STONY BROOK, N.Y. - Four teams were represented in the America East women’s lacrosse major awards, which were announced Thursday evening on the campus of Stony Brook University, the site of the 2014 Women’s Lacrosse Championship. Albany sophomore Rachel Bowles and Vermont senior Sydney Mas, both former Rookie of the Year award winners, shared Offensive Player of the Year honors. Stony Brook goalkeeper Frankie Caridi earned the inaugural Defensive Player of the Year award and teammate Dorrien Van Dyke took home Rookie of the Year accolades. Albany head coach John Battaglino was named Coach of the Year for the third time in the last four years. The awards were decided in a vote by the league’s seven head coaches who were not permitted to vote for their own players.
Bowles, who was the 2013 America East Co-Rookie of the Year, leads the conference and ranks 10th in the country with 4.40 points per game to be named Co-Offensive Player of the Year. She is just the third player in America East history to earn a conference major award in back-to-back seasons. The sophomore has scored 43 goals to go with 23 helpers on the year, leading the Great Dane offense to a conference-best 15.07 goals per game average. Her 2.87 goals per game ranks second in the conference and her 1.53 assists per game puts her third, making her the only player to rank in the top-three of both major offensive categories.
Mas enters the America East Championship with a league-best and Vermont program record 59 goals, a total that ranks sixth in the country, to garner Co-Offensive Player of the Year recognition. The senior has scored in 16 of the team’s 17 games with 15 multi-goal performances. She leads the league with a 3.47 goals per game average, helping Vermont’s offense rank second in the conference with a 14.71 goals per game average. Mas is the fourth Catamount in program history to earn a major award and the first to be named both Rookie of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year in her career.
Caridi is the inaugural winner of the Defensive Player of the Year honor, which is bestowed upon the best defensive player in the conference. A Tewaaraton Award seminifalist, the senior goalkeeper enters the America East Championship first in the country in both save percentage (.565) and goals against average (4.77). The East Northport, N.Y., native anchors a defense that boasts the best goals against average in the country at 5.00. Her current goals against average bests her own conference record set last season and she has helped Stony Brook hold 16 of its 17 opponents to single digits and 11 to five goals or fewer.
Van Dyke is the second Stony Brook player to be named Rookie of the Year and the first since Kaitlin Leggio in 2006. The freshman broke Leggio’s program freshman record with a team-best 45 goals on the year. She also has added 15 assists to total 60 points. Van Dyke averages 2.65 goals per game to rank fourth in the conference, while her 3.53 points per game is good for fifth in the league. She tallied a point in 15 of the team’s 17 contests, including five or more points six times.
Battaglino earned his third Coach of the Year award in the last four years after leading Albany to a 13-2 overall record and a 4-1 mark in America East play to earn a share of the conference regular-season crown. He has captained a Great Danes squad to their eighth-straight appearance in the America East Championship and third regular-season title. Under Battaglino, Albany has won 12 or more games in five-straight seasons.
Bowles, Mas and Van Dyke made up three of the four first team all-conference attackers with Vermont senior Jessica Roach rounding out the group. The midifield included Albany seniors Ariana Parker and Allie Phelan along with Stony Brook junior Michelle Rubino and Vermont sophomore Vanessa VanderZalm. The defense including a pair of Great Danes in sophomore Christine Johnson and senior Kathleen Lennon along with Stony Brook sophomore Alyssa Fleming and New Hampshire senior Jamie DePetris. Caridi was a unanimous choice as the first team all-conference goalkeeper.
The second team all-conference attack was made up of a pair of Seawolves in senior Alyssa Cardillo and freshman Courtney Murphy along with a pair of Wildcats in sophomore Laura McHoul and junior Laura Puccia. UMBC put two midfielders on the second team with senior Kristen Bilney and junior Alyssa Semones representing the Retrievers. Binghamton junior Renee Kiviat and Stony Brook freshman Kristin Yevoli rounded out the midfield. Albany senior Meghan Haney, Vermont senior Karli MacKendrick, Stony Brook sophomore Maegan Meritz and New Hampshire senior Cori Rees made up the defense. Albany senior Anna Berman was selected as the second team goalkeeper.
Stony Brook landed four players on the All-Rookie team, headlined by Rookie of the Year, Van Dyke. Joining her were fellow Seawolves Alyssa Guido, Murphy and Yevoli. Albany had a trio of freshman make the list including Sarah Martin, Sierra McIver and Dakotah Savitcheff. Binghamton attacker Bri Arthur and midfielder Callon Williams, Vermont defender Meghan Cobb and New Hampshire midfielder Marissa Gurello capped off the All-Rookie team.
In addition to the all-conference and major award winners, 12 student-athletes earned all-academic honors that included six all-conference selections. New Hampshire had four players voted to the all-academic team including DePetris, Puccia, Rees and Kayleigh Hinkle. Binghamton’s duo of Alex Fisher and Erica Foley were also selected, along with UMBC’s Semones and Hibbs and Stony Brook’s Merina Mestres and Jessica Romano. Vermont’s VanderZalm rounded out the team.
Thirty-three of the 37 all-conference and all-rookie team selections will participate in the 2014 America East Women’s Lacrosse Championship May 2 & 4 at Stony Brook University. No. 1 seed Stony Brook will face No. 4 New Hampshire in the first semifinal on May 2 at 5:00 p.m. followed by No. 2 Albany vs. No. 3 Vermont. The semifinals will be streamed live for free at AmericaEast.com with the title game on ESPN3 Sunday at noon. For all the information on the America East Championship, visit Championship Central at www.AmericaEast.com.
| First Team |
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| Position |
Name |
Cl. |
School |
Hometown/High School/Previous School |
| Attack |
Rachel Bowles |
So. |
Albany |
Cicero, N.Y./Cicero-North Syracuse |
| Attack |
Sydney Mas |
Sr. |
Vermont |
Bedford, N.Y./St. George’s School (RI) |
| Attack |
Jessica Roach |
Jr. |
Vermont |
Scituate, Mass./Notre Dame Academy |
| Attack |
Dorrien Van Dyke |
Fr. |
Stony Brook |
Northport, N.Y./Northport |
| Midfield |
Ariana Parker |
Sr. |
Albany |
Port Ewen, N.Y./Kingston |
| Midfield |
Allie Phelan |
Sr. |
Albany |
Clarksville, N.Y./Bethlehem Central |
| Midfield |
Michelle Rubino |
Jr. |
Stony Brook |
East Setauket, N.Y./Comsewogue |
| Midfield |
Vanessa VanderZalm |
So. |
Vermont |
Pelham, Ontario/Notre Dame College |
| Defense |
Jamie DePetris |
Sr. |
New Hampshire |
Radnor Pa./Archbishop Carroll |
| Defense |
Alyssa Fleming |
So. |
Stony Brook |
Shoreham, N.Y./Shoreham-Wading River |
| Defense |
Christine Johnson |
So. |
Albany |
Reading, Mass./Reading |
| Defense |
Kathleen Lennon |
Sr. |
Albany |
Sea Cliff, N.Y./North Shore |
| Goalkeeper |
Frankie Caridi |
Sr. |
Stony Brook |
East Northport, N.Y./Commack/Adelphi |
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| Second Team |
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| Attack |
Alyssa Cardillo |
Sr. |
Stony Brook |
Farmingdale, N.Y./Farmingdale |
| Attack |
Laura McHoul |
So. |
New Hampshire |
Westwood, Mass./Westwood |
| Attack |
Courtney Murphy |
Fr. |
Stony Brook |
Shirley N.Y./William Floyd |
| Attack |
Laura Puccia |
Jr. |
New Hampshire |
Fairport, N.Y./Fairport |
| Midfield |
Kristen Bilney |
Sr. |
UMBC |
Ellicott City, Md./Mt. Hebron |
| Midfield |
Renee Kiviat |
Jr. |
Binghamton |
Jericho, N.Y./Jericho |
| Midfield |
Alyssa Semones |
Jr. |
UMBC |
Westminster, Md./Westminster/Penn State |
| Midfield |
Kristin Yevoli |
Fr. |
Stony Brook |
Massapequa, N.Y./Massapequa |
| Defense |
Meghan Haney |
Sr. |
Albany |
Baldwinsville, N.Y./C.W. Baker |
| Defense |
Karli MacKendrick |
Sr. |
Vermont |
Whitby, Ontario/Anderson C.V.I. |
| Defense |
Maegan Meritz |
So. |
Stony Brook |
Farmingdale, N.Y./Farmingdale/Florida |
| Defense |
Cori Rees |
Sr. |
New Hampshire |
East Hampstead, N.H./Pinkerton Academy |
| Goalkeeper |
Anna Berman |
Sr. |
Albany |
Garnerville, N.Y./North Rockland, N.Y. |
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| All-Rookie Team (regardless of position) |
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| Attack |
Bri Arthur |
Fr. |
Binghamton |
Watertown, N.Y./Watertown |
| Defense |
Meghan Cobb |
Fr. |
Vermont |
Wilmington, Del./Tower Hill School |
| Attack |
Alyssa Guido |
Fr. |
Stony Brook |
Rocky Point, N.Y./Rocky Point |
| Midfield |
Marissa Gurello |
Fr. |
New Hampshire |
Manorville, N.Y./Eastpot South Manor |
| Attack |
Sarah Martin |
Fr. |
Albany |
Hampden, Mass./Minnechaug |
| Defense |
Sierra McIver |
Fr. |
Albany |
Endicott, N.Y./Union-Endicott |
| Attack |
Courtney Murphy |
Fr. |
Stony Brook |
Shirley N.Y./William Floyd |
| Attack |
Dakotah Savitcheff |
Fr. |
Albany |
Canadaigua, N.Y./Canadaigua Academy |
| Attack |
Dorrien Van Dyke |
Fr. |
Stony Brook |
Northport, N.Y./Northport |
| Midfield |
Callon Williams |
Fr. |
Binghamton |
Orangville, Ontario/The Hill Academy |
| Midfield |
Kristin Yevoli |
Fr. |
Stony Brook |
Massapequa, N.Y./Massapequa |
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| All-Academic Team |
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| Name |
Cl. |
School |
GPA |
Major |
| Jamie DePetris |
Sr. |
New Hampshire |
3.93 |
Finance and Accounting |
| Alex Fisher |
Jr. |
Binghamton |
3.46 |
Integrated Neuro Molecular Track |
| Erica Foley |
Sr. |
Binghamton |
3.62 |
Economics |
| Devan Hibbs |
Sr. |
UMBC |
3.33 |
Psychology |
| Kayleigh Hinkle |
Jr. |
New Hampshire |
3.51 |
Communication |
| Marina Mestres |
Jr. |
Stony Brook |
3.95 |
Chemical and Molecular Engineering |
| Ariana Parker |
Sr. |
Albany |
3.38 |
Psychology |
| Laura Puccia |
Jr. |
New Hampshire |
3.67 |
Neuroscience |
| Cori Rees |
Sr. |
New Hampshire |
3.4 |
Exercise Science |
| Jessica Romano |
Gr. |
Stony Brook |
3.33 |
Higher Education Administration |
| Alyssa Semones |
Jr. |
UMBC |
3.58 |
Media & Communication Studies |
| Vanessa VanderZalm |
So. |
Vermont |
3.61 |
Nuclear Medicine Technology |
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| Rookie of the Year: Dorrien Van Dyke, Stony Brook |
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| Co-Offensive Players of the Year: Rachel Bowles, Albany & Sydney Mas, Vermont |
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| Defensive Player of the Year: Frankie Caridi, Stony Brook |
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| Coach of the Year: John Battaglino, Albany |
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