GNAC Announces 2018 Women's Lacrosse Major Awards, All-Conference Teams

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Lasell's Pino, Mount Ida's Kelly named
GNAC Attacker, Midfielder of the Year

WINTHROP, Mass. – Johnson & Wales University (RI), Lasell College and Mount Ida College each had three student-athletes apiece named to the 2018 Great Northeast Athletic Conference Women's Lacrosse All-Conference First Team, as the league office announced its year-end awards on Monday afternoon.

For the complete list of all-conference and all-sportsmanship selections, please see below. 

Lasell junior Vanessa Pino was selected as the GNAC Attacker of the Year, as voted upon by the league's 11 head coaches. Pino finished the season with 48 goals and 42 assists for 90 points on the season. Senior teammate Taylor Falco was named the GNAC Defender of the Year, as she helped guide the Lasers defense that only allowed 73 goals in its 10 GNAC contests. Lasell's third First Team was senior midfielder Taylor Yandow, who ranked second in the GNAC with 72 goals.

Mount Ida junior Alyssa Kelly was named the 2018 GNAC Midfielder of the Year, as the third-year standout led the GNAC in both goals (80) and points (123) this spring. Teammate and fellow midfielder Brooke Scahill was also a First Team selection along with Kelly, as she was fourth in the GNAC in goals (64), tied for second in assists (43) and second in points (107). Sophomore defender Meghan Sargent also garnered First Team recognition for Mount Ida, which has seen its student-athletes admirably deal with a great amount of adversity this spring.

For Johnson & Wales, which won captured the GNAC Championship for the second straight year, freshman attacker Dani Lydecker was voted the GNAC Rookie of the Year after producing 48 goals and 17 assists for 65 points in her first collegiate season. She will look to improve upon that seasonal output in the NCAA Tournament.

Also, JWU first-year head coach Jessica Scannapieco was selected as the GNAC Coach of the Year, as the Wildcats outscored league foes 191-47 en route to an unblemished 10-0 mark in GNAC play. Scannapieco's three First Team All-GNAC selections were sophomore attacker Maria Patane, senior attacker Raquel Pederzani and junior defender Deja Hursey.

The final major award went to Regis (Mass.) senior Maresa Malcolm, who was crowned as the GNAC Goalkeeper of the Year after posting an 8.52 goals-against average and .513 save percentage. In league games, she posted a 7.82 goals-against average and .524 save rate.

Also garnering First Team accolades was Simmons College senior attacker Kasey Fries, Saint Joseph's College of Maine senior midfielder Elyse Caiazzo, and Saint Joseph's of Maine senior defender Brianne Maloney.

FIRST TEAM
A – Maria Patane, Johnson & Wales (RI) (So., Greenwich, N.Y.)
A – Raquel Pederzani, Johnson & Wales (RI) (Sr., Coventry, R.I.) 
A – Vanessa Pino, Lasell (Jr., Methuen, Mass.) 
A – Kasey Fries, Simmons (Sr., Bridgewater, Mass.) 
M – Taylor Yandow, Lasell (Sr., Moretown, Vt.) 
M – Alyssa Kelly, Mount Ida (Jr., Lee, Mass.) 
M – Brooke Scahill, Mount Ida (Jr., Gales Ferry, Conn.) 
M – Elyse Caiazzo, Saint Joseph's (Me.) (Sr., Scarborough, Maine) 
D – Deja Hursey, Johnson & Wales (RI) (Jr., Columbia, Md.) 
D – Taylor Falco, Lasell (Sr., Hazlet, N.J.) 
D – Meghan Sargent, Mount Ida (So., Brattleboro, Vt.) 
D – Brianne Maloney, Saint Joseph's (Me.) (Sr., South Portland, Maine) 
GK – Maresa Malcolm, Regis (Mass.) (Sr., Barrington, N.J.) 

SECOND TEAM
A – Dani Lydecker, Johnson & Wales (RI) (Fr., Valley Cottage, N.Y.) 
A – Allison Pazienski, Johnson & Wales (RI) (Jr., New Hyde Park, N.Y.) 
A – Kerri Anselmo, Regis (Mass.) (So., Natick, Mass.) 
A – Kara Kelly, Saint Joseph's (Me.) (Jr., York, Maine) 
M – Madeline Bishara, Johnson & Wales (RI) (So., Saunderstown, R.I.) 
M – Jordan McComb, Lasell (Jr., Cumberland, R.I.) 
M – Brittney Arsenault, Saint Joseph's (Me.)
M – Kayla Kelly, Saint Joseph's (Me.) (Jr., York, Maine) 
D – Sophia Czarnecki, Johnson & Wales (RI) (Jr., Greensburg, Pa.) 
D – Elizabeth Tonn, Johnson & Wales (RI) (Sr., Wantagh, N.Y.) 
D – Erin Loehner, Regis (Mass.) (Sr., Danvers, Mass.) 
D – Rachel Nadeau, Regis (Mass.) (Fr., Coventry, Conn.) 
GK – Eleanor Garvey, Mount Ida (Sr., Elkridge, Md.) 

THIRD TEAM
A – Kellie Matthews, Lasell (Fr., Walpole, Mass.) 
A – Hayley Napier, Mount Ida (Sr., Fairhaven, Mass.) 
A – Olivia Bloom, Norwich (So., Annapolis, Md.) 
A – Madison Beaulieu, Saint Joseph's (Me.)
M – Marley Medina, Johnson & Wales (RI) (Fr., South Hadley, Mass.) 
M – Kathryn Albretsen, Norwich (Jr., Cotuit, Mass.) 
M – Linsay Bumila, Regis (Mass.) (Sr., Raynham, Mass.) 
M – Mallory Cottam, Simmons (Jr., Hope, R.I.) 
D – Sophia White, Emmanuel (Mass.)
D – Alyssa Ciszek, Rivier (So., Tyngsboro, Mass.) 
D – Liz Callahan, Saint Joseph's (Me.) (Fr., Scarborough, Maine) 
D – Lauren Williams, Simmons (Jr., Bowdoinham, Maine) 
GK – Cassidy O'Hara, Johnson & Wales (RI) (Fr., Mashpee, Mass.)

ATTACKER OF THE YEAR – Vanessa Pino, Lasell
MIDFIELDER OF THE YEAR – Alyssa Kelly, Mount Ida
DEFENDER OF THE YEAR – Taylor Falco, Lasell
GOALKEEPER OF THE YEAR – Maresa Malcolm, Regis (Mass.)
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR – Dani Lydecker, Johnson & Wales (RI)
COACH OF THE YEAR – Jessica Scannapieco, Johnson & Wales (RI)
INSTITUTIONAL SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD – Saint Joseph (Conn.)

ALL-SPORTSMANSHIP TEAM
Korina Zelaya, Albertus Magnus (So., Trumbull, Conn)
Allison Hutchings, Emmanuel (So., Billerica, Mass.)
Madeline Bishara, Johnson & Wales (So., Saunderstown, R.I.)
Molly Fraser-Kulis, Lasell (Jr., Falmouth, Mass.)
Jordyn Ringuette, Mount Ida (Fr., Colchester, Conn.)
Mary-Kait Mace, Norwich (So., Canton, N.Y.)
Erin Loehner, Regis (Mass.) (Sr., Danvers, Mass.)
Courtney Laperriere, Rivier (Jr., Keene, N.H.)
Danielle Bazzano, Saint Joseph (CT) (Sr., South Windsor, Conn.)
Samantha Medlin, Saint Joseph's (ME) (Kingston, Mass.)
Elena Bragg, Simmons (Jr., Belmont, Mass.)

The top three teams this season in #TheGNAC (@jwuwlax_pvd, @lasellathletics, @mtidaathletics) each had 3?? First Teamers and at least one major award apiece! Be sure to check out www.thegnac.com for the full all-conference announcement! ? #d3lax #ncaad3 #allconference

A post shared by #TheGNAC (@thegnac) on May 7, 2018 at 1:25pm PDT

Founded in 1995, the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 13 member institutions and over 3,000 student-athletes across the New England region. Each year, the GNAC sponsors and administers 20 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunities and community involvement. 

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