A ceremony was held Wednesday in West Hartford for seven NWC athletes who have committed to play college soccer.
Northwest Catholic soccer players (from left): Rebecca Molin ’16, Anna Cronin ’16, Abbey Fitzsimmons ’16, Jessica Kelly ’16, Bailey Julian ’16, Kelsey Dornfried ’16, Mackenzie Tibball ’16, and Rachel Elliot ’16 with NWC Girls’ Soccer Coach Todd Sadler. Submitted photo
Submitted by Kimberly Sanders Spera, Northwest Catholic High School
Northwest Catholic soccer players and seniors Anna Cronin, Kelsey Dornfried, Rachel Elliot, Abbey Fitzsimmons, Bailey Julian, Jessica Kelly and Mackenzie Tibball formalized their commitment to compete in college soccer on February 3, 2016 during a special ceremony at Northwest Catholic.
Anna Cronin of Glastonbury will be playing soccer at the University of Connecticut. A 2015 team captain and four-year varsity player, Cronin started on two state championship teams, appearing and starting in 61 games. She was named All-Conference as a sophomore and senior, and was named All-State and All-New England as her senior – the fifth player in Northwest Catholic history to be named All-New England.
Kelsey Dornfried of Berlin will be playing at Central Connecticut State University. A 2015 team captain and a four-year starter, Dornfried started her Northwest Catholic soccer career as a goalkeeper, helping lead the team to the state championship in 2012. After leaving the goalkeeper post her sophomore year, she appeared in 61 games and started all but two of them. Dornfried finished her career with 7 goals and 16 assists and was named All-Conference as senior. She was also selected to play in the Senior Bowl All-Star game this year.
Rachel Elliot of Newington will be playing at Assumption College. A three-year starter, Elliot appeared in 60 games and started all but one. She finished her Northwest Catholic soccer career with 22 goals and 28 assists, including 12 goals her senior year. Elliot was named All-Conference as a senior.
Abbey Fitzsimmons of West Hartford will be playing at Eastern Connecticut State University. A two-year starter for Northwest Catholic, Fitzsimmons appeared in 40 games and started 33. As a senior, she had 4 goals and 9 assists.
Bailey Julian of Simsbury will be playing for Western Connecticut State University. A four-year varsity player and three-year starter, Julian appeared in 81 games, starting in 60. She is one of only two players to score goals in two different championship games. As a senior, Julian scored 12 goals and 16 assists (40 points). She is the fifth player in the last nine years to score over 100 points in their Northwest Catholic career (122 total). As a senior, Julian was named both All-Conference and All-State.
Jessica Kelly of West Suffield will be playing for Assumption College. A four-year varsity player and two-year starter, Kelly started every game in her final two years as a center back. She was named honorable mention All-Conference as a senior.
Mackenzie Tibball of West Hartford will be playing at Quinnipiac University. A four-year varsity player, three-year starter and 2015 team caption, Tibball appeared in 79 career games, starting in 60. She finished her senior season with 8 goals and 12 assists, is a three-time All-Conference player, and was named All-State as a senior.
