Dewhurst Headlines All-MASCAC Women's Soccer Team, Carvalho Named Coach of the Year
BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- Bridgewater State University senior Sydney Dewhurst (East Bridgewater, Mass.) has received a top Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference honor.
By Jim Fenton
BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- Bridgewater State University senior Sydney Dewhurst (East Bridgewater, Mass.) has received a top Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference honor.
Dewhurst was selected the MASCAC Defensive Player of the Year after helping the Bears win the conference regular-season and tournament championships.
BSU's Yasmina Carvalho, who guided the Bears to the NCAA Division 3 tournament for the first time since 2013, was named the MASCAC Coach of the Year for a second straight season and fourth time overall. She also earned the honore in 2016, 2018 and 2023.
Carvalho became the winningest coach in program history last week in the MASCAC Tournament semifinals and has guided her teams to 98 wins since taking the reins of the women's soccer program in 2014.
BSU (12-4-3) is headed to the NCAAs to play 10th-ranked and undefeated The College of New Jersey on Saturday at 11 a.m. in Ewing, N.J.
Dewhurst is one of five BSU players to make the All-MASCAC first team while two others were chosen to the all-conference second team.
Joining Dewhurst on the first team are junior forward Olivia Robarge (Pepperell, Mass.), junior midfielder Jenna Sweeney (Wilmington, Mass.), senior defender Bailey Brown (Plymouth, Mass.) and junior goalkeeper Logan Levesque (Bristol, R.I.).
Named to the team were graduate student Emily McCormack (East Bridgewater, Mass.) and senior midfielder Makenna Lessard (East Bridgewater, Mass.).
The Bears went 6-0-1 in the MASCAC, then defeated Fitchburg State and Westfield State to win the tournament for the first time in 11 years.
Dewhurst, who played the 2021 season at Curry College, transferred to BSU in 2022 and is a two-way threat for the Bears.
This is the second straight year on the All-MASCAC first team for Dewhurst, who made the United Soccer Coaches All-Region 2 second team a year ago.
In addition to being a key to the Bears' defensive unit, Dewhurst is tied for the team lead with 32 points, leads the Bears with 10 assists and is second with 11 goals.
Dewhurst ranks second in the MASCAC in assists and is third in goals and points.
She tied the BSU record with four goals in a win at the Mass. College of Liberal Arts on Nov. 2. The last time a Bears' player had that many goals was in 2003 when Michelle Rhodes scored four times.
In 46 games at BSU, Dewhurst has 24 goals and 19 assists, netting five game-winning goals.
Dewhurst has been named both the offensive and defensive player of the week in the MASCAC this month.
Robarge, who made the all-conference second team a year ago, is second in the MASCAC with 14 goals and fourth with 32 points.
She leads the Bears in goals and is tied for first in points.
Robarge has the most goals by a BSU player since Mackenzie Hatfield scored 14 in 2014.
Robarge was selected the MASCAC Tournament most valuable player after tallying three goal and an assist during the tournament including a pair of goals in the championship win over Westfield State.
She has been picked as the MASCAC Offensive Player of the Week five times this season.
A year ago, Robarge scored six goals with two assists and had two goals as a freshman. She enters the NCAAs with 22 career goals and six assists, and is the 14th student-athlete in BSU women's soccer history to reach the 50-point plateau.
Sweeney, who started 18 games, had a goal and three assists from the midfield.
She was on the all-conference second team a year ago and has four goals and four assists for 12 points in 55 career games with the Bears.
Brown, a key part of the BSU defense, has started 19 games this season. In 73 career games, Brown has two goals and four assists.
Levesque was a second-team all-conference pick in 2022 and 2023.
She has a 1.48 goals against average with 97 saves in 17 starts and has recorded five shutouts.
In 49 career games, Levesque has a 1.29 goals against average and a 30-14-5 record. She is second all-time at Bridgewater State in wins, third in both shutouts (18) and goals against average, sixth in minutes played (4333:40) and seventh in saves (264).
Levesque has been the MASCAC Defensive Player of the Week three times this season and five times in her career.
McCormack, who played four seasons at UMass Amherst, has started all 19 games and is second on the team with eight assists and third with seven goals and 22 points.
She ranks fourth in the MASCAC in assists and was the conference player of the week in the first week of the season.
Lessard has a goal and four assists this season and has three goals and seven assists in 53 career games.