PDF of All-NEC Teams

Somerset, NJ – Bryant Midfielder Lisa Vendel (Sandy Hook, CT/Newtown) was selected the 2014 Northeast Conference (NEC) Women’s Lacrosse Player of the Year in a vote by league head coaches. Wagner midfielder Shea Gegan (Manasquan, NJ/Manasquan) collected NEC Defensive Player of the Year honors while Central Connecticut junior Morgan Tullar (Randolph Center, VT/ Chelsea) earned the NEC Goal Keeper of the Year award. LIU Brooklyn freshman attacker Jenn Peters (Slate Hill, NY/Minisink Valley) was chosen as the NEC Rookie of the Year, becoming the first two-sport Rookie of the Year in NEC history. Jill DePetris-Batchellar was voted NEC Coach of the Year by her peers.
 
The Bulldogs went a perfect 9-0 in conference action to claim the 2014 regular season title. Vendel emerged as a prolific offensive performer this season. On a team stacked with fire power, the 2013 all-tournament team selection led the Bulldogs with 42 goals, including 3 game-winners. Vendel is the NEC’s leading free-position producer with 13 goals this season. The Sandy Hook, CT native, who scored three goals in all but one conference outing, erupted for five markers on three different occasions this season, including a season high six points against Saint Francis U. A well-rounded performer, Vendel leads Bryant in ground balls (43), ranks second in draw controls (38), and second in caused turnovers (17). With 50 points on the year, Vendel goes in to the tournament with a career total of 151 points, which includes 126 goals. Vendel is the first Bryant athlete to win Women’s Lacrosse Player of the Year honors.
 
Gegan, the current Division I caused turnover (CT) leader, averaged 3.81 CT per game. Gegan, who hails from Manasquan, NJ is the focal point of a Wagner defense that limited conference opponents to just under eight points per game, the second-best mark in the league. The Seahawks also hold the nation’s best 13.94 CT per contest. Gegan ranks first in the NEC in ground balls (58), third in assists per game (1.12) and eighth in points per game (2.88). Gegan is the first Seahawk to receive NEC Defensive Player of the Year honors.
 
Tullar had a stellar season between the pipes for the Blue Devils who clinched their second play-off berth in program history. Tullar stopped 47.7 percent of the shots she faced against NEC opponents to rank second in the conference. The Randolph Center, VT native led the circuit in saves (10.43) and ranked 10^th in Division I with 144 saves this season. The junior showcased her skills in league play holding three NEC opponents to single digit scoring out puts, two of which resulted in victories for the Blue Devils
 
LIU Brooklyn and first year head coach has built a strong foundation for future success with a freshman contingent led by Peters, who led the Blackbirds with 53 points on 38 goals and a team-best 15 assists. Peters topped all NEC freshman in scoring, recorded seven hat tricks on the year and her 2.38 goals per game ranked sixth in the conference. Peters is the only freshman to be voted to an All-NEC team, earning second team recognition.
 
Now in her second year, DePetris-Batcheller and the Bulldogs enjoyed a perfect 2014 conference campaign after a runner-up finish at the 2013 NEC Tournament. Bryant became the 11^th team in NEC history to finish the regular season with a perfect record and over the last four years are 25-9 against NEC competition.
 
The Bulldogs landed three athletes on the First Team. Along with Vendel’s Player of the Year accolade, attackers Haley Bloom (Hauppage, NY/St. Anthony’s) and Lauren Descalzo (Hauupage, NY/Hauppauge) both earned first team accolades. Bloom moves up to the first team after two second team accolades in 2011 and 2013. The former Rookie of the Year (2011) pitched in 32 goals and 20 assists during the regular season and ranks third on the Bulldogs with 16 ground balls. A two-time NEC Player of the Week, Bloom amassed 172 points over her four-year career. Descalzo rose as a leading underclassmen for the Bulldogs anchoring one of the league’s most productive offense. Descalzo averaged 2.56 goals per game, and ranked second on the team with 41 goals.
 
Central Connecticut also landed three players on the first team. Joining Tullar, senior midfielder Amanda Toke (High Bridge, NJ/Voorhees) has been dominant in the draw circle all season for the Blue Devils and ranks fourth in the conference with 2.88 per game. Toke leads the team with 37 goals and 11 assists and is currently tied for the NEC second-best three game-winning goals. Sophomore defender Madison Hughes (Oak Bluffs, MA/Martha’s Vineyard Regional) recorded a team-high 37 ground balls to rank fifth in the NEC. Hughes also ranks second on Blue Devils with 19 caused turnovers. 
 
Senior Caitlin Daly (Ridgewood, NJ/Ridgewood) joins Gegan as the two Wagner representatives on the first team. Daly is second in the NEC with 28 caused turnovers and ranks second for the Seahawks with 32 ground balls.
 
Mount St. Mary’s senior Gabe Little (Hampstead, MD/North Carroll) led defense with 23 caused turnovers and 34 ground balls. Little is a returning 2013 All-NEC First team and 2012 second team honoree.
 
Jessica Karwacki (Sparks, MD/Hereford) is a first time All-NEC honoree as a sophomore after making an appearance on the 2013 All-Rookie squad. Karwacki averages 12.5 draw controls per game to lead the nation by nearly four controls. The Maryland native ranks in the top five major categories for the Colonials, third in goals (22), points (28), first in ground balls (34) caused turnovers (47) and draw controls (200).
 
Shelby Vaccaro (Brightwaters, NY/Bay Shore) led the Sacred Heart offense with 55 points (42 G, 13 A). The senior attacker is a two-time NEC honoree and led the conference with 3.00 goals per game. Vaccaro had a league-high eight hat tricks including three against conference opponents.
 
Saint Francis U is represented on the first team by graduate student Danielle Conwell (Roxbury, NJ/Roxbury). Conwell recorded a league-best 24 assists and 3.94 points per game. Conwell’s numbers rank her 31^st and 38^th in the nation respectively.
 
Bryant adds two second team honorees two make it five All-NEC recipients in total. Midfielder Kim Sniffen (Redding CT/Joel Barlow), a two-time All-NEC selection, falls fifth in the league with 1.5 caused turnovers per game. Sniffen scored 14 goals against league opponents and scored at least two goals in five-of-the-seven NEC contests. Goalkeeper Brianna Watt (Babylon, NY/Babylon) stopped 44.1 percent of the shots she faced on the year, ranking her second in the NEC. Watt was one of only two Goalies with a single-digit goals against average (8.99) and averaged 7.25 saves per game.
 
Robert Morris added three All-NEC selections for a total of four representatives. Corey Karwacki (Sparks, MD/Hereford), Kristin Yoviene (Easton, MD/Saint Peter and Paul) and Kristi Marks (Apex, NC/Apex) each earned a spot after leading Robert Morris back to the NEC Tournament after a two-year hiatus. High-scoring sophomore attacker, C. Karwacki led the Colonials in goals (31) and points (43). Yovienne added 28 goals to the Colonial offense and led Robert Morris with 14 assists. Marks, a senior defender, picked up a team high 37 ground balls this season ranking fifth in the NEC with 2.31 ground balls per game.
 
Mount St. Mary’s added Lindsey Diaz (Timonium, MD/Dulaney) and Lily O’Beirne (Philadelphia, PA/Gwynedd Mercy Academy) to the second team. Diaz scored a team-high, 20 goals and controlled a team best 40 draws. Senior defender O’Beirne, picked up a team best 34 ground balls and caused 18 turnovers, 15 against NEC opponents.
 
Stephanie Peterson (Vernon, NJ/Vernon Township) and Kimmy Tumolo (Mullica Hill, NJ/Clearview) represents the Wagner offense on the second team. Peterson led her team with 30 goals this season while Tumolo is the Seahawks third-leading goal scorer (26) and ranks fourth in scoring (31). The attackers led a Seahawk offense that averaged a second best 12.86 goals per game in conference action.
 
Central Connecticut midfielder Falynn McCartney (North Kingston, RI/LaSalle Academy) is the eighth leading scorer in the NEC with 34 on the year. McCarntey is also tied for the league lead with 20 goals in NEC action.
 
Rounding out the list of second team honorees is Sacred Heart sophomore defender Alison Braig (Reisterstown, MD/St. Paul’s School for Girls). Braig anchored the Pioneer defense with 28 draw controls and eight controlled turnovers.
 
The six-player All-Rookie team is headed by Peters and features six offensive minded freshmen. Joining Peters is teammate Danita Stroup (Port Coquitlam, British Columbia/Riverside Secondary School). Stroup set the league mark for nine points scored in an individual game versus Niagara in March. Sacred Heart’s Caitlin Delaney (Cherry Hill, NJ/Cherry Hill East) and Wagner’s Olivia Streilein (Mt. Laurel, NJ/Lenape) were each two-time Rookies of the Week this season. Mount St. Mary’s midfielder Sammie Knapp (Baltimore, MD/Loch Raven) and Central Connecticut defender Courtney McPartland (North Massapequa, NY/Farmingdale) round out the six person team.