Somerset, NJ —
Monmouth sophomore midfielder Katie Degen (Glen Head, NY/North Shore) was selected the Northeast Conference Women’s Lacrosse Player of the Year in a vote by league head coaches. The Hawks’ Alexis Hiering (Toms River, NJ/Monsignor Donovan) was selected Defensive Player of the Year, while teammate Megan Nutter (Moorestown, NJ/Moorestown) was recognized as Rookie of the Year. Wagner head coach Lee Daignault took home NEC Coach of the Year honors for the second time after leading the Seahawks to a turnaround year, where they tripled their win total from last season. Under Daignault’s leadership, Wagner improved from a 3-13 record and a sixth place finish with a 2-5 record in the NEC in 2004 to a 9-8 overall mark (6-2 NEC) and a postseason berth this season.
The 2005 NEC Women’s Lacrosse Championship will be hosted by Mount St. Mary’s this weekend at Emmitsburg, MD. On Friday, April 29, #1 seeded Mount St. Mary’s will face #4 Wagner at 1:00 pm, while #2 Monmouth meets #3 Quinnipiac at 3:30 pm. The championship game will be held on Sunday, May 1 at 12:00 pm, with the winner moving on to host the MAAC champion in an NCAA Tournament play-in game, tentatively scheduled for Friday, May 6 or Saturday, May 7.
Degen, a two-time NEC Player of the Week in 2005, was the most dominant overall force in the league this season. Degen currently is tied for the league-lead in game-winning goals (4), sits second in caused turnovers (36), third in draw controls (40) and fourth in points (53 points, 37 goals, 16 assists) and ground balls (50). The midfielder also ranks in the top ten in the conference in goals and assists. The sophomore also earned first team all-NEC honors this season after garnering second team all conference honors as a freshman.
Hiering anchors a Monmouth defense which ranks third in Division I in caused turnovers per game (12.75). Individually, the senior leads the league and ranks second in the NCAA in in caused turnovers (41). Hiering has also contributed offensively, netting five goals and dishing out five assists, while leading the Hawks with 41 draw controls. Hiering also earned first team all-NEC honors as a midfielder.
One of Monmouth’s most highly touted recruits this season, Nutter more than lived up to her advance billing. A five-time Rookie of the Week honoree, Nutter has contributed 37 points (28 goals, 9 assists) to a Monmouth offense which leads the NEC in goals scored (217).
NEC regular season co-champion Monmouth had a league-high five players earn first team all-conference accolades. Joining Degen and Hiering are junior forward Jeanette Stott (Upper Darby, PA/Upper Darby), sophomore forward Carolyn Raveia (Fairfax, VA/W.T. Woodson) and senior defender Krislyn McMahon (Lynbrook, NY/Lynbrook). Stott and Raveia pace a Monmouth offense which ranks second in Division I in goals scored (217) and sixth in scoring offense, averaging 13.56 goals per game. Stott is tied for the league lead in scoring (67 points, 38 goals, 29 assists) and ranks first in the NEC in assists, while Raveia leads the Hawks and ranks third in the conference in goals scored (43). McMahon has been a consistent force for the Hawks throughout the season, scooping up 27 ground balls and tallying 15 draw controls in addition to netting one goal and dishing out two assists from the backline.
Mount St. Mary’s, which shared the regular season NEC title with Monmouth, placed four players on the first team, including sophomore midfielder Katie Mason (Ellicott City, MD/Mt. Hebron), senior midfielder Erin LaMotte (Hampstead, MD/North Carroll), junior defender Jen Davison (Riva, MD/South River) and graduate student goalkeeper Naomi Campano Radio (Schnecksville, PA/Allentown Central Catholic). Mason, a two time all-NEC selection, tallied 25 points this season (19 goals, 6 assists) and is among the team leaders in ground balls (29), while LaMotte ranks second on the squad in draw controls (25), goals (28), ground balls (38) and caused turnovers (24). Davison leads the Mount in draw controls (31) and is tied with LaMotte for second in caused turnovers (24). Campano Radio, the 2004 NEC Player of the Year and first team CoSIDA Academic All-American, has had another outstanding season in net for the Mountaineers, earning her second consecutive first team all-NEC tabbing and the third overall all conference honor. The graduate student leads the NEC in goals against average (7.67) and save percentage (.572), ranking third in Division I in save percentage.
Wagner forward Leann Matta (Bel Air, MD/Bel Air), Sacred Heart midfielder JoAnn Montesarchio (Cortlandt Manor, NY/Walter Panas) and Quinnipiac defender Vanessa Miranda (Bay Shore, NY/Bay Shore) round out the first team squad. Matta is tied with Stott for the league lead in scoring (67 points, 47 goals, 20 assists). Matta is also the NEC’s top goal scorer and ranks third in the league in assists. Montesarchio earns first team accolades after being named to the second team each of the last two seasons. She led Sacred Heart in points (51 points, 38 goals, 13 assists), goals, assists, ground balls (38) and caused turnovers (24). The senior midfielder ranks among the league leaders in points, goals, assists and game winning goals (3). Miranda, a junior, jumps to the first team after garnering second team honors in 2004. She leads the Bobcats in caused turnovers (34) while tallying 19 ground balls on the season.
Mount St. Mary’s and Quinnipiac each place three players on the second team squad. The Mount is represented by senior attacker Nicole Di’Angelo (Annapolis, MD/St. Mary’s), sophomore attacker Casey Paris (Longwood, FL/Lake Brantley) and junior defender Kelly Nangle (Glen Burnie, MD/Glen Burnie). Di’Angelo (43 points, 24 goals, 19 assists) and Paris (49 points, 37 goals, 12 assists) leads the Mount in scoring, while Nangle, a three time all-NEC selection, is among the team leaders in ground balls (29), draw controls (17) and caused turnovers (16). Junior midfielder Danielle Mormile (Oceanside, NY/Oceanside), senior midfielder Christy Smallman (Boxford, MA/Masconomet) and sophomore defender Sophia Pantelides (Annapolis, MD/Annapolis) represented the Bobcats on the second team. Mormile leads Quinnipiac in goals (29), ground balls (51) and draw controls (29), while Smallman paces the squad in scoring (49 points, 26 goals, 23 assists) and assists, while ranking second in ground balls (50). Smallman also ranks second in the NEC in assists and fourth in ground balls, while Mormile is third in the conference in ground balls. Pantelides has tallied 28 ground balls and 21 caused turnovers for the Bobcats.
Long Island is represented on the second team by sophomore attacker Amy Rizzo (Jackson, NJ/Jackson Memorial) and senior goalkeeper Trish Parker (Long Branch, NJ/Brookdale CC), while Wagner places junior midfielder Darby Biggart (Crownsville, MD/Archbishop Spalding) and junior defender Nicole Cipollone (Swathmore, PA/Ridley) on the squad. Rizzo, a 2004 first team all-NEC selection, leads the conference in point per game (4.36ppg) and goals per game (3.21gpg). She collected eight points in a game on three occasions and seven goals in a contest once in 2005, while Parker posted a 11.25 goals against average and a .481 save percentage on the season. Biggart paces the NEC in draw controls (43) and is among the Seahawk leaders in scoring (35 points, 30 goals, 5 assists) and goals, while Cipollone leads the conference in ground balls (55) and ranks among the league’s best in caused turnovers (28). Sacred Heart’s Brianna Bubeck (Bethlehem, PA/Bethlehem Central) and Monmouth’s Kaitlyn Robinson (Huntington Station, NY/St. Anthony’s) round out the second team. Bubeck, a sophomore midfielder, is in the top ten in the league in both points (43 points, 33 goals, 10 assists) and goals, while junior midfielder Robinson, a 2004 first team honoree, is among the Hawks’ leaders in ground balls (32), draw controls (26) and caused turnovers (17), while also contributing 16 points (12 goals, 4 assists) to Monmouth’s scoring efforts.