CB East senior Riley Donnelly and CB West senior Taylor Mason earned Go Play Sports Tours/NFHCA All-American recognition.
Riley Donnelly and Taylor Mason have done it all on the hockey field.
Both have competed at the national level, both have been regulars on the all-state and all-league squads, and both have signed letters of intent to take their talents to perennial national powerhouse University of Maryland.
After earning Go Play Sports Tours/National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) first team All-Region (Pennsylvania) recognition, both added the highest of honors to their resumes when they were named to the Go Play Sports Tours/NFHCA All-American squad.
Donnelly, a senior at Central Bucks East, earned first team honors while Mason, a senior at Central Bucks West, was named to the third team.
Donnelly, a three-time first team all-state selection, served notice that she was a special talent, earning first team All-SOL Continental Conference honors as a freshman and going on to win that recognition four straight years. This fall, Donnelly surpassed the elusive 100-goal milestone.
“Riley is a phenomenal athlete and has been an integral part of the success at CB East throughout her career,” CB East coach Michelle Finegan said. “Riley certainly deserves this prestigious All-American award through her hard work, dedication and passion for the sport.”
Donnelly led the Patriots to back-to-back conference titles and this year a trip to the state quarterfinals. The dangerous midfielder closed out her final high school season with 32 goals and 14 assists (78 points).
“Riley eliminates opponents with her tremendous stick skills, and this combined with her field vision, quick decision-making ability, speed of execution and strong, accurate passing game places her as one of the top athletes in the nation,” Finegan said. “She also has a great reach which she uses to intercept passes and also on defensive tackles.
“I’m excited to follow her future achievements in field hockey.”
Mason has been an impact player at West where she was a two-time first team all-state selection and three-time first team All-SOL Continental Conference selection.
“Her speed is amazing,” coach Courtney Lepping said. “The quickness of her dribbling skills, the ability she has to change directions and move with the ball – those things put together make her a really unique type of player. Her reach obviously adds to her shot and her ability to defend. You put that together, and you’ve got Taylor Mason.”
Mason’s versatility is underscored by the fact that Lepping was equally comfortable using her senior midfielder in a low/mid defensive position or at forward. This past fall, she scored 27 goals and contributed 18 assists (72 points).
“She has the ability to take any shot she wants anywhere on the field,” Lepping said. “She never felt as though she was too good to keep improving, and that’s something that’s really important, especially for a player of her caliber.
“You can easily get lulled into believing you’re really great and just going with it, but she kept working to improve her skills as the season went on. That was the case with her whole career. She started out good and she just continued to get better.”
Also earning All-American honors from the Philadelphia area were first team honoree Charlotte de Vries (Conestoga/University of North Carolina commit), second team Lindsey Dickenson (Villa Maria/University of Connecticut commit) and third team Hannah Miller (Villa Maria/Duke University commit). To view the complete list of Go Play Sports Tours/NFHCA All-Americans, please click on the following link: http://static.psbin.com/p/e/64prc7rateubzn/High_School_All-American_Team.pdf.
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