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Somerset, NJ -- Sacred Heart senior attacker Carissa Hauser (East Northport, CT/Commack) was selected as Northeast Conference (NEC) Women’s Lacrosse Player of the Year in a vote by league head coaches. Quinnipiac junior defender Kaitlyn Kelly (North Massapequa, NY/Plainedge) earned NEC Defensive Player of the Year accolades and Sacred Heart senior Chelsea Wagner (Aurora, CO/Smoky Hill) claimed the inaugural NEC Goalkeeper of the Year award. Central Connecticut State freshman attacker Betsy Vendel (Sandy Hook, CT/Newtown) was the recipient of the NEC Rookie of the Year honor and Sacred Heart’s Laura Cook was voted NEC Coach of the Year by her peers for the second straight season.
On the eve of the NEC Women’s Lacrosse Tournament, the awards were announced at a banquet held on the campus of tourney host Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, CT. In Friday’s semifinals, top-seeded Sacred Heart takes on #4 seed Mount St. Mary’s at 12:00 pm, followed by #2 seed Quinnipiac meeting #3 seed Monmouth at 2:30 pm. The championship game is slated for Sunday, April 25 at 1:00 pm. The winner of the NEC championship will claim the league’s automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament and take on the Patriot League champion in a play-in game on a date to be determined.
Hauser becomes the second straight Sacred Heart player to collect NEC Player of the Year honors, joining former teammate Amanda Williams. A prolific scorer, Hauser is the leading point producer in the conference with 70 points and 4.67 ppg. She also enters the postseason ranked second in the NEC in assists (2.0 apg) and draw controls (3.53 per game) and sixth in goals (2.67 gpg). The senior attacker, who won a league-leading three NEC Player of the Week awards this spring, has also tallied 13 free position goals. In a nod to her consistency, Hauser has scored at least two points in each game this season and has recorded six or more points on seven occasions. On the national scene, the East Northport, NY native ranks eighth in points and 11th in points per game. Over the course of her career, Hauser has amassed 131 goals and 80 assists, and has shined in the postseason for the two-time defending NEC champion Pioneers with 12 goals and four assists in five NEC Tournament games. She closes her career as a three-time NEC all-star.
Kelly is the cornerstone of a stingy Quinnipiac defense that limited league foes to just 7.67 goals per game this season en-route to an 8-1 NEC record. She currently leads the Bobcats with 24 caused turnovers, 37 ground balls and 39 draw controls. Kelly also ranks fourth on the circuit with 1.60 caused turnovers per outing. The North Massapequa, NY product was named NEC Defensive Player of the Week twice this past season. She joins Hannah Nelson (2008) and Vanessa Miranda (2006) as Quinnipiac players who have been awarded NEC Defensive Player of the Year honors.
Wagner walks away with the inaugural NEC Goalkeeper of the Year award and is now a two-time first team All-NEC performer. Wagner put up some terrific numbers between the pipes for Sacred Heart, stopping 58.5 percent of the shots she faced to lead all Division I keepers by a wide margin. She also leads the conference and sits eighth nationally in goals against average (7.96), while pacing the Pioneers with 37 ground balls on the year. Wagner allowed eight or less goals in each of her last ten outings, all of which resulted in wins for the Pioneers. Hailing from Aurora, CO, the senior picked up three NEC Defensive Player of the Week honors this season and has been honored six time over the course of her career.
Vendel is the first player in Central Connecticut State history to collect a major postseason award. The Sandy Hook, CT native is set to close out a landmark season for the Blue Devils, having recorded 55 points, a CCSU single-season freshman record. With one game to play, Vendel needs seven points to match Tracey Uellendahl all-time record of 62, set in 2003. She leads all NEC freshman with 30 goals, 25 assists and 55 points, and ranks third in the conference in assists per game (1.79) and points per game (3.93). Similarly, Vendel is the CCSU leader with 34 draw controls and ranks second on the club with 28 ground balls. She won a league-best four NEC Rookie of the Week awards during the regular season and has also earned a spot on the NEC All-Rookie team.
Wrapping up her eleventh year, Cook methodically built the Pioneer program during the early part of the decade and now has the opportunity to bring a third straight NEC title back to Fairfield. Sacred Heart finished 9-0 against conference opposition in 2010 and win its first outright regular season championship after sharing the crown in 2008 and 2009. The Pioneers have posted an astounding 23-2 record against league rivals the last three years. Under Cook’s direction, Sacred Heart has won ten straight games entering the playoffs. Cook is now a three-time NEC Coach of the Year, having won the award in 2006 and 2009.
In addition to Hauser and Wagner, Sacred Heart sophomore midfielder Katie Kmiotek (Farmingville, NY/Sachem East) also earned first team All-NEC plaudits following a second team selection in her freshman season. A terrific all-around performer, Kmiotek leads the Pioneers with 43 goals and 23 caused turnovers, and ranks second with 51 points, 44 draw controls and 35 ground balls. On the league leaderboard, Kmiotek is fifth in goals (2.69 gpg) and draw controls (2.75/game), and ninth in scoring (3.19 ppg).
Coming off a terrific regular season, Quinnipiac landed four players on the first team, including Kelly, the NEC Defensive Player of the Year. Senior attacker Katie Latonick (Severna Park, MD/Archbishop Spalding) emerged as the leading distributor in the nation this season with 40 assists and 2.67 assists per game. By adding 22 goals, Latonick now ranks second in the conference with 4.13 ppg. Following a promising freshman campaign, sophomore midfielder Devon Gibney (Hopkinton, MA/Hopkinton) ranked second on the Bobcats during the regular season with 38 goals and 48 points. She is the league leader with 16 free position goals, and also ranks in the NEC top-five in goals per game (second, 2.92) and points per game (3.69). Junior midfielder Lauren Matuszczak (East Longmeadow, MA/East Longmeadow) was yet another contributor to the NEC’s top-ranked offensive unit with 25 goals and 15 assists on the year. She ranks second on the Bobcats with 29 ground balls, and is third in goals, assists, draw controls (32) and caused turnovers (16).
Mount St. Mary’s placed a total of three players onto the first team, one at each position. Junior defender Aly Jost (Abingdon, MD/Bel Air), who won 2009 NEC Defensive Player of the Year honors, garnered a second straight first team selection. The backline leader of a team that owned the NEC’s second-lowest goals-against average (9.48), Jost accounted for 33 ground balls and 23 caused turnovers in 16 starts. Senior midfielder Jackie Kearney (Baltimore, MD/Seton Keough) was also a key contributor to a defense that led the Mount to its eight consecutive NEC Tournament appearance. Her 1.88 caused turnovers per game ranked second in the NEC, while her 2.75 ground balls per contest were fifth. The multidimensional Kearney was a threat in the offensive end as well, tallying 15 goals and seven assists. No NEC player rattled the cage more than senior Ashley Johnson (Arvada, CO/Arvada West). The shortest member of the All-NEC First Team played much bigger than her 5’1" height on the way to a league-high 49 goals in 16 games. Factoring in her 10 assists, Johnson ranked third amongst NEC leaders in points (59).
Monmouth midfielder Shawn Evans (Moorestown, NJ/Moorestown) and Bryant defender Nicole Rettinger (Dix Hills, NY/Half Hallows West), a pair of first time honorees, round out the All-NEC First Team.. Evans’ 35 goals tied her for the team lead while her 954 minutes played were the most of any Hawk. The senior middie caused 17 turnovers and controlled 39 ground balls in 17 games. The lone freshman to receive all-NEC honors, Rettinger quickly established herself as one of the conference’s top defenders. Helping the Bulldogs win three games during their inaugural NEC season, Rettinger caused a league-high 2.06 turnovers per contest.
Monmouth’s four all-NEC second team selections are key reasons why the Hawks will be contesting their NEC Tournament for an unprecedented 13th consecutive season. Senior attacker Ali Pollock (Watervliet, NY/Shaker) makes her third consecutive appearance on the second team. The New York State native tied Evans for the team lead in goals (35) and tallied more points (48) than any other Hawk. Senior Megan Brennan (King of Prussia, PA/Archbishop Carroll) and junior Carissa Franzi (Fairfield, NJ/West Essex) started all 17 games in the midfield. The latter accounted for a team-best 24 caused turnovers and 42 ground balls. Both threats to score, Brennan (27) and Franzi (17) combined for 44 of Monmouth’s 175 goals. Junior Allison Geoghan (Highland, MD/River Hill) is Monmouth’s lone all-conference defender. On the field for a team-high 996 minutes, the third-year Hawk totaled 15 ground balls and 11 caused turnovers in 17 starts.
Like Monmouth, Robert Morris is home to one-third of the all-NEC second team honorees. Attackers Alana Beck (Carle Place, NY/Old Dominion) and Ashley Trombetta (Sykesville, MD/Century) managed to score at least one point in each of the Colonials’ 15 games. Beck, who closed out her collegiate career by scoring a RMU single-game record seven goals in a road win over Central Connecticut State, tied for second amongst league leaders in goals (43) and her 3.67 points per outing ranked sixth. Trombetta, a junior, found the back of the net 28 times and accounted for a team-high 19 assists (5th in NEC). Senior midfielder Ali Gibbons (Candia, NH/Manchester) enjoyed a career year that yielded 27 goals and 14 assists in 15 starts. She closed the season by tallying back-to-back hat tricks in road wins over Bryant and CCSU. Senior goalkeeper Erica Webb (Arnold, MD/Broadneck) was a four-year starter between the pipes. On the way to her first career all-league selection, Webb stopped no fewer than 10 shots eight times this season.
Two sophomore midfielders and a pair of senior defenders round out the All-NEC Second Team. Midfielder Carolyn Clark (Syracuse, NY/Westhill) was Wagner’s offensive catalyst for a second straight season. Topping the 29 goals she scored as a freshman, Clark tallied 36 in 15 games to account for the NEC’s eighth-best goals per game average (2.40). Mount St. Mary’s middie Esther Rufolo (Woodstock, MD/Chapelgate Christian) saw both her playing time and production skyrocket as a sophomore. Starting all 16 games, she scored 24 goals and won the fourth-most draw controls (46) in the NEC. Defenders Nicole Gerosa (Branford, CT/Merrimack) and Brittany Hauser (East Northport, NY/Commack) stand on opposite sides of the NEC’s Merritt Parkway rivalry, both playing for teams that surrendered fewer than 10 goals per game this season. Gerosa anchored a Sacred Heart back line that allowed a league-low 53 goals in nine NEC games. Hauser, whose sister Brittany is Gerosa’s teammate at Sacred Heart, caused 19 turnovers for Quinnipiac, which totaled a NEC-best 105 takeaways during conference play.
Eight different NEC programs landed a representative on the league’s inaugural All-Rookie Team.. Cross-state rivals Central Connecticut and Quinnipiac were the lone two teams with double representation. Freshman attackers Mackenzy Ryan (Carmel, NY/Mahopac) and the aforementioned Vendel were driving forces behind CCSU’s landmark season. Helping the Blue Devils set the program’s single-season record for wins (5) and goals (164), Vendel (30) and Ryan (25) rattled the cage a combined 55 times. Midfielder Chelsea Guerrera (Wantagh, NY/Wantagh) and attacker Sarah Allen (Glastonbury, CT/Glastonbury) made immediate contributions to a Quinnipiac offense that averaged a league-high 13.53 goals per contest. Guerrera (23) and Allen (22) combined for 45 points as the Bobcats 314 total points ranked fourth in NCAA Division I.
Bryant’s first team all-NEC selection Nicole Rettinger and Monmouth freshman Gianna D’Urso (Fairfield, NJ/West Essex) are the lone two defenders to receive all-rookie honors. The latter played in all 17 of the Hawks’ games, totaling 23 ground balls and 16 caused turnovers.
Mount St. Mary’s attacker Jordan Certeza (Baltimore, MD/Baltimore Lutheran) was second only to Vendel amongst the NEC’s rookie scorers. Her 20 goals tied for third on the team and her 23 assists ranked fourth overall in the conference. Wagner’s Annie O’Connor (Syracuse, NY/Westhill) earned 13 starts and scored 16 goals in her first collegiate campaign. The final two members of the NEC All-Rookie Team, both midfielders, hail from the league’s western Pennsylvania contingent. Saint Francis (PA) freshman Danielle Conwell (Succasunna, NJ/Roxbury) scored 29 goals in 15 games, all starts. Less of an attack-minded middie, Robert Morris’ Tara Southworth (Westminster, MD/Westminster) totaled 11 points, 24 ground balls, and 12 caused turnovers in 15 games.
2010 Northeast Conference Women’s Lacrosse Award Winners
Player of the Year
Carissa Hauser Sacred Heart A 5-4 Sr East Northport, NY/Commack
Defensive Player of the Year
Kaitlyn Kelly Quinnipiac D 5-9 Jr North Massapequa, NY/Plainedge
Goalkeeper of the Year
Chelsea Wagner Sacred Heart GK 5-10 Sr Aurora, CO/Smoky Hill
Rookie of the Year
Betsy Vendel CCSU A 5-7 Fr Sandy Hook, CT/Newtown
Coach of the Year
Laura Cook Sacred Heart
2010 Northeast Conference Women’s Lacrosse First Team All-Conference
Name School Pos. Ht. Yr Hometown/High School
Ashley Johnson Mount St. Mary’s A 5-1 Sr Arvada, CO/Arvada West
Katie Latonick Quinnipiac A 5-9 Sr Severna Park, MD/Archbishop Spalding
Carissa Hauser Sacred Heart A 5-4 Sr East Northport, NY/Commack
Shawn Evans Monmouth MF 5-4 Sr Moorestown, NJ/Moorestown
Devon Gibney Quinnipiac MF 5-5 So Hopkinton, MA/Hopkinton
Jackie Kearney Mount St. Mary’s MF 5-5 Sr Baltimore, MD/Seton Keough
Katie Kmiotek Sacred Heart MF 5-7 So Farmingville, NY/Sachem East
Lauren Matuszczak Quinnipiac MF 5-2 Jr East Longmeadow, MA/East Longmeadow
Aly Jost Mount St. Mary’s D 5-3 Jr Abingdon, MD/Bel Air
Kaitlyn Kelly Quinnipiac D 5-9 Jr North Massapequa, NY/Plainedge
Nicole Rettinger Bryant D 5-6 Fr Dix Hills, NY/Half Hallow Hills West
Chelsea Wagner Sacred Heart GK 5-10 Sr Aurora, CO/Smoky Hill
2010 Northeast Conference Women’s Lacrosse Second Team All-Conference
Name School Pos. Ht. Yr Hometown/High School
Alana Beck Robert Morris A 5-6 Sr Carle Place, NY/Old Dominion
Ali Pollock Monmouth A 5-6 Sr Watervliet, NY/Shaker
Ashley Trombetta Robert Morris A 5-8 Jr Sykesville, MD/Century
Megan Brennan Monmouth MF 5-8 Sr King of Prussia, PA/Archbishop Caroll
Carissa Franzi Monmouth MF 5-4 Jr Fairfield, NJ/West Essex
Ali Gibbons Robert Morris MF 5-3 Sr Candia, NH/Manchester
Esther Rufolo Mount St. Mary’s MF 5-5 So Woodstock, MD/Chapelgate Christian Academy
Carolyn Clark Wagner MF 5-6 So Syracuse, NY/Westhill
Allison Geoghan Monmouth D 5-6 Jr Highland, MD/River Hill
Nicole Gerosa Sacred Heart D 5-5 Sr Branford, CT/Merrimack
Brittany Hauser Quinnipiac D 5-6 Sr East Northport, NY/Commack
Erica Webb Robert Morris GK 5-4 Sr Arnold, MD/Broadneck
2010 Northeast Conference Women’s Lacrosse All-Rookie Team
Name School Pos. Ht. Yr Hometown/High School
Sarah Allen Quinnipiac A 5-6 Fr Glastonbury, CT/Glastonbury
Jordan Certeza Mount St. Mary’s A 5-8 Fr Baltimore, MD/Baltimore Lutheran
Danielle Conwell Saint Francis (PA) MF 5-6 Fr Succasunna, NJ/Roxbury
Gianna D’Urso Monmouth D 5-7 Fr Fairfield, NJ/West Essex
Chelsea Guerrera Quinnipiac MF 5-8 Fr Wantagh, NY/Wantagh
Annie O’Connor Wagner A/MF 5-10 Fr Syracuse, NY/Westhill
Nicole Rettinger Bryant D 5-6 Fr Dix Hills, NY/Half Hallow Hills West
Mackenzy Ryan CCSU A 5-4 Fr Carmel, NY/Mahopac
Tara Southworth Robert Morris MF 5-5 Fr Westminster, MD/Westminster High
Betsy Vendel CCSU A 5-7 Fr Sandy Hook, CT/Newtown