Salisbury Sweep the SUNYAC Awards as Worley and Kent Take Top Honours — but Howell’s 20 Goals Steal One Back for Oneonta
Salisbury owned the SUNYAC this season. The awards list just made it official.
The Sea Gulls took three of the four major honours when the conference announced its 2026 awards on Friday: Regan Worley is Defensive Player of the Year, Layla Kent is Rookie of the Year, and Dawn Chamberlin’s staff is Coaching Staff of the Year. Six Salisbury players made the All-Conference teams, three of them on the first team.
The one prize that got away went to Oneonta. Alexandra Howell, the senior midfielder who led the whole league with 20 goals and 48 points, is Offensive Player of the Year. Nobody else in the SUNYAC came close to those numbers.
Worley ran the best defence in the league
Worley anchored a back line that gave up just two goals in four conference games and kept two clean sheets. Salisbury went 4-0 in league play, took the No. 1 seed, and then won the conference crown, with Worley named to the All-Tournament team.
She wasn’t just a defender either. Three goals and eight assists across the season, and she was the one who dragged Salisbury level against Penn State Harrisburg in the NCAA first round on Wednesday, scoring from a penalty corner in the 26th minute. It wasn’t enough, Harrisburg won 2-1, but it summed up her season: Salisbury’s best defender and one of their most reliable attacking outlets at the same time.
Kent’s first year was ridiculous
Layla Kent didn’t ease into college hockey. The freshman led the conference in league play in goals (five), assists (five), points (15) and game-winning goals (two), and she finished the season top of the whole SUNYAC with 16 assists and second with 44 points.
She was named NFHCA Player of the Week during the season and took the SUNYAC Offensive Athlete of the Week award twice. For a first-year to lead a league in assists and sit second in scoring, in a side that won the conference, is the kind of debut that usually ends with a trophy. It did.
Howell’s 20 goals couldn’t be ignored
Oneonta finished 9-8 and went out in the postseason, but Howell was the league’s most dangerous player all year. Twenty goals, eight assists, 48 points, and a season high of four goals against Vermont State Castleton plus three assists against Elmira.
In the four regular-season conference games she managed three goals and an assist, but the overall numbers tell the story better: she finished first in the league in goals and points by a distance. Oneonta’s season didn’t match her standard. She did.
Chamberlin’s staff, again
Dawn Chamberlin and assistants Lindsey Barbacow, Megan Block and Sarah Dalrymple were voted Coaching Staff of the Year after leading Salisbury to a second straight SUNYAC title in only their second year in the league. They coached six All-Conference selections, including both Worley and Kent.
It is worth remembering what Salisbury are. Five national titles (1986, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2009), and this year’s NCAA trip was their 41st. A 15-4 season, a conference title and three of the four major awards is a fine return. The early NCAA exit is the one that will sting.
2026 All-SUNYAC teams
First team: Lillian Morse (Cortland), Sadie Hoffmann (Cortland), Kaylee Hughen (Cortland), Lilly Bagg (Morrisville), Abigail Draper (Oneonta), Alexandra Howell (Oneonta), Carly King (Oswego), Devon DeGregory (Salisbury), Layla Kent (Salisbury), Regan Worley (Salisbury), Sam Krautheim (Oswego, GK).
Second team: Anna McCarthy (Cortland), Tori Peterson (Cortland), Kylee Noyes (Morrisville), Gaby Ackley (Oneonta), Isabella Cunha (Oneonta), Layla Sharp (Oswego), Alexa Snyder (Oswego), Tessa Gray (Salisbury), Alex Kupper (Salisbury), Regan Nacrelli (Salisbury), Sofia Cannistraci (Cortland, GK).
Cortland matched Salisbury with six selections across the two sides, and the two schools shared the honours.
