University of Massachusets Athletics
Seven Minutewomen Earn Atlantic 10 Women's Lacrosse Honors
April 24, 2008 | Women's Lacrosse
April 24, 2008
AMHERST, Mass. - Seven UMass women's lacrosse players earned Atlantic 10 All-Conference honors as announced by the league on Thursday afternoon. Kaytlin McCormick, Jeannette Villapiano, Julie Papaleo, and Jackie Rosenzweig were each named to the All-Conference Second-Team, while Jackie Lyons and Kelsey Schreiner were named to the All-Rookie Team. Merritt Cosgrove was named to the All-Academic Team to round out the year honors for UMass.
UMass will host the Atlantic 10 Tournament starting Friday afternoon (1 PM) when the No. 4 seed Minutewomen take on No. 1 seed Richmond in the opening semifinal game. Following that will be No. 2 seed Temple facing No. 3 seed Duquesne. The championship game will be on Sunday, April 27 (1 PM) in McGuirk Stadium with the league champion earning an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.
For McCormick and Rosenzweig, this is the second time in their careers that they have been honored by the Atlantic 10. The pair were both named to the inaugural All-Rookie Team in 2006.
McCormick returned to the UMass lineup this season after missing 2007 with a medical redshirt. She led UMass in 2008 offensively with 33 goals and 10 assists. Rosenzweig earned all-conference honors after leading the team in caused turnovers (20) and groundballs (32).
Four-year starter and team captain Julie Papaleo was also recognized for her defensive play earning second-team honors. She is second on the team in caused turnovers (18) and groundballs (27). Papaleo and Rosenzweig rank fifth (64) and seventh (60) all-time in career caused turnovers at UMass.
This was the first all-conference honor for Villapiano who split time in the midfield and on defense. She ranked fourth on the team with 13 goals and three assists and led the team with 30 draw controls which was a career high.
Merritt Cosgrove earned all-academic honors as a two-year starter in the midfield and a double-major in communication and psychology. She set career highs in every statistical category this season.
Freshmen Jackie Lyons and Kelsey Schreiner were both named to the All-Rookie Team. The pair were the only UMass freshmen to start every game this season and are tied for fifth on the team in scoring with 8 goals and 3 assists each. Lyons was named A-10 Rookie of the Week twice this season, while Schreiner earned the honor once.
Richmond junior teammates Allison Furstenburg and Mandy Friend earned Offensive Player and Midfielder of the Year honors, respectively, in voting conducted among the Conference's head coaches. This is the first time in league history that the Conference recognized a Midfielder of the Year.
In that same vote, St. Bonaventure senior goalkeeper Eboni Preston was named Defensive Player of the Year, Richmond's Anne Ryan was tabbed Rookie of the Year and Bonnie Rosen of Temple was named Coach of the Year. Additionally, Duquesne junior Kathleen McNish was named Student-Athlete of the Year in voting by the Conference's sports information directors.