Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 4/21/14
From Press Release
Loyola University Maryland put up a perfect record in its first season in Patriot League competition, and the No. 13/14 Greyhounds were rewarded for that success on Monday with four major awards and six selections on the 2014 Women’s Lacrosse All-Patriot League Team.
Loyola saw three of its student-athletes honored with individual awards as junior attacker Annie Thomas was named Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year, senior midfielder Marlee Paton claimed the Midfield Player of the Year award and sophomore defender Maddy Lesher (Archbishop Carroll) took home the Defensive Player of the Year honor. Jen Adams was named Patriot League Coach of the Year for leading the Greyhounds to the perfect League mark and 12-4 record overall. The lone remaining major award was the Rookie of the Year honor which went to Lehigh freshman midfielder Allison LaBeau.
Loyola also led all schools with six All-Patriot League selections, five of which came on the first team. Lehigh followed in both overall selections with five and first-team honorees with three, while Boston University, Holy Cross, Lafayette and Navy each had four All-League players, Colgate totaled three and Bucknell notched two. Patriot League head coaches voted on the All-League teams and major awards, and could not vote for their own student-athletes or themselves.
Thomas has put up 33 goals and 33 assists on the season for the Greyhounds, ranking second in the Patriot League in the latter category. Her 66 points placed second among all players, and Thomas earned four Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week awards during the season. She was even more dominant in Patriot League play, leading the League with 44 points and 23 assists and ranking third with 21 goals in League action.
Paton excelled at both ends of the field in her senior season for the Greyhounds. She ranked third in the League with 62 points for the season, and fourth overall in both goals (39) and assists (23). She also placed second in the League with 31 caused turnovers, and her all-around stat line also included 33 draw controls and 32 ground balls. Like Thomas, Paton was even better in Patriot League play by tying for the League lead with 25 goals and placing second to her teammate with 16 assists and 41 points. Paton also finished in the top five in Patriot League play with 19 caused turnovers and 19 ground balls.
Lesher consistently matched up with the top offensive player throughout the year, and helped lead a Loyola defense that had an 8.00 goals against average for the season and lowered it to 6.13 in Patriot League games. She limited her personal matchups to just four goals in Patriot League play, with no player scoring more than once against her. Lesher also played a key role in Loyola’s transition game, and led all defenders on the team with 12 ground balls in League action.
Adams directed Loyola to the perfect Patriot League record as well as wins over Virgina, Princeton, Towson and Georgetown as part of a challenging non-League schedule that included seven nationally-ranked opponents in Loyola’s eight games. The Greyhounds led the Patriot League in numerous statistical categories for the season including goals, draw controls and fewest turnovers per game. Loyola became the 17th team to go undefeated in Patriot League play, but the first to win more than six games with the expanded League schedule.
Loyola becomes the first school to win four individual awards in women’s lacrosse since American did it in 2008.
LaBeau wins the Rookie of the Year award after also finishing as the only freshman on the first-team All-Patriot League squad. She was a key two-way player for the Mountain Hawks who totaled 28 goals, eight assists, 20 draw controls and 15 ground balls for the season. LaBeau ranked in the top 10 in Patriot League games with 17 goals, and had a flair for the dramatic by scoring the tying and winning goals in an overtime victory at Boston University on April 5 and the tying goal to send Lehigh’s contest at Navy to overtime four days later. LaBeau is Lehigh’s seventh Patriot League Rookie of the Year award winner, and first since Kelly Draper in 2009.
The first-team All-Patriot League squad features a veteran lineup of seven juniors and five seniors, as well as two sophomores and a freshman. The attack features all juniors, with Colgate’s Megan Ark (48 G, 9 A), Navy’s Loren Generi (44 G, 34 A, 100 DC) and Loyola’s Hannah Schmitt (Archbishop Carroll, 26 G, 8 A) joining Thomas. Paton and LaBeau are among six players in the midfield where they are joined by Boston University sophomore Jill Horka (18 G, 5 A), Holy Cross senior Sara Hennessey (26 G, 5 A), Lafayette senior Ana White (Strath Haven, 35 G, 15 A, 101 DC) and Loyola junior Taryn VanThof (25 G, 7 A, 96 DC). The defense includes Lesher along with Colgate junior Jenna Frost (Strath Haven, 29 GB, 29 CT), Boston University senior Christie Hart (25 GB, 13 CT) and Lehigh junior Lauren Willcox (Agnes Irwin, 18 GB, 16 CT). Lehigh senior Alexandra Fitzpatrick is the first-team goalkeeper after placing among the national leaders with a .512 save percentage.
The second-team All-Patriot League squad totals 17 players and includes seven seniors, five juniors, three sophomores and two freshmen. The attack features players from five different schools including Navy senior Aimee Gennaro (Archbishop Carroll, 36 G, 9 A), Holy Cross sophomore Kate Martino (24 G, 9 A), Lehigh junior Carli Sukonik (Harriton, 31 G), Boston University junior Lindsay Weiner (16 G, 15 A) and Lafayette freshman Kirsten Wilhelmsen (Strath Haven, 36 A). The second-team midfield has six schools represented with Boston University senior Becca Church (20 G), Navy senior Jill Coughlin (33 G), Lehigh sophomore Kendall Garden (20 G, 11 A), Lafayette senior Laura Kleiber (48 G, 7 A), Bucknell senior Katelyn Miller (29 G, 12 A) and Holy Cross junior Laura Ryan (23 G, 10 A). The defense again includes players from five different schools with Holy Cross junior Sophia Agostinelli (25 CT), Lafayette senior Rachel Martin (25 GB), Loyola senior Katherine Reinhard (15 GB), Navy sophomore Lizzy Rullan (17 GB) and Bucknell freshman Lucia Smircich (28 GB), with Colgate junior Jennie Berglin (10.65 GAA, .421 SV PCT) as the goalkeeper.
White and Martin join the list of four-time All-Patriot League selections, with White earning a first-team honor for the third year in a row. Generi, Frost, Sukonik, Miller and Ryan were each recognized on the All-League Team for the third straight season.
The 2014 Patriot League Women’s Lacrosse Tournament begins with the quarterfinal round on Tuesday as No. 6 seed Lehigh visits No. 3 Boston University at 4 p.m. and No. 5 Colgate heads to No. 4 Holy Cross at 5 p.m. The tournament then moves to Loyola’s Ridley Athletic Complex for the semifinals on Thursday and championship on Saturday. The host and top-seed Greyhounds will face the lower-seeded team from the quarterfinals in the first semi at 5 p.m. on Thursday, with No. 2 Navy facing the higher-seeded quarterfinal team at 7:30 p.m. The winners meet for the Patriot League Championship on Saturday at 1 p.m. The entire tournament is available with live streaming through Patriot League Network, with Campus Insiders producing the broadcast for the semifinals and championship.
2014 Women’s Lacrosse All-Patriot League Team
Major Awards
Offensive Player of the Year: Annie Thomas, Loyola, Jr., A
Midfield Player of the Year: Marlee Paton, Loyola, Sr., M
Defensive Player of the Year: Maddy Lesher (Archbishop Carroll), Loyola, So., D
Rookie of the Year: Allison LaBeau, Lehigh, Fr., M
Coach of the Year: Jen Adams, Loyola
First-Team All-Patriot League
Attack: Megan Ark, Colgate (Jr.); Loren Generi, Navy (Jr.); Hannah Schmitt (Archbishop Carroll), Loyola (Jr.); Annie Thomas, Loyola (Jr.)
Midfield: Sara Hennessey, Holy Cross (Sr.); Jill Horka, Boston University (So.); Allison LaBeau, Lehigh (Fr.); Marlee Paton, Loyola (Sr.); Taryn VanThof, Loyola (Jr.); Ana White (Strath Haven), Lafayette (Sr.)
Defense: Jenna Frost (Strath Haven), Colgate (Jr.); Christie Hart, Boston University (Sr.); Maddy Lesher (Archbishop Carroll), Loyola (So.); Lauren Willcox (Agnes Irwin), Lehigh (Jr.)
Goalkeeper: Alexandra Fitzpatrick, Lehigh (Sr.)
Second-Team All-Patriot League*
Attack: Aimee Gennaro (Archbishop Carroll), Navy (Sr.); Kate Martino, Holy Cross (So.); Carli Sukonik (Harriton), Lehigh (Jr.); Lindsay Weiner, Boston University (Jr.); Kirsten Wilhelmsen (Strath Haven), Lafayette (Fr.)
Midfield: Becca Church, Boston University (Sr.); Jill Coughlin, Navy (Sr.); Kendall Garden, Lehigh (So.); Laura Kleiber, Lafayette (Sr.); Katelyn Miller, Bucknell (Sr.); Laura Ryan, Holy Cross (Jr.)
Defense: Sophia Agostinelli, Holy Cross (Jr.); Rachel Martin, Lafayette (Sr.); Katherine Reinhard, Loyola (Sr.); Lizzy Rullan, Navy (So.); Lucia Smircich, Bucknell (Fr.)
Goalkeeper: Jennie Berglin, Colgate (Jr.)
* – Two extra players due to tie in the voting
Leave a Reply