Former Attleboro High School soccer goalie Phil Nelson is having a terrific senior season in net for the Lafayette College Leopards (9-6-2) with a 7-3-2 record, a 0.63 goals against mark and eight shutouts. In the Leopards' current five-match unbeaten streak (4-0-1), Nelson has 19 saves and four shutouts, being highlighted among the "Who's Who" this week on the Soccer Channel ...

**They are two big reasons for the success of the Mansfield High football team, the senior tackles, No. 63 Cody Curelop and No. 79 Dakota Cullen, both in their first full-time varsity seasons. The 6-foot-2, 255-pound Curelop hurt his knee in a skiing accident and the 6-foot-3, 285-pound Cullen "was one of our most improved guys last year," said Hornet coach Mike Redding. "He's had a very good year for us." ...

**North Attleboro's Ashley Kepaa, a freshman middle blocker with the Castleton (Vt.) State volleyball team (14-7), not only was named to the All-North Atlantic Conference first team, she was the NAC Rookie of the Year, averaging 4.4 kills. Kepaa lead Castleton past Lyndon State in the quarterfinals and into the semifinals Saturday against Husson ...

**"She's a powerhouse," Attleboro High field hockey coach Sue Hamilton was saying of junior central defender Hannah Powers, who along with sweeper Julie Cathcart and goalie Haley Brown, both juniors as well, accounted for the Bombardiers posting 12 shutouts this MIAA Tournament season ...

**Former Dighton-Rehoboth High Falcon Aislynn Sherry, a sophomore forward with the Keene State field hockey team (17-4) notched her first career hat trick in a Little East Conference Tournament quarterfinal round win over Salem State ... **Not only did the Bishop Feehan High girls' soccer team win 15 of its 18 matches this season (losing just once to LaSalle Academy of Providence by one goal), the Shamrocks finished their EAC slate at 8-0 and were unscored upon. Junior central defender Jordan Logue was impressive, "she had an outstanding year for us, she was very solid," said Feehan coach Phil Silva ...

**"He's been solid all year," related Dighton-Rehoboth High boys' soccer coach Steve Kulpa of junior central defender Jack Fisher, one of an entire cast of Falcon backline players back next season ...

**"She's got a great stick, her stickhandling really stands out," said Foxboro High field hockey coach Melissa Bordieri of the Warriors' leading scorer this season, Hiliary Carlson, who had eight goals ...

**Former Mansfield High Hornet Jill Johnson, a junior defender with the Framingham State women's soccer team (5-11-1, started all 17 matches and was named to the All-Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference Team. Johnson was an All-MASCAC pick as a freshman and alongside her this season for the Rams was Attleboro High's Katie Jeffery, a senior and Kerry Kiley, a freshman from Mansfield ...

**"It's amazing what having a great player like Sean Ryan around in the backfield can do," related Norton High football coach Ted Currle of the graduated Lancer. "This year, we make a mistake and it's a 3-yard loss. Last year, we make a mistake and Ryan turns it into an 80-yard touchdown" ...

**Jen Salit, the Seekonk High junior, has now won two straight South Coast Conference championship meet crowns, by one-minute or more margins, part of the reason being Warrior coach Eli Mello having her run amidst the pack of Warrior boy runners, including another two-time champ John Gregorek ...

**"She's always in position to make a play," not so hesitatingly offered Dighton-Rehoboth High field hockey coach Roberta Cordeiro of senior midfielder Haley Jackson, who not so coincidentally is ranked No. 1 academically in the class and is Ivy League-bound ...

**Bishop Feehan grad Jen Leaverton and the St. John's University women's soccer team have advanced to the semifinal round of the Big East Tournament, tonight at UConn against No. 5 nationally ranked Notre Dame ...

**At the Great Northeast Athletic Conference Championship Cross Country Meet in Nashua, N.H., the Johnson and Wales University women's team took second place as former King Philip Warrior Alexandra Wessman, a senior was third (21:09) and former D-R Falcon Amanda Charbonneau, a junior was ninth (22:08) ...

**Former Attleboro High soccer star Jenna Costa, a freshman midfielder with the No. 23 nationally Division II ranked UMass-Lowell women's soccer team (11-4-3) was named to the All Northeast-10 Conference Rookie Team, having a goal and two assists in 18 matches, seven of them starts ... **Mansfield High girls' soccer coach Kevin Smith has his central defender of the future in freshman Ashley Bjorkman, "we started her the last three matches and she's been phenomenal. She's got it all, skill, size, speed, strength" ...

**In the Curry College football team's 28-point win over Nichols College, former Mansfield High Hornet Mark Gilson, a freshman quarterback, hurled a pair of second half TD passes, while another ex-Hornet Matt Alksninis converted all six conversion kicks (a perfect 25-for-25 on the season) and leads the New England Football Conference in kicking points with 64 ...

**Former Bishop Feehan High hoop star Amy Lepley, seemingly, is well back from the recovery road (from ACL surgery last year as a Shamrock senior), playing 17 minutes for the Holy Cross College women's team in an exhibition game ...

**"There have been few kids that have worked as hard as him," related Seekonk High football coach Jack Whalen of junior running back and 1,000-yard rusher Matt Lockwod, transforming himself from a 135-pound Pop Warner star to a 196-pound Warrior ...

**The best of the Big East, field hockey teams that is, converge on PC Saturday and Sunday for the Championship Tournament. No. 1 seeded and No. 5 nationally ranked Syracuse meets the Friars (10-9) at 11 on Saturday with No. 7 ranked UConn against No. 13 ranked Louisville at 1:30, the winners meeting Sunday afternoon. The locals on the Friar roster include Ashlyn Hudson of Stoughton and a pair of Walpole products, Deidre Quinn and Kerianne Murphy.

PETER GOBIS can be reached at 508-236-0375 or at pgobis@thesunchronicle.com.