April 30, 2006

POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. - Senior driver Kim Pare (East Grand Rapids, Mich.) has been named the MAAC Offensive Player of the Year, it was announced at the league's awards banquet on Saturday night. Pare earns the top offensive honor in the conference after a regular season in which she ranked second in the league with 2.14 goals per game. She was the driving force behind Villanova's offensive attack throughout the season, leading the team in four different statistical categories.

The Wildcats (6-15, 5-5 MAAC Regular Season) were defeated 5-2 by top-seeded Wagner on Saturday afternoon in the semifinals of the conference championship. Villanova, the fourth seed, will play Iona at Noon Sunday in the consolation game. The conference tournament is being hosted by Marist, and the awards banquet Saturday night was held at Cabaret on the Marist campus.

Pare leads the Wildcats this season with 45 goals and 64 points, and her 19 assists are just one off the team lead. In addition to ranking among the top goal scorers in the conference, Pare led Villanova with 38 steals and 81 ejections drawn during the regular season. She was named the MAAC Offensive Player of the Week on April 12 after tallying 15 goals and five assists in four matches during the previous week.

Pare also earned a spot on the league's first team all-conference squad, marking the fourth straight season that she has merited all-conference honors. In addition, sophomore driver Carla Martinez (Caguas, Puerto Rico) was named a second team All-MAAC honoree. Martinez has 29 goals and is tied for the team lead with 20 assists on the season. She is second to Pare with 21 steals and ranks third on the Wildcats with 14 ejections drawn. Martinez scored one goal in Villanova's 5-2 loss to Wagner in the MAAC Semifinals on Saturday.

The Wildcats had a record of 6-14 during the regular season and went 5-5 in league play to earn the No. 4 seed in the MAAC Championship. Villanova made its second straight appearance in the conference tournament after earning a No. 2 seed last season and falling to eventual champion Wagner 17-14 in the title game.