BROCKPORT, N.Y. – The Old Dominion field hockey team added a new name to the program's long list of All-Americans as freshman forward Marlon de Bruijne collected Second Team All-American honors from the National Field Hockey Coaches Association, the organization announced during its awards show on Tuesday night. De Bruijne becomes the 52nd individual to receive All-American distinctions while playing for the Monarchs.
De Bruijne is the first ODU player to make the All-America Second Team or better since Kelsey Smither (second team) did so in 2014. Rebecca Birch was the Monarchs' last All-American with an appearance on the third team in 2019.
Freshman forward Marlon de Bruijne receives ???????????? ???????? ??????-???????????????? honors from @NFHCA.
— ODU Field Hockey (@ODUFieldHockey) June 15, 2021
The leading freshman scorer in DI this season becomes the 52nd Monarch to receive All-American distinctions.
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"This is a well-deserved honor for Marlon," head coach Andrew Griffiths said. "Since arriving here, despite the difficult circumstances with the pandemic, she has made a clear impact on the field for our team and scored a number of important goals throughout the season. She also made an impact with her personality. She brings a positive attitude and connects well with others on the team. She is driven to win, and we are excited to see her continue to help our team climb up the rankings and bring home a championship."
The native of Den Bosch, Netherlands was the most-prolific freshman goal scorer in Division I this past season with 15 goals and also led all freshman with 32 points. De Bruijne picked up co-freshman of the year honors from both the BIG EAST and VaSID and was named First Team All-BIG EAST, First Team All-State by VaSID and First Team All-South Region by the NFHCA.
De Bruijne became the first ODU freshman with a hat trick since at least the 2010 season when she scored three times in a 4-1 victory over Villanova on Feb. 26. The following day, she found the back of the cage four more times against the Wildcats, including a superb backhander from a tight angle, to match the single-game high in DI this season. Following her seven-goal weekend, she was named the NFHCA Offensive Player of the Week.
The Monarchs reached a second-consecutive BIG EAST Final due in large part to de Bruijne, who scored both goals in a 2-1 win over No. 6 Liberty in the semifinals. ODU lost the title match to nine-time defending champion UConn, but de Bruijne was one of four Monarchs to make the BIG EAST All-Tournament Team.
Reigning national champions North Carolina took home a pair of major honors. Erin Matson was named NFHCA National Player of the Year, and the Tar Heels coaching staff was selected as the coaching staff of the year. Louisville's Meghan Schneider was named the National Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
2020 NFHCA Division I All-American Teams
National Player of the Year
Erin Matson, University of North Carolina
National Coaching Staff of the Year
University of North Carolina
National Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Meghan Schneider, University of Louisville
NFHCA All-America First Team
Mackenzie Allessie, Ohio State University
Bente Baekers, Northwestern University
Jill Bolton, Liberty University
Darcy Bourne, Duke University
Margo Carlin, Boston College
Charlotte de Vries, Syracuse University
Jessica Dembrowski, University of Connecticut
Gianna Glatz, Rutgers University
Sophie Hamilton, University of Connecticut
Amanda Hendry, University of North Carolina
Katie Larmour, Rutgers University
Erin Matson, University of North Carolina
Anthe Nijziel, University of Iowa
Halle O'Neill, University of Michigan
Mercedes Pastor, University of Louisville
Corinne Zanolli, Stanford University
NFHCA All-America Second Team
Ali Bitting, University of Louisville
Kayla Blas, Northwestern University
Noor Coenen, American University
Hana Davis, University of Maine
Marlon de Bruijne, Old Dominion University
Riley Donnelly, University of Maryland
Amber Ezechiels, University of Virginia
Sophia Gladieux, Penn State University
Fusine Govaert, Boston College
Georgie McTear, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Maddy Murphy, University of Iowa
Eva Smolenaars, University of North Carolina
Anna Spieker, University of Michigan
Femke Strien, University of Delaware
Maite Sturm, Virginia Commonwealth University
Eefke van den Nieuwenhof, Syracuse University
NFHCA All-America Third Team
Kelly Buckley, Fairfield University
Brooke DeBerdine, University of Maryland
Ireen Frenken, Monmouth University
Ellie Holley, University of Iowa
Jonna Kennedy, Boston College
Meike Lanckohr, Wake Forest University
Kaelyn Long, Bucknell University
Kathryn Petersen, University of Michigan
Milena Redlingshoefer, Rutgers University
Rachel Robinson, University of Virginia
Kathryn Scheerer, Boston University
Meghan Schneider, University of Louisville
Meredith Sholder, University of North Carolina
Elizabeth Warner, Boston College
Janne Wetzel, Virginia Commonwealth University
Maddie Zimmer, Northwestern University