After a year in which the Nansemond River High School field hockey team finished second in the PenSouth Conference for the regular season, the Lady Warriors received generous recognition when all-conference selections were made recently.

“I thought we had a good representation,” Lady Warriors coach Ali Mowry said. “We had five girls on first team, five on second and one honorable mention. So I had my whole starting lineup on one of the respective teams.”

Conference coaches selected the following Nansemond River players to the first team: junior forward Ariana Samuel, sophomore forward Ashlyn Rogers, senior midfielder Claire Janek, senior defender Cali Valdivieso and senior goalkeeper Alex Wilde.

Samuel scored seven goals over the course of the season and tied with freshman midfielder Sarah Rhiel for most assists on the team with 10.

Rogers showed intensity and improvement from last year that was reflected in the Lady Warriors (13-4), and she finished the season with 15 goals and six assists.

Janek helped anchor the midfield for Nansemond River as she has done in the past, making contributions that included eight goals and six assists this season.

Valdivieso scored three goals and had an assist this season, and Mowry noted, “I move her up on the penalty corners,” but otherwise she drew a selection for her heroics near her own team’s goal.

Mowry said Valdivieso had “a few key defensive saves in a couple of our conference games, particularly against Menchville (High School) and Gloucester (High School).”

Menchville ended the Lady Warriors’ season in the conference tournament semifinals before falling to Gloucester, which won the conference, Region 5A South and 5A state championships this year.

As a goalkeeper, Wilde helped Nansemond River achieve eight shutouts this season and racked up 105 saves overall. That save total includes saves made while standing in goal, blocks and field saves made after stepping away from the cage.

Mowry highlighted Wilde’s performance across two games — one against Menchville and one against Gloucester — in which she registered an impressive 35 saves.

Lady Warriors making the All-PenSouth Conference second team included senior forward Jaclyn Mounie, senior midfielder Ashley Hiltabrand, freshman midfielder Sarah Rhiel, junior defender Mackenzie Roach and junior defender Victoria Czuprynski.

Nansemond River senior defender Avanna Williams received honorable mention.