJAC champs are one of seven unbeaten teams in Division III and are ranked 8^th in the NCAA Power Index (NPI). Blank is a sparkling 31-3-3 in his two seasons at TCNJ.