Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 4/26/19
From Press Release
After turning in a record-breaking senior campaign, Saint Joseph’s leading scorer Francesca Donato (Neshaminy) has been selected the 2019 Atlantic 10 Women’s Lacrosse Offensive Player of the Year, as voted on by the league’s head coaches and announced on Wednesday afternoon. Fourth-seeded Saint Joseph’s saw three veteran Hawks earn spots on the All-Conference First Team, three new faces earn spots on the All-Rookie Team, and a pair of junior captains take home Academic All-Conference Team honors.
Donato, junior midfielder Bridget Cerciello (Saucon Valley) , and senior defender Sinead Brierley (Springside Chestnut Hill Academy) earned First Team recognition while freshman midfielder Sophia Kolkka (Plymouth Whitemarsh), freshman attacker Lauren Figura (Lenape), and redshirt freshman defender Sarah Platt (Agnes Irwin) were voted onto the All-Rookie Team, marking the first time in program history that three newcomers earned the honor in the same season.
Junior captains Cerciello and Julia Pash, both business majors, were selected to the A-10 All-Academic Team, as voted on by the league’s Sports Information Directors.
Saint Joseph’s three First Team selections ties UMass for the most First Team picks, but the Crimson and Gray was the only program to have a First Team attacker, midfielder, and defender. SJU was also the only program to land three student-athletes on the All-Rookie Team.
Donato turned in one of the most successful offensive seasons in Saint Joseph’s women’s lacrosse history this spring, leading the team in total points (78), goals (40), and assists (38) through 17 regular-season games (all starts); her points and assists totals were single-season program records. The senior attacker led the A-10 in total points and assists as well as points per game (4.59) and assists per game (2.24) as she scored in all but one contest and totaled 12 multi-goal games, including six games with three or more goals, and 14 games with three or more points.
A two-time A-10 Player of the Week, Donato went for 45 points (24g, 21a) through nine conference games, which included nine-point efforts against Duquesne (4g, 5a) and Davidson (6g, 3a), a seven-point effort (2g, 5a) against VCU, and a six-point effort (4g, 2a) against George Washington. Notably, outside of A-10 competition, Donato combined for 13 points in back-to-back wins over Temple (4g, 3a) and Villanova (3g, 3a) and added a hat trick at then-#17 Johns Hopkins and four helpers at then-#13 Navy.
The honor marks the first A-10 postseason honor for Donato, who becomes just the second Hawk in program history to earn the league’s Offensive Player of the Year award, joining Bernadette Smith (2001).
Cerciello excelled as SJU’s top midfielder this year with 32 points (28g, 4a) to go with a team-high 68 draw controls alongside 34 ground balls and 17 caused turnovers. Through nine conference games, the junior standout notched 22 points (19g, 3a) and 42 draw controls. She hit the back of the net five times against VCU and four times against Duquesne and added eight draw controls apiece in both of those victories. Additionally, Cerciello registered a hat trick against George Washington and went for 11 draw controls against La Salle. Against nationally-ranked competition, Cerciello tallied a hat trick at then-#17 Johns Hopkins and scrapped for five ground balls at then-#13 Navy.
The honor marks the second A-10 postseason honor of Cerciello’s career after earning Second Team midfield recognition as a sophomore last spring.
Brierley transitioned from an offensive to defensive role for her final campaign, broke into a starting role, and never looked back en route to her first A-10 postseason honor. The senior went for team-best numbers in ground balls (49) and caused turnovers (31) – both of which rank third in SJU’s single-season program records – while her 18 caused turnovers in league play ranked third among conference defenders. Brierley forced three caused turnovers apiece against Duquesne, George Washington, and George Mason and added four ground balls against the Dukes and Patriots.
In addition to their successes on the field, junior captains Cerciello and Pash earned academic recognition for their successes in the classroom. Cerciello makes her second consecutive appearance on the 12-member team while Pash, a defensive staple on SJU’s back line with 40 ground balls and 27 caused turnovers – both second on the squad – completes the pair.
La Salle honors
La Salle sophomore Bridget Ruskey (Middle Township-NJ) made Second Team A=10 All-Conference as a midfielder, while freshman Amanda Farnsworth (Eastern Regional-NJ) was listed on the conference’s All-Rookie Team.
Ruskey once again proved to be a key contributor for La Salle in all facets of the game. She finished 2019 first on the team in goals (33), assists (13) and points (46). Her 54 draw controls, also a team-best, was the second most ever in a season by an Explorer. She ranked in the top-four in ground balls, caused turnovers, free position goals and game winning goals. In conference play, she finished top 20 in points and top 10 in draw controls among A-10 players.
Farnsworth’s first chapter of her La Salle career was typified by resilience, as the number 15 battled back from two concussions this season to play in 11 games. She became an important piece down the stretch, starting in five of the final seven games. The rookie defender recorded seven ground balls and four caused turnovers.
