NEC Co-Player of the Week: Francesca Tortora, Le Moyne
NEC Co-Player of the Week: Grace Murphy, Stonehill
NEC Defensive Player of the Week: Cecilia Vitti, Howard
NEC Rookie of the Week: Sophia Lima, Howard

Previous NEC Releases: March 30 | March 23 | March 16 | March 9 | March 2 | February 23 | February 16 | Preseason Poll Release

NEC WOMEN’S LACROSSE CO-PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Francesca Tortora, Le Moyne
Attack, Graduate Student, Syracuse, NY/Cicero-North Syracuse (Stony Brook)
Tortora provided the heroics once again in double overtime at New Haven on Saturday to help Le Moyne keep its perfect record in league play intact. After the Dolphins and Chargers withstood one scoreless overtime period, the Syracuse, NY native ended the 11-11 deadlock by delivering the golden goal with 1:28 remaining in the second extra session. It marked the second time in as many outings that the graduate attacker propelled her team to victory, as she previously netted the game-winning tally with 3:47 left in overtime against Wagner on Feb. 28. On the afternoon, Tortora finished with three goals, two assists and a pair of ground balls. She leads the Dolphins with 14 assists while her 24 goals and 38 total points are good for second on the squad. With her second-straight NEC Player of the Week honor, Tortora joins teammate Olivia Lockwood with three awards, a mark that leads the entire league.
 
Grace Murphy, Stonehill
Attack, Senior, Kearsarge, NH/Holderness School
Striking early and often, Murphy enjoyed an efficient outing against FDU in a battle between two second-place squads on Saturday to earn her first NEC Player of the Week nod of the season. The senior attack converted on six of her eight shot attempts to match teammate Natalie Coutu’s game-high point total of six. Murphy, who struck twice in the first half, went off after halftime by contributing four scores to a commanding Skyhawks’ 8-2 run that extended a 9-8 advantage to 17-10, the eventual final. The New Hampshire native leads the NEC in both goals (41) and goals per game (3.15), while her 3.77 points per contest are good for third in the circuit. In addition, Murphy has five hat tricks this season and in her past two outings, she is averaging 6.5 scores per contest. With its fourth-straight win, Stonehill, which improved to 4-1 in the NEC standings, is engaged in a three-way tie for second place with LIU and Wagner. 

NEC WOMEN’S LACROSSE DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Cecilia Vitti, Howard
Midfield, Junior, Detroit, MI/Divine Child
Vitti caused a season-best three turnovers and added three ground balls to help lead Howard to its second NEC triumph of the season, a 9-8 overtime win against Central Connecticut on Saturday. In the past three games, the junior midfielder has combined for four caused turnovers for the Bison, who have limited opponents to just 6.7 goals per game during that 2-1 stretch. Vitti is the first Howard player to win the NEC Defensive Player of the Week award in 2026.

NEC WOMEN’S LACROSSE CO-ROOKIES OF THE WEEK
Sophia Lima, Howard 
Midfield, Freshman, Altadena, CA/Crescenta Valley
Lima, a first-year midfielder, poured in a career-high four goals on Saturday to lead Howard past Central Connecticut in overtime by a 10-9 final. Contributing back-to-back scores within a 19-second stretch in the second quarter to pull the Bison out of a 3-2 deficit, the California native delivered two more pivotal goals in consecutive fashion in the final quarter to help seal the victory. With her team trailing by an 8-7 count, Lima tied up the contest with 9:36 left before she put Howard up by one just 46 seconds later. Central Connecticut would send the contest into overtime with 17 seconds remaining, but teammate Leah Croom saved the day by delivering the game-winner 1:35 into overtime. With hat tricks in three of her last four contests, Lima is third on the team with 15 goals while her 21 points are good for second-most on the squad. She is the first Bison this season to take home NEC Rookie of the Week honors.
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NEC PRIME PERFORMERS

Sophia Lima, HU (MF, Fr)

• NEC Rookie of the Week
• Netted a game-high four goals in Howard’s overtime win at Central Connecticut on Saturday (April 4)

 
Cecilia Vitti, HU (MF, Jr)

• NEC Defensive Player of the Week
• Caused a career-best three turnovers to lead Howard to a 9-8 overtime win against Central Connecticut (April 4)
• Added three ground balls

 
Olivia Lockwood, LEM (A, R-Jr)

• Struck four times and recorded one caused turnover to help Le Moyne remain undefeated in NEC play with a 12-11 double-overtime win over New Haven (April 4)

 
Francesca Tortora, LEM (A, Gr)

• NEC Co-Player of the Week
• Tallied five points on three goals and two assists to lead Le Moyne to a double-overtime 12-11 win at New Haven on Saturday (April 4)
• Netted the game-winning goal with 1:28 left in the second overtime period
• Added a pair of ground balls

 
Julia Trainor, LIU (MF, Sr)

• Struck a career-best five times to lead LIU past Delaware State by a 15-3 final on Saturday (April 4)
• Won three draw controls while adding two ground balls and one caused turnover

 
Emma Cimino, MU (A, Sr)

• Led all players with five goals in Saturday’s defeat to Wagner (April 4)

 
Whitley Easton, MU (A, Sr)

• Scored four goals and added a pair of assists to lead all scorers with six points against Wagner on Saturday (April 4)
• Her final goal was the 150th of her career
• Added two caused turnovers

 
Helena Dunwoody, NHVN (A, Jr)

• Found the back of the net a career-high six times in New Haven’s hard-fought, double-overtime defeat to Le Moyne on Saturday (April 4)
• Added three draw controls and caused one turnover

 
Natalie Coutu, STO (A, Sr)

• Tied teammate Grace Murphy with a game- and career-high six goals in Stonehill’s 17-10 win over FDU on Saturday (April 4)
• Contributed three scores to a commanding 9-2 Skyhawks’ run in the second half

 
Grace Murphy, STO (A, Sr)

• NEC Co-Player of the Week
• Scored on six of eight shot attempts against FDU to push her NEC-leading point total to 41 (April 4)
• Four of her game-best six scores came in the second half, a stretch that saw the Skyhawks extend a 9-8 advantage to 17-10, the eventual final

 
Amelia Logan, WAG (A, Jr)

• Tallied five points on four goals and an assist in Wagner’s 18-11 win over Mercyhurst on Saturday (April 4)

 
Kristina Pisano, WAG (MF, Sr)

• Matched a team-high in goals with four in the Seahawks’ victory against Mercyhurst on Saturday (April 4)

 

2026 NEC WOMEN'S LACROSSE WEEKLY AWARD WINNERS:

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Feb. 16: Olivia Lockwood (Le Moyne)
Feb. 23: Summer Castiglione (New Haven)
March 2: Olivia Lockwood (Le Moyne)
March 9: Brielle McInaw (FDU) & Olivia Lockwood (Le Moyne)
March 16: Francesca Tortora (Le Moyne)
March 23: Whitley Easton (Mercyhurst)
March 30: Francesca Tortora (Le Moyne)
April 6: Francesca Tortora (Le Moyne) & Grace Murphy (Stonehill)
April 13: 

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Feb. 16: Carrie Bennett (Le Moyne)
Feb. 23: Nina Tremonte (Stonehill)
March 2: Abigail McDonald (FDU)
March 9: Brielle McInaw (FDU)
March 16: Sydney Mulroony (Wagner)
March 23: Sydney Mulroony (Wagner)
March 30: Skylar Goodman (FDU)
April 6: Cecilia Vitti (Howard)
April 13: 

ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Feb. 16: Amaya Monacelli (Central Connecticut)
Feb. 23: Sophia Gouveia (Stonehill)
March 2: Sophia Gouveia (Stonehill)
March 9: Sophia Gouveia (Stonehill)
March 16: Mia Layne (FDU)
March 23: Sophia Lima (Howard) & Sophia Gouveia (Stonehill)
March 30: Sophia Gouveia (Stonehill)
April 6: Sophia Lima (Howard)
April 13: