Recently in Women's Lacrosse Category

               Defense limits Hawks to four second-half goals in  15-11 victory

MANSFIELD, Conn. --  The Eastern Connecticut State University women's lacrosse team dominated the second half to break from a halftime tie and post a 15-11 non-conference victory over Roger Williams University Saturday afternoon at the Mansfield Outdoor Complex.

At left: Taylor MacDonald establshed a program record for career draw controls Saturday.

Playing its final game before an 11-game layoff, Eastern (2-3) improved its record to 2-0 againt Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) opponents this year by defeating Roger Williams (1-1) in the first meeting between the programs. The Hawks are coming off a 15-4 season whch resulted in an ECAC tournament berth.

Eastern scored the first four goals of the second half in a stretch of four minutes, outscoring the visitors 8-4 over the final 30 minutes. In that second half, Eastern had advantages of 18-8 in shots and 18-12 in ground balls. The Warriors were successful on eight of nine clears in the second half and converted four of six free-position shots.

Freshman midfielder Daniela Marchitto (Orange) scored three of Eastern's eight second-half goals - the first two coming on free-position attempts. Marchitto led all players in the game with four goals, first-year sophomore attack Ashley Prizio (Brookfield) and senior midfielder Taylor MacDonald (Oak Bluffs, MA) adding three each. MacDonald won three draws in the game to establish a career record of 191, two more than former recordholder Mo Deegan.

In the first half, Roger Williams sandwiched three-goal runs around five in a row by Eastern for a 6-5 lead 15 minutes before the break, but the Warriors never allowed the Hawks to score more than one unanswered goal over the final 35 minutes of the game. Roger Willams was comng off a 17-2 conference road thumping of Nichols College in its 2010 opener.

MacDonald, junior defender Paige Booth (Hollis, NH) and senior midfielder Dana McLaughlin (West Hartford) combined to pick up 18 of the team's 30 ground balls, with MacDonald also caused five of the team's nine forced turnovers and capitalized on three of four free-position shots.

Freshman goalie Nancy Ibrahim (Lindenhurst, NY) made six saves to record her first career win at home.

Eastern hosts Mount Holyoke University March 31 at 4:30 p.m.

Brewers score four goals in four minutes early in second half in 13-11 win

POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. - The Eastern Connecticut State University women's lacrosse team kept Vassar College off the board for the first 15 minutes of the game but the Brewers used a quick second-half start to post a 13-11 non-conference victory over the Warriors Wednesday night.

At left: Brooke Wayte

Eastern (1-3) forged the fourth and final tie of the match on senior attack Courtney Bedocs' (Hamden) second goal of the year 74 seconds into the second half, but Vassar (3-1) answered with four in a row in a span of four minutes - with junior midfielder Sarah Warner scoring twice and assisting on one - to take command of an 11-7 lead. The Warriors never go closer than two the rest of the way.

Playing its first game up north after a three-game trip to West Palm Beach, Vassar won its third in a row. Eastern was coming off its first win of the season eight days ago. Three of Vassar's matches have been decided by a total of four goals.

Eastern got out to a quick 3-0 start -- holding the hosts scoreless over the first 15 minutes -- but was never able to connect on as many as three consecutive goals the rest of the way.

Eastern senior attack Brooke Wayte (Bellport, NY) doubled her season goal total with four strikes  -- three coming on unassisted goals in the final 20 minutes of the contest.  Seven additional players had one each for the Warriors.

Senior midfielder Taylor MacDonald (Oak Bluffs,MA), last week's Little East Conference Defensive Player-of-the-Week, won half of the  team's 14 draws and had five ground balls. MacDonald pulled to within one draw control of tying the career record of 189, held by Mo Deegan (2002-05).

Senior attack Ashley Del Vecchio (Fairfield) led all Eastern players with five ground balls, helping the Warriors collected a season-high total of 38.

Warner led all players in the game with five goals to improve her team-leading total to 15.

Freshman goalie Nancy Ibrahim (Lindenhurst, NY) made seven saves for Eastern.

The match between these teams was the second close one in as many contests in this series. Last year at Mansfield, the Warriors emerged with an 11-10 victory in triple overtime - the longest game in Eastern history.

The Warriors host Roger Williams University Saturday at 1 p.m.

Five players cited for their performances for the week ending March 14

NORTH DARTMOUTH, Mass. --  Five Eastern Connecticut State University lacrosse players were recognized with weekly honors by the Little East Conference in the first week of the honors program.

Eastern athletes were selected as the conference's Defensive Player-of-the-Week and as the Goalie-of-the-Week in both men's and women's lacrosse and as the men's Rookie-of-the-Week.

Senior midfielder Taylor MacDonald (Oak Bluffs, MA) and junior midfielder Eric Vasil (Southington) were named women's and men's Defensive Player-of-the-Week, respectively, while freshmen Nancy Ibrahim (Lindenhurst, NY) and Donald Berube (Tewksbury, MA) were cited with their respective Goalie-of-the-Week honors. Freshman attack Matthew Janssen (Hillsborough, NJ) was tabbed as the men's lacrosse Rookie-of-the-Week.

MacDonald, the LEC's two-time Defensive Player-of-the-Week, led Eastern to a win in its only match, a 16-11 decision at Salve Regina University. MacDonald had six ground balls, won three draws, and caused two turnovers. Ibrhim stopped 11 shots against Salve to record her first collegiate win.

On the men's side, Vasil won 88.2 percent of his faceoffs (45-for-51) and picked up 33 ground balls as Eastern won a pair of one-goal decisions at home: 12-11 over Babson College and 11-10 in overtime over Montclair State University. A pre-season All-America, Vasil led Division III last year in faceoff percentage and ground balls.

Berube registed his first career win in his second career start against Montclair, making seven saves and giving up only four goals after the intermission.

Janssen collected ten points in two matches, scoring six goals and assisting on four others. Against Babson, Janssen scored an unassisted goal to give Eastern an 11-10 lead with eight minutes left, and assisted on senior attack Vinny Tornatore's (Norwalk) game-winning goal in sudden death overtime.

MacDonald received a weekly LEC award for the seventh time in her four-year career. She was named top weekly rookie once in 2007, twice top defensive and once top offensive player as a sophomore and once top offensive and once top defensive player last season. Vasil was accorded top defensive accolades three times last year. The Rookie-of-the-Week recognition was the first by a men's lacrosse player since goalie Kyle Savage was honored in the third week of the 2006 season.

The Eastern men (2-1) host Amherst College Tuesday at 4 p.m. while the women (1-2) visit Vassar College Wednesday at 6 p.m.

Warriors capitalize in final minutes of each half to down Salve, 16-11

MIDDLETOWN, R.I. -- The Eastern Connecticut State University women's lacrosse team scored the final four goals of the first half to gain the momentum and struck for the final four goals of the match to pull away for a 16-11 victory over Salve Regina University Tuesday afternoon at Gaudet Field.

At left: Freshman Daniela Marchitto absorbs a check to the head in the final minutes of Tuesday's 16-11 win over Salve Regina.

 Freshman goalie Nancy Ibrahim (Lindenhurst, NY) made nine of her 11 saves in the first half to help Eastern (1-2)  overcome an early 5-2 deficit as she posted her first collegiate win between the pipes.

 In the second half, Eastern turned the ball over only six times after giving it away 13 times before the break, and completed all seven of its clears. The Warriors allowed only one goal over the final 28 minutes of the match.

In addition to recording a team-high six points on four goals and two assists, senior midfielder Taylor MacDonald (Oak Bluffs, MA) had six ground balls, won three draws and caused two turnovers. Sophomore defender Megan Barrett (Setauket, NY)  added four ground balls and Ibrahim, senior Dana McLaughlin (West Hartford) and freshman midfielder Daniela Marchitto (Orange) three each. Junior attack Ashley Del Vecchio (Fairfield) caused a team-high three turnovers.

MacDonald scored goals on four of her team-high nine shots. MacDonald and Marchitto both scored twice on free-position goals as the Warriors converted five of their eight free-position shots.

Leading 12-11, Eastern scored the final four goals, holding the Seakhawks scoreless in that span over the final 15 minutes. After senior attack Brooke Wayte (Bellport, NY ) scored an unassisted goal to make it 16-11, Marchitto won the ensuring faceoff and the Warriors maintained possession for nearly five minutes before finally turning the ball over on an offensive foul with 47 seconds left.

Salve scored five consecutive goals to wipe out Eastern's early 2-0 lead. The teams split the next four goals before the Warriors moved into their first goal since the opening two minutes by connecting on the final four goals of the half for an 8-7 halftimie lead.

Wayte and first-year sophomore attack Ashley Prizio (Brookfield) scored two minutes apart to cut the deficit to 7-6 before Eastern scored twice in the final 50 seconds to claim its one-goal halftime lead. Prizio picked up a ground ball off a Salve turnover and fed senior attack Katie Beers (Trumbull) to tie the game with 49 seconds left in the half. With time winding down, Beers was denied by Salve sophomore goalie Natalie Balletta on a point-blank try on a fast break, but Beers scooped up the rebound and found freshman midfielder Taylor Buchanan (Ellington), who beat Balletta two seconds before the halftime horn for her first collegiate goal to give the visitors an 8-7 halftime edge.

Above: Freshman Nancy Ibrahim's nine first-half saves kept the Warriors within striking distance.

Eastern survived despite winning only nine of 29 draw controls.The fourth of four different players to take a faceoff, Martchitto took the final two faceoffs of the match iin the final minutes, winnng both..

Eastern visits Vassar College Wednesday, March 17 at 6 p.m.

Eastern Conn. 16, Salve Regiina U. 11

Eastern Conn. (1-2)       8       8 -- 16
Salve Regina U. (0-1)     7       4 -- 11

Goals: E-Taylor MacDonald 4, Katie Beers 2, Brooke Wayte 2, Ashley Prizio 2, Daniela Marchitto 2, Taylor MacDonald 2, Ashley Del Vecchio, Courtney Bedocs; S-Sarah Baker 3, Sarah Livingston 3, Nicole Viola 2, Erika Curtin, Kelly Burke, Lia Lanzo
Assists: E-MacDonald 2, Beers, Bedocs, Wayte, Prizio, Dana McLaughlin; S-Viola, Lanzo, Baker.
Shots: E-37, S-30; Saves: E-Nancy Ibrahim 11, S-Natalie Balletta 13.

Men tied for 11th in first NEILA poll (March 9).pdf

Men unanimous No. 1 selections, No. 2 women nab three first-place votes

NORTH DARTMOUTH, Mass. -The Eastern Connecticut State University and Keene State College men's and women's lacrosse teams are expected to be among the serious contenders for their respective 2010 Little East Conference regular-season championships, according to the coaches' pre-season polls.

Above: Maxim Fantl

For the second-straight season and seventh time overall, Eastern men's lacrosse has been predicted to capture the Little East men's lacrosse regular season championship after a unanimous vote by the conference's eight coaches. The Warriors earned all eight first-place votes and 64 total points.Keene State College, the second-most successful program behind Eastern in conference men's lacrosse competition, was the clear-cut No. 2 contender. The Owls earned each of the eight second-place votes for 56 points.

Keene State College came in atop the women's lacrosse preseason poll, narrowly edging the three-time undefeated regular-season champion Warriors for the distinction. In votes cast by the conference's seven head coaches, the two schools garnered three first place votes apiece. The Owls took the overall vote by a narrow six point-margin, taking 45 points to the Warriors' 39. After winning its first playoff title a year ago with an overtime triumph over top-seeded Eastern, Keene State finds itself selected as preseason favorites for the first time since the poll's inception in 2002.

The women's survey's results reflect a budding rivalry between the two-top vote getters heading into the 2010 season. In 2009, the Owls and Warriors split two head-to-head contests, each of which were decided by a single goal. While Eastern Connecticut grabbed a 14-13 victory last March, Keene State countered with a thrilling 9-8 overtime victory last May to claim the 2009 playoff title on the Warriors' home field. The Owls and Warriors headline the first day of this spring's conference play with a head-to-head matchup at Keene State at 4 p.m. on Saturday, April 3. This much-anticipated matchup will be broadcast on Littleeast.tv.

Under the direction of third-year head coach Justin Axel, Eastern captured the program's seventh LEC regular-season and sixth LEC playoff championships in 2009, defeating Keene State, 12-8, in the conference final at Thomas Nevers Field. The Warriors received their sixth NCAA Division III Tournament berth and earned the program's first victory in the championship field with an overtime win at U.S. Merchant Marine Academy. Axel led the Warriors to an overall record of 15-4, including the program's seventh undefeated (7-0) conference record. In nine seasons of conference competition, the Warriors are 52-2 in regular-season matches and 14-3 in the conference playoffs for an overall mark of 66-5 (.930).

The Warriors have welcomed back 20 letterwinners this year, including junior faceoff ace Eric Vasil (Southington). Vasil, senior midfielder Maxim Fantl (West Hartford) and sophomore long-stick midfielder Tommy Flynn (Mineola, NY) are the team's three returning all-conference selections. In 2009, Vasil led the nation and established new single-season program records for faceoff percentage (.714) and ground balls (221). The Warriors opened the 2010 schedule with a 17-8 loss at No. 17 Stevens on March 3.

At right: Brooke Wayte

In each of head coach Christine Hutchinson's three seasons, the Warriors reached the ultimate game of the LEC tournament, claiming titles in 2007 and 2008, and coming in second  to Keene State in 2009. In 2010, Eastern will feature a two-headed offensive attack in senior attack  Brooke Wayte (Bellport, NY) and senior midfielder Taylor MacDonald (Oak Bluffs, MA), both returning first-team all-conference players. MacDonald has been voted the conference's  Defensive Player of the Year  in each of the last two seasons. MacDonald is also a former LEC Rookie-of-the-Year and tournament MVP while Hutchison has been voted conference Coach-of-the-Year in two of her three seasons in charge.

The Little East sponsors a seven-game conference schedule with the top-six squads advancing to the 2010 Little East Championship. The tournament will begin with two first-round matchups on Tuesday, May 4 with the two winners advancing to play at the top-two seeds two days later. The Little East champion will be crowned on Saturday, May 8 and earn the automatic qualifier into the NCAA Division III Tournament.

2010 Little East Men's Lacrosse Preseason Coaches' Poll

Rank  Institution  First Place  Total Points

1  EASTERN CONNECTICUT  (8)  64
2  Keene State College     56
3  Plymouth State University     36
   Western Connecticut State University  36
5  University of Southern Maine     35
6  Salem State College     25
   University of Massachusetts Dartmouth  25
8  University of Massachusetts Boston   11 

2010 Little East Women's Lacross Preseason Coaches' Poll

Rank  Institution  First Place  Total Points
1  Keene State College  (3)  45
2  EASTERN CONNECTICUT (3)  39
3  Plymouth State University  (1)  31
4  University of Southern Maine     25
5  University of Massachusetts Dartmouth  21
   Western Connecticut State University  21
7  Rhode Island College  14

Against Wesleyan, Warriors strike for final five goals in road loss

MIDDLETOWN, Conn. -- Wesleyan University kept its record spotless against Eastern    Connecticut State University in eight matches in this series with a 16-10 women's lacrosse win Saturday morning in the Cardinals' season and home-opener.

At right: Ashley Prizio

Wesleyan scored the first six goals of the match less than eight minutes into the contest with both senior Erin McCarthy and junior Jess Chukwu scoring twice to lead the run.  Both finished the game with four goals.  Eastern senior midfielder Taylor MacDonald (Oak Bluffs, MA) ended the Cardinal string with the first of her three goals for the Warriors with 21 minutes to go before halftime.  The half ended with the Cardinals holding a substantial 12-2 edge.

The lead remained around double-digits for the opening 20 minutes of the second half with Wesleyan junior Allie Lynch adding a goal and an assist to produce a team-leading seven points as she produced six helpers to go along with her goal. Lynch's unassisted tally with 12:43 remaining gave Wesleyan its largest lead at 16-5. 

Eastern netted the final five goals of the game, two of them by first-year sophomore attack Ashley Prizio (Brookfield), who finished with a hat trick. Eastern outscored Wesleyan 8-4 in the second half behind an 18-8 shot advantage.  Wesleyan held a 24-8 margin in shots during the opening 30 minutes.

In goal, freshman Nancy Ibrahim (Lindenhurst, NY) notched eight saves for Eastern. for the second time in as many career starts  Cardinal sophomore Maggie Drowica made two stops while allowing two goals in the first half.  Senior Abby Sedney minded the net in the second period, making seven saves and yielding eight goals.

Eastern plays  Salve Regina  University Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. at Gaudet Field in Middletown, RI.

Senior Courtney Bedocs (below)

Audio.wav(10:00 min.)

WILLIMANTIC, Conn. - Coaches are fond of saying that every player on their team is important. In the case of the 2010 Eastern Conneccticut State University  women's lacrosse team, fourth-year head coach Christine Hutchison can say that - and mean every word of it.

At right: Taylor MacDonald

The fact that this year's team features a solid senior class of five is not all that unusual. The unique thing is that those five constitute one-third of the squad which opens its 15th intercollegiate  season Thursday afternoon by hosting No. 11 nationally-ranked Babson College at 4:30 p.m. at the Mansfield Outdoor Complex.

"We will have a small team (in numbers), so everyone will play," says Hutchison. "We've made sure to tell everyone that they will be extremely important, so everyone is working very hard. They will all need t take good care of themselves and their bodies. This has made us very close as a team."

Eight starters are back from last year's team which won half of its 18 games,  and completed  a perfect  Little East Conference regular season for the third straight year before falling in overtime in the conference tournament title game.

A new synthetic turf field allows the Warriors to begin a season on their home field for only the second time ever - the first time since 1999, when the official regular season did not unfold until March 30.

While the lack of numbers has prevented the Warriors from fully utilizing the expanse of the new field, the benefits have been obvious and should pay dividends immediately.

"We are so much better at this point than we were last year and better than we have been in any previous year, because we've been outside (in the pre-season)" notes Hutchison. "Whether we practice full field or not, the field has been a huge help because we can actually catch and throw in transition, which we hadn't been able to do in the past."

Nine returnees should fill out three-quarters of the opening-day lineup, with three newcomers to round out the starting unit. A new face will fill the goal for the fourth time in four seasons and Hutchison is in search of a new center to replace graduated senior Jessica Richards, who took roughly 75 percent of the team's faceoff with a success rate nearly 60 percent.

While freshman goalie Nancy Ibrahim (Lindenhust, NY) will need time to adjust to the college game, Hutchison - the conference Coach-of-the-Year selection in two of her three seasons -- raves about the newcomers coachability, talent and work ethic. Low defenders responsible for keep opposing attackers away from the cage are junior two-year letterwinner Paige Booth (Hollis, NH), sophomore returnee Megan Barrett (Setaucket, NY) and junior Lauren St. Pierre (Southington), a second-year member of the program and first-year starter. Barrett moves from midfield this year to defense help offset the loss of graduated all-conference defenders Sara Barrett and Jackie Bivona. The defense wings will be first-team All-State freshman Daniella Marchitto (Orange), the conference's Rookie-of-the-Year in soccer this past fall, and  senior Dana McLaughlin (West Hartford). McLaughlin is a returning starter.

The centerpiece of the midfield area will be two-time conference Defensive Player-of-the-Year Taylor MacDonald (Oak Bluffs, MA), a center who is already ranked among the all-time leaders in a number of offensive and defensive categories. MacDonald led last year's team in points, assists, ground balls, and caused turnovers and leads all returnees in draw controls.

Hutchison expected most every player on the field with the exception of the low defenders to contribute offensively. MacDonald will be joined offensively by attack wings Brooke Wayte (Bellport, NY) and Ashley Del Vecchio (Fairfield) and attackers Katie Beers (Trumbull), Courtney Bedocs (Hamden) and first-year sophomore transfer Ashley Prizio (Brookfield).  Wayte, Beers and Bedocs are all seniors and Del Vecchio a junior. All were starters last season.

"This year, we have 11 people who are very comfortable handling the ball, carrying it, passing it, and putting a shot on cage," Hutchison notes. "I would really love it to have the scoring spread out - not for any one player to have really huge numbers, but huge numbers for our entire starting lineup. That would show that actually, physically, a team and not just a bunch of individuals. That's what I'm looking for."

In her second season last year after transferring  from Division II C.W. Post, Wayte joined MacDonald as a first-team all-conference selection as Eastern's second-leading scorer. Beers, Del Vecchio and Bedocs followed MacDonald and Wayte in scoring, with Beers and Del Vecchio handling  starting roles for the first time last sring. A two-time All-State player, Prizio is coming off a team MVP season at Division I Long Island University last spring.

"We were good last year, but I think this year that we're going to be a little bit better as a team, as a unit," says Hutchison. "And for lacrosse, that's really important. Everyone needs to trust each other in order to get the ball up and down the field. Win or lose, I think that they are going to play as a team."

While quantity will be in short supply off the bench, Hutchison likes the quality in freshmen Samantha Barone (Plainedge, NY), a defender, attack Christina Rully (Orange), and midfielder Taylor Buchanan (Ellington). Freshman Taylor Bidmead (Ellington) will back up Ibrahim in cage.

As the season approached, Hutchison felt that the faceoff position remained unsettled. Leading candidates were MacDonald, Barrett, Buchanan, Marchitto and Prizio. Hutchison felt that the team's overall aggressiveness around the faceoff circle would provide the team with its share of draw controls, regardless of who is occupying the center circle.

Last year's conference playoff loss in the title game was the first conference setback for any upperclassman on this year's roster and  snapped an overall conference 23-game winning streak.  In the coaches' pre-season poll, Eastern was rated second, which suits Hutchison fine.

"Instead of it being Eastern that every (conference) team gets geared up for, it will be (playoff champion) Keene," points out Hutchison. "And then they may make us a little bit of a lighter threat."

No. 11 Beavers score first seven goals to spoil Warriors' home-opener

MANSFIELD, Conn. --  Two-time All-America midfielder Anna Collins had three goals and four assists to power No. 11 nationally-ranked Babson College to an 18-6 victory over Eastern Connecticut State University in the Warriors' season and home debut Thursday afternoon at the Mansfield Outdoor Complex.

Freshman Nancy Ibrahim (at right) made eight saves in her collegiate debut.

Six different players combined to score the first seven goals of the game for Babson (2-0), which was coming off an overtime victory over No. 8 nationally-ranked Union College in its season-opener Tuesday. It was the fifth win for Babson over the Warriors in the last five years.

Playing its season-opener at home for only the second time in program history, Eastern limited Babson to only four goals in the second half while getting three goals on four shots after the break from junior attack Ashley Del Vecchio (Fairfield). Freshman midfielder Daniella Marchitto (Orange) scored her first collegiate goal on her first shot with a free-position marker with 11 minutes left in the first half. First-year sophomore transfer Ashley Prizio (Brookfield) also contributed her first goal in an Eastern uniform in the first half.

Eight different Babson players found the back of the net. In addition to Collins, senior third-team All-America midfielder Kaitlyn Pettengill, sophomore attack Trisha Babson and junior attack Alyssa Hood each scored three goals. Babson, last year's ECAC Rookie-of-the-Year also won 11 faceoffs and captured eight draws and junior midfielder Ellen McCurdy collected a team-high five ground balls.

Eastern senior midfielder Taylor MacDonald (Oak Bluffs, MA),, the two-time Little East Conference Defensive Player-of-the-Year, won 13 of 20 faceoffs and picked up nine of the team's 14 draws.

Freshman Nancy Ibrahim (Lindenhurst, NY) made  eight saves in her collegiate debut for Eastern while Babson junior goalie Sarah Macary turned aside four saves to win her second decision of the season.         

Eastern visits Wesleyan University Saturday at 9 a.m.                                                      

Babson College 18, Eastern Conn. 6

Babson College (2-0)  14 4 -- 18
Eastern Conn. (0-1)    3 3 --  6

Goals: B-Anna Collins 3, Kaitlyn Pettengill 3, Trisha Babson 3, Alyssa Hood 3, Taylor Kralovenec 2, Jamie Spang 2, Ellen McCurdy, Erin Daley; E-Ashley Del Vecchio 3, Ashley Prizio, Daniella Marchitto, Taylor MacDonald
Assists: B-Collins 4, Pettengill, Kralovenec,  Spang, Babson, Hood, Daley; E-MacDonald.
Shots: B-32, E-14; Saves: B-Sarah Macary 4, E-Nancy Ibrahim 8.

Application.pdf             Letter to Coaches.pdf

Eastern Connecticut State University will conduct its annual Lacrosse Skills Clinic  for high school girls Saturday, March 13 frm 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The clinic is scheduled to be conducted on the synthetic turf field at the Mansfield Outdoor Complex, but in the event of inclement weather, will be held at Geissler Gymnasium in the Sports Center.

The clinic is under the direction of Eastern fourth-year head coach Christine Hutchison - a two-time Little East Conference Coach-of-the-Year -- and assistant coach Nicole Flores. Current team members will serve as clinicians.

The clinic is for girls of all skill levels and is dedicated to helping the girls improve their skills and knowledge of the game in preparation for their upcoming seasons. Points of emphasis will be skill work, advanced offensive and defensive skill work and game competition.

Participants  will receive one-on-one attention from the Eastern players and coaching staff.

Cost of the clinic is $35 in advance and $40 at the door.

Courtesy Little East Conference Communications Office

MacDonald repeats as top defensive player in all-conference balloting

Complete listing.pdf

NORTH DARTMOUTH, Mass. - The Little East Conference announced its annual women's lacrosse all-conference and major award winners this afternoon after a vote by each of the conference's seven head coaches. University of Southern Maine junior midfielder Jessica Knight (Alfred, Maine) was named the offensive player of the year, while University of Massachusetts Dartmouth freshman attacker Allison O'Rourke (Weymouth, Mass.) was selected as the rookie of the year. Eastern Connecticut State University earned a pair of major awards as junior midfielder Taylor MacDonald (Oak Bluffs, Mass.) repeated as the defensive player of the year, while Christine Hutchison was tabbed as the coach of the year by her peers. Junior attack Brooke Wayte (Bellport, N.Y.) was also a first-team selection.

The Little East Conference office honors a 12-member first and second all-conference team, consisting of three attackers, five midfielders, three defenders, and a goalie. Keene State College placed a conference-best six student-athletes top two teams, while Eastern Connecticut State University and Western Connecticut State University each had five representatives. Plymouth State University and the University of Southern Maine each earned four selections, while University of Massachusetts Dartmouth completed the all-conference selections with one representative.

Knight is the first Huskies' student-athlete to be honored as the top offensive player in the Little East since the conference began sponsoring women's lacrosse in 2002. The Alfred, Maine product is making her third consecutive appearance on the top two teams and second straight on the first team. A starter in 14 of her 16 games, Knight scored 62 points, on 53 goals and nine assists. She leads the Little East in goals per game (3.31) and is second in points per game (3.88). A prolific score, Knight recorded 12 hat tricks on the campaign, including a season-best six markers against Plymouth State on April 14.

MacDonald is the third student-athlete to repeat as the conference's top defensive player joining Plymouth State's Kelsey MacDonald (her sister) and Carmen Villanueva. The native of Oak Bluffs, Mass. helped the Warriors allow the least amount of goals in the Little East (48), surrendering 10 less than the Owls.  MacDonald ranked among the conference leaders in ground balls per game (2nd, 4.28) and draw controls (3rd, 2.94). She scooped up at least five ground balls five times, including a season-best 10 against Southern Maine. MacDonald also an offensive catalyst in the attacking third of the field, scoring 68 points (38-30).     

O'Rourke led all Little East first-year student-athletes in scoring this season, registering 40 goals, 10 assists, 50 total points. A starter in all 16 games, the Weymouth, Mass. product recorded multiple points nine times. O'Rourke scored a season-high eight points against the Huskies with six markers and two helpers.  During the middle of the season, she registered 27 points (20-7) in the span of nine days to lead the Corsairs to wins in three of their four games. O'Rourke is the third UMass Dartmouth student-athlete to be named the conference's top rookie.

Hutchison guided Eastern Connecticut to its third consecutive undefeated Little East season, raising the Warriors regular-season conference win streak to 22 games. Eastern Connecticut earned the top-seed and right to host the Little East Women's Lacrosse Championship for the third campaign in a row. The Warriors were denied their third trip to the NCAA Tournament after being edged in overtime by Keene State, 9-8. Hutchison is collecting the conference's top coach award for the second time in her career (2007).

 Initially formed in 1986 as a six-team men's and women's basketball conference, the Little East Conference has since grown to its present eight-school membership, sponsoring championship play in 19 intercollegiate athletics: baseball; men's and women's basketball; men's and women's cross country; field hockey; men's and women's lacrosse; men's and women's soccer; softball; women's swimming; men's and women's tennis; men's and women's indoor track; men's and women's outdoor track and women's volleyball.