12-19-2023 4:51am

TU COACH &

Jeff Barto Editor

KATHERINE VETTORI NAMED ECAC DIVISION I COACH OF THE YEAR; THREE TIGERS EARN ALL-ECAC HONORS

DANBURY, Conn. – Towson women's soccer head coach Katherine Vettori was named East Coast Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division I Coach of the Year, the conference announced Thursday. In addition, Jasmine Hamid and Nia Christopher were named to the All-ECAC First Team with Riley Melendez earning All-ECAC Second Team honors.

This is the first time a Tiger head coach has earn coach of the year honors. Vettori was selected unanimously as the CAA Coach of the Year in her sixth season at the helm of the Tigers.

Christopher was named to the first team after another stellar season for the Tigers that culminated in the program's first Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) title. Christopher earned her third straight United Soccer Coaches All-Region honor, being named to the first team, after being named to the third team in 2021 and second team last year. The Bermuda native finished tied for first in the CAA in goals with 14 and led the league with 37 points. Christopher broke the program record for goals, points and game-winning goals during the year and was named CAA Attacking Player of the Year.

Nia Christopher Earns All-East Region Honors

After her highly impressive season, Nia Christopher was named to the United Soccer Coaches All-East Region teams.

The Bermudian footballer plays for Towson University and their website said, “Christopher earned her third straight all-region honor after being named to the third team in 2021 and second team last year.

“The Bermuda native finished tied for first in the Coastal Athletic Association [CAA] in goals with 14 and led the league with 37 points. Christopher broke the program record for goals, points and game-winning goals during the year and was named CAA Attacking Player of the Year.”
Hamid finished her senior season by being named to the first team after being named CAA Midfielder of the Year, tying Christopher for the league lead with 14 goals, finishing second with 32 points. Hamid led the league with 35 shots on goal and 90 shots and also earned United Soccer Coaches Third Team honors.

Melendez was named to the second team after becoming the first player in CAA history to be named Goalkeeper of the Year in back-to-back seasons after winning the award in
2022. Melendez was also on the First Team for the second straight season. The Virginia native has a 0.60 goals-against average and .828 save percentage, recording eight shutouts. Melendez has allowed a league-low 10 goals this season. Her game-winning save in the CAA Championship match earned her Most Outstanding Player honors.

The Tigers finished the 2023 season by making their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament after winning both the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) regular season and tournament titles. Towson won 15 games, the most in a single season in program history.

About the ECAC
The ECAC (Eastern College Athletic Conference) is an eighty-year old organization with well over 200 members schools across all three NCAA Divisions - I, II and III - that exists to enhance the experience of student-athletes participating in intercollegiate athletics, and provide great value for universities and colleges, by sponsoring championships, leagues, bowl games, tournaments and other competitions throughout the Northeast. Most of the ECAC's members also belong to another conference, which is often the school's primary conference.

The ECAC also hosts a comprehensive esports program that presently involves 160 schools fielding 1100 teams across 14 different esports games, streamed live four nights a week. The ECAC's esports platform has and continues to expand the geographic footprint of the Conference nationally.