Josephine Lyons Named Liberty League Rookie of the Year

2016 Nov 8

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) student-athlete Josephine Lyons of Harwood 20776 has been recognized by the Liberty League, earning the conference's Women's Soccer Rookie of the Year, it has been announced.

A freshman goalkeeper from Harwood, Md., Lyons set numerous school records on her way to going 14-5-1, with a 0.60 goals against average and an .876 save percentage as the starter in all 20 games. She notched 11 shutouts with 85 saves in 1805:54 minutes of action.

The Liberty League leader in games played, games started, total saves and shutout percentage (.550), Lyons is second in goals against average and save percentage. A former Southern High School standout, she is fourth in saves per game (4.25).

In conference games, Lyons ranks second in goals against average (0.55), save percentage (.891), shutouts per game (.556) and fourth in saves per game (4.56). She had four shutouts of league opponents, including three straight against Clarkson, St. Lawrence and Union in a span of five days.

This season, Lyons set the school's single-season record for minutes played (1805:54) and shutouts (11) and matched the mark for games played (20). She ranks second in wins (14), fourth in goals against average (0.60) and sixth in save percentage (.876).

A three-time Defensive Performer of the Week, Lyons earned All-Liberty League First Team honors. She becomes the fourth Rensselaer player to earn Rookie of the Year honors, joining Jennifer Ocif (1989), Ira Shetty (1995) and current teammate Tori Riopelle (2013). Current head coach BreLynn Nasypany earned the award at William Smith in 2007.

The Engineers finished the season with the third most wins in school history, going 14-5-1, with a 5-3-0 mark in Liberty League play. They defeated Vassar, 1-0, in the Liberty League Semifinals, advancing to the first league title game in school history, where they fell to No. 1 William Smith.

Founded in 1824, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is America's oldest technological research university. For nearly two centuries, the Institute has been a driving force behind breakthroughs in engineering and science in virtually every arena-from transportation and infrastructure to business, medicine, outer space, and cyberspace.

As it approaches its bicentennial anniversary, the Institute continues to define The New Polytechnic, a new paradigm for teaching, learning, and research that uses advanced technologies to enable fresh collaborations across disciplines, sectors, and regions, in order to answer the global challenges of our day.