ECAC Announces DII Women's Lacrosse All-ECAC and Major Awards
DANBURY, Conn. - The Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) has announced its Division II Awards and All-ECAC selections in women's lacrosse for the 2019 season.
Arden Kassaleh from Caldwell University won Offensive Player of the Year and West Chester University head coach Ginny Martino took home Coach of the Year. NYIT’s Anne Marie Ardito and Jaclyn Grzelaczyk were named Defensive Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year, respectively.
Kassaleh took the CACC by storm this season, leading the conference in both goals (94) and draw controls (125) en route to her second consecutive All-ECAC First Team selection. A two-time CACC player of the week recipient, the junior midfielder finished second in the conference for points and 12th in the nation for draw controls per game. Kassaleh finished third in the nation for total goals, averaging 5.53 per game.
Anne Marie Ardito raked in awards during her 2019 season. The graduate player was named ECC Defender of the Year and First Team All-ECC, as well as being named ECC Defensive player of the Week three times. Nationally, Ardito was anmed IWLCA Division II Defensive player of the week once when she set the NYIT single game record for draw controls with 13. On the season, she posted 80 draw controls, 32 caused turnovers, and 46 ground balls.
Grzelaczyk burst onto the scene in her first game for NYIT, posting two goals and five assists in her debut. The success didn’t stop there as the freshman went on to score 31 goals and dish out 44 assists on the season. For her efforts, Grzelaczyk was named ECC Rookie of the Year after being named ECC Rookie of the week four times. Additionally, she was named ECAC DII Rookie of the Month twice.
Ginny Martino led West Chester to a 15-2 regular season mark followed by a run to the PSAC tournament title, giving the rams back to back regular season and tournament titles. The run continued as the team captured the NCAA Atlantic Regional title. It only ended in the NCAA DII Championship game as Martino’s team lost in regulation for the first this season.
ECAC Division II Women’s Lacrosse Major Awards and All-ECAC Selections
Offensive Player of the Year
Arden Kassaleh – Caldwell University, Jr.
Defensive Player of the Year
Anne Marie Ardito – NYIT, Gr.
Rookie of the Year
Jaclyn Grzelaczyk – NYIT, Fr.
Coach of the Year
Ginny Martino – West Chester University
All-ECAC First Team
Shannon Donovan – NYIT, Jr., Attack
Bryanna Fazio – Le Moyne College, Sr., Attack
Kole Pollock – Adelphi University, Jr., Attack
Alison Johnson – Adelphi University, Jr., Attack
Samantha Murphy – Caldwell University, So., Midfield
Arden Kassaleh – Caldwell University, Jr., Midfield
Maggie Stella- West Chester University, Sr., Midfield
Anne Marie Ardito – NYIT, Gr., Defense
Olivia McEntee – Le Moyne College, Jr., Defense
Nicki Stanco – Adelphi University, Sr., Defense
Molly Reinhart – West Chester University, Jr., Defense
Hannah George – Le Moyne College, Jr., Goalkeeper
Honorable Mention
Jaclyn Grzelaczyk - NYIT, Fr., Attack
Monica Sanna – Le Moyne College, Sr., Midfield
Nicole Delany – Le Moyne College, Jr., Midfield
Sami Barnett – West Chester University, Sr., Midfield
Jessica Dussing – Le Moyne College, Sr., Defense
Julianne Clemens – West Chester University, So., Goalkeeper
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