Tinton Falls, NJ – Top seed and NEC Women’s Lacrosse Tournament host Monmouth saw its efforts from posting a 9-0 record in NEC action payoff Thursday evening as the Hawks claimed all five major awards and placed five student-athletes on the all-conference teams.

Junior midfielder Kaleigh Gibbons (Candia, NH/Candia) was named NEC Offensive Player of the Year, while senior defender Gianna D’Urso (Fairfield, NJ/West Essex) earned the title of NEC Defensive Player of the Year. Sophomore goalkeeper Katie Donohoe (Peterborough, Ontario/Holy Cross Catholic Secondary) was tabbed NEC Goalkeeper of the Year, and freshman attacker Marial Pierce (Middleburg, VA/St. John’s Catholic) hoisted the NEC Rookie of the Year plaque. MU head coach Denise Wescott was voted NEC Coach of the Year by her peers for leading the Hawks to the regular season title and the right to host the 2013 NEC Women’s Lacrosse Tournament, set to begin on Friday, Apr. 26, in West Long Branch, NJ.
 
Gibbons recorded 51 points through 16 games played this season. She scored 27 goals, including three game-winners, and handed out 24 assists, a figure that placed her fourth in the league in assists per game (1.50). She also led all Monmouth field players in ground balls (37) and caused the second-most turnovers on the team with 20.
 
D’Urso anchored a Monmouth defense that held opponents to just 8.77 goals per game, including a league-low 5.78 against NEC competition. Playing in all 17 games this season, she provided the team with 36 ground balls and 23 caused turnovers. A reliable commodity in the transition game as well, she also netted a goal and dished out two assists while committing just five turnovers on the season.
 
Donohoe benefitted from D’Urso and the rest of the Monmouth defense’s play, winning a league-leading 11 games. She led the NEC in overall goals against average (8.84) and was especially stingy against league opponents, boasting a 5.93 goals against average with a .540 save percentage. A mobile netminder, she also scooped up a team-high 49 ground balls and caused 14 turnovers.
 
Pierce ranked in the top-4 in scoring on a Monmouth squad that averaged over 10 goals per game this season (10.59) in 2013. Despite missing three games due to injury, she pestered opponents with 25 goals and 27 points, figures that earned her NEC Rookie of the Week twice. She also produced 22 ground balls and was a force in the circle, winning the third-most draw controls on the team (22).
 
In her fourth season at the helm, Wescott guided the Hawks to their first regular-season title under her direction and the program’s 15th appearance in the NEC Tournament. MU went 9-0 against NEC teams this season, marking the first time an NEC team went undefeated in conference play since 2010, and the first time the Hawks did it since 2006.
 
Three of the four Monmouth student-athletes who earned major honors also landed spots on the All-NEC First Team, with Gibbons, D’Urso and Donohoe dotting the roster. It marks the second straight year that Gibbons and D’Urso earned first team honors, while Donohoe moves up from her rookie spot in 2012. Furthermore, D’Urso has now earned All-NEC accolades in four straight seasons.

Quinnipiac’s Sarah Allen (Glastonbury, CT/Glastonbury) highlighted the first team attack after closing out an illustrious career in Hamden, CT. The now two-time All-NEC First Team selection led Quinnipiac and the conference in points with 64 on the strength of 23 goals and a league-leading 41 assists. She averaged the most assists per game in the NEC (2.56) and ranked second in points per game, averaging 4.00 per contest. The reigning NEC Player of the Week, Allen finished her time wearing blue and gold with 195 career points.
 
Central Connecticut attacker Betsy Vendel (Sandy Hook, CT/Newtown) marked her fourth straight 50-plus point season in 2013. The 2010 NEC Rookie of the Year scored 32 goals and dished out 19 assists for 51 points, averaging the seventh-most points per game in the league (3.00). She also led CCSU in draw controls, winning 41 during a season in which CCSU won a program-record nine games and qualified for the NEC Tournament for the first time in school history. It marks the second straight year Vendel earned a spot on the first team and the fourth straight year she has been honored by the NEC.
 
Quinnipiac’s Kyra Ochwat (Farmingdale, NY/Farmingdale) closed out the first team attack after finishing up a 41-goal, 59-point sophomore campaign for the Bobcats. Last year’s NEC Rookie of the Year, she led the league in goals per game (2.93) and points per game (4.21) and ended up in a three-way tie for third in overall points. Additionally, two of her 41 goals proved to be game-winners.

Looking at the midfield, Bryant’s Lisa Vendel (Sandy Hook, CT/Newtown) was an all-around threat as she helped the Bulldogs to the postseason in their first year of eligibility. Showcasing her offensive talents, she was the league’s leader in goals with 42, averaging 2.62 goals per game and accumulating the fourth-most points in the NEC with 50. Away from cage, she nabbed 29 draw controls, 28 ground balls and caused 27 turnovers, good enough for third on the circuit.

Junior Lindsay Diaz (Timonium, MD/Dulaney) proved she could patrol both sides of the field while helping Mount St. Mary’s back to the playoffs for the 11th consecutive year. Moving up from the second team a year ago, she combined for 26 points with 23 goals and three assists. Defensively, she picked up 25 ground balls and caused 16 turnovers. She also controlled the circle with a team-high 36 draw controls.
 
Another balanced player that helped Central Connecticut to new heights this season, Amanda Toke (High Bridge, NJ/Voorhees) finished third on the team in scoring with 26 goals and 33 points and was especially effective on free-position attempts, burying seven of her nine attempts. In the field, she corralled 26 ground balls and won 33 draw controls, in addition to causing 23 turnovers.
 
New to the league, Robert Morris’ Brittany Byerly (Wexford, PA/Pine Richland) had a breakout year as a rookie. She led the team in scoring with 29 goals and 40 points and controlled the field with 31 ground balls and 13 caused turnovers. More importantly, she did all of this while committing just 13 fouls through 16 games. Byerly also landed a spot on the all-rookie squad.
 
On defense, Ali Roche (Centerport, NY/Harborfields) of Central Connecticut and Gabe Little (Hampstead, MD/North Carroll) of Mount St. Mary’s joined D’Urso to complete the unit.

Both players had a knack for grounds balls as they occupied the top-2 spots in the league. Anchoring a Central defense that allowed the second-fewest goals in the league, Roche played and started in all 16 games while contributing a team-high 49 ground balls and causing 35 turnovers. She averaged the second-most ground balls per game in the league at 3.08, while Little, an All-NEC Second Team pick in 2012, set the standard with 3.18 per game through 17 games, ranking first in overall ground balls with 54.

The All-NEC Second Team saw 12 players from seven schools honored, with Bryant and Sacred Heart leading the way with three apiece.

At attack, Bryant’s Haley Bloom (Hauppauge, NY/St. Anthony’s) quarterbacked the Bulldog offense with a team-high 20 assists and 45 points. She placed seventh in the league in assists per game (1.25) and ninth in points per game (2.81). Along side her, Mount St. Mary’s leading scorer Kaitlyn Larrimore (Pylesville, MD/North Harford) buried 25 goals and pocketed 33 points. Sacred Heart’s Shelby Vaccaro (Brightwaters, NY/Bay Shore) completed the team. A pure goal scorer, she netted the fourth-most in the league with 36, averaging a third-place mark of 2.40 goals per game. She also placed third in points per game, averaging 3.80 ppg en route to 57 for the season.

Monmouth’s Allison Stathius (Delran, NJ/Delran) kicked off the second team midfield. The Delran, NJ native ranked second on the team in scoring with 24 goals and 32 points and supplied big numbers in the field as well, recording 29 ground balls, 38 draw controls and 11 caused turnovers. Kimberley Sniffen (Redding, CT/Joel Barlow) of Bryant enters the postseason as the third-ranked goal scorer in the league with 37, averaging 2.31 per game. Overall, she totaled 44 points after dishing out seven assists and placed 10th overall in points per game, recording 2.75 per game through 16 contests. Sacred Heart’s Kelsey Russo (Lindenhurst, NY/Lindenhurst) started in 14 of 15 games played for the Pioneers, scoring 30 goals and totaling 35 points. She also posted a solid stat line in the field with 21 ground balls, 27 draw controls and 17 caused turnovers.

Rookie Shea Gegan (Manasquan, NJ/Manasquan) of Wagner was a defensive mastermind on Staten Island. The first-year midfielder led the league in caused turnovers (42), averaging an NEC-best 2.47 caused turnover per game. She placed fourth in ground ball per game (41/2.41 gbpg) and posted 20 points from the offensive end. Additionally, Gegan placed second on the team in draw controls with 31.

Central Connecticut’s Mackenzy Ryan (Carmel, NY/Mahopac) rounded out the second team. The Carmel, NY product ranked second in scoring on a Blue Devil squad that featured five players with 25-plus points, netting 22 goals and 17 assists for 39 points.

Nicole Rettinger (Dix Hills, NY/Half Hollow Hills West) of Bryant, Vicki Kuhn (East Hampstead, NH/Pinkerton) of Quinnipiac and Samantha Villafranca (Wading River, NY/Shoreham Wading River) of Sacred Heart made up the All-NEC Second Team defense. A now three-time All-NEC Second Team pick, Rettinger played and started in all 16 games, recording 27 ground balls and 16 caused turnovers. Starting 16 games as well, Kuhn scored twice and recorded three points with 19 ground balls and five caused turnovers. Villafranca, who makes her second appearance on the All-NEC Second Team, netted one goal and two points in 15 games, adding to an impressive 39 ground balls, 35 draw controls and 24 caused turnovers. Furthermore, she ranked fourth in ground balls per game (2.60) in the league.

Central Connecticut’s Morgan Tullar (Randolph Center, VT/Chelsea) earned the second team goalkeeper spot. The sophomore netminder played every minute of every game and accumulated a program-record nine wins. She led the league in save percentage (.478) and placed second in goals against average (8.89) and third in saves per game (8.18).

Bryant’s Lauren Descalzo (Hauppauge, NY/Hauppauge), Robert Morris’ Jessica Karwacki (Sparks, MD/Hereford) and Central Connecticut’s Elyse Malecki (Hillsborough, NJ/Hillsborough) joined Pierce, Byerly and Gegan on the All-NEC Rookie Team.

A three-time NEC Rookie of the Week, Descalzo had a big year playing attack for the Bulldogs, scoring 33 goals and ranking sixth in the league in goals per game with 2.06. Karwacki was equally impressive for the Colonials. The Sparks, MD native led the league and the country in draw controls, grabbing 152 and averaging 9.50 per game. She also added 16 goals and 26 points through 16 games, all starts.

Malecki placed fourth in scoring on the team with 22 goals and 25 points, also adding 15 ground balls and four caused turnovers.

The 2013 NEC Women’s Lacrosse Tournament kicks off on Friday, Apr. 26 at Kessler Field in West Long Branch, NJ. Top-seeded Monmouth will host the fourth-seeded Mount St. Mary’s Mountaineers at noon. No. 2 Central Connecticut will face third-seeded Bryant at 2:30 pm. The winner of each game will then square off for the championship on Sunday, Apr. 28, at 1:00 pm, with the advancing team earning the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. All three games can be viewed free of charge on NEC Front Row at www.necfrontrow.com. Fans can also follow along via Twitter (@NECwlax).