Minutewomen Earn Three Major Awards, as Ten Earn Recognition

AMHERST, Mass. – Three members of the Massachusetts women's lacrosse team were recognized by the MAC on Wednesday with end-of-season awards. Bridget Valentine earned Defensive Player of the Year, Cate Marshall garnered Freshman of the Year and head coach Jana Drummond was named Coach of the Year. In addition, UMass had five first team All-MAC honorees, four second-team honorees and three members of the All-Freshman Team. The nine honorees were most in the conference.

Valentine picked up the Minutewomen's third Defensive Player of the Year honor in four seasons after Audra Tosone was named Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Year in 2023 and 2024. A two-time MAC Defensive Player of the Week, Valentine stands first on the Minutewomen in caused turnovers (32) while she's second only to goalkeeper Bayley Duffy in groundballs, tallying 40. Valentine's 31 caused turnovers are already tied for ninth place in program history, while she's second in the MAC and 33rd in the country with 2.0 caused turnovers per game. Her skill for clearing and pushing fast breaks is evident through her five goals and two assists, scoring goals against LIU, UConn, Youngstown State, Detroit Mercy and Kent State. At Eastern Michigan, Valentine had four groundballs and a program-record tying seven caused turnovers. Most importantly, Valentine is an anchor of a defense that is first in the MAC in scoring defense, allowing just 7.32 goals per game, a mark that's also fourth nationally. The Minutewomen have allowed six goals or fewer in six of the seven conference games. Valentine helps lead a defense that is third in the country in caused turnovers and fourth in scoring defense. She was also named first team All-MAC.

Bridget Valentine's 7?? caused turnovers on Saturday tied a program record ??????

Check out all seven of them, here!#Flagship?? pic.twitter.com/v1yvfn0th2
— UMass Women's Lacrosse (@UMassLacrosse) April 14, 2026

Marshall is UMass' first Freshman of the Year since 2011, when Katie Ferris was named Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year. She was also named second team All-MAC. Marshall has excelled as the Minutewomen's primary draw taker during her rookie campaign. Marshall owns 141 draw controls on the season, good for sixth in program history. Marshall's 8.81 per game lead the MAC and are good for 14th nationally. The Minutewomen as a team stand fourth in the country in draw controls per game and sixth in draw control percentage. Marshall has seven games with double-figure draw, including six of the last eight. At Detroit Mercy, she tallied a career-high 21 draws at Detroit Mercy, the most by a freshman in NCAA Division I since April of 2013. In seven MAC games, Marshall has 92 draw controls, which is more than double anyone else in the conference. The next most is 37.

2??1?? = The number of draw controls for Cate Marshall on Saturday, a career high and the most by a freshman in Division I @NCAALAX since 2013??#Flagship?? pic.twitter.com/2FbAKzGKAf
— UMass Women's Lacrosse (@UMassLacrosse) April 22, 2026

Drummond was named a conference Coach of the Year for the fourth time in as many seasons. As a team, the Minutewomen are 16-2 and 7-0 in the MAC as Drummond is a perfect 35-0 in conference regular season games as head coach. As a team, the Minutewomen lead the nation in assists per game, points per game and team save percentage. UMass is second in scoring margin, scoring offense, third in caused turnover per game and fourth in scoring defense and draw controls per game. The Minutewomen are riding a 10-game winning streak into the MAC Tournament, their seventh straight season with a double-figure winning streak.

UMass' first team honorees were attackers Kassidy Morris, Dylan Lyons, Ava Connaughton, midfielder Lil Hancock and Valentine.

Named first team All-Conference for a third straight season, Morris was a first team honoree the last two seasons in the Atlantic 10, along with Atlantic 10 Offensive Player of the Year in 2025. One of the nation's best attackers and named to the Tewaaraton Award Watch List, Morris is first on the team in goals (63) and points (91), while her 28 assists are second on the Minutewomen. While serving as a captain, she also has 10 caused turnovers and 17 groundballs on the season. Morris stands sixth nationally in points per game (5.69) and fifth in goals per contest (3.94). The 91 points are sixth in program history for a season. Morris put up these numbers despite limited minutes with the Minutewomen owning double-figure leads; she had a hat trick against Kent State within the game's first four minutes. The program's all-time leader in career goals with 236, Morris is also third in UMass history in points with 309. Morris has scored multiple goals in 10 straight games, coinciding with the Minutewomen's 10-game winning streak. She's had at least four points in 14 of the 16 games this season, with 13 hat tricks. A four-time MAC Offensive Player of the Week, Morris' 236 goals and 309 points are good for third and fourth nationally among active Division I players.

Four straight goals for #4??

Kassidy Morris took over in Saturday's win at Eastern Michigan, turning an 8-4 lead into a 12-4 advantage!#Flagship?? pic.twitter.com/njo1lTQ4xd
— UMass Women's Lacrosse (@UMassLacrosse) April 13, 2026

Lyons enjoyed a breakout season, standing second on UMass in goals (48) and points (66). She is tied for third in the MAC in both goals and points. A MAC Offensive Player of the Week in March, Lyons has only gotten better and better. She has tallied three straight four-goal games, seven straight hat tricks and 11 consecutive multi-goal games, posting six points or more four times in that stretch. Lyons' career high point totals have been seven, recording identical lines of five goals and two assists both at LIU and Robert Morris. Lyons has an exceptional 73.3 free position percentage and stands 30th in the country (third in the MAC) in free position goals per game (0.69).

Dylan Lyons with a causal BTB in today's win at Detroit Mercy! ??#Flagship?? | #SCTop10 pic.twitter.com/tt6lJM2GbY
— UMass Women's Lacrosse (@UMassLacrosse) April 19, 2026

Connaughton stands first on the Minutewomen in assists (35) while she's tied for second in points (62) and third in goals (27). As a captain, Connaughton has multiple points in 13-of-15 games this season, and at least one point in all 15 games played. Her assist total is tied for 12th in program history for a season; it's also second the MAC and good for 29th nationally. Connaughton is fourth in the conference in points. She tied a career high in assists (5) and points (7) in less than a half of action at Detroit Mercy. She scored a career-high five goals, while dishing an assist, in a win over defending America East co-champion Bryant. That marked her fifth straight game with at least five points, all UMass victories. She has finished off a number of highlight-reel goals this season, including one at Dartmouth that was featured on multiple ESPN segments, including SportsCenter Top 10.

#9 Play of the Day on @SportsCenter for Ava Connaughton??#Flagship?? pic.twitter.com/ER3aRBNelK
— UMass Women's Lacrosse (@UMassLacrosse) March 11, 2026

Hancock is a tremendous all-around midfielder who stands fifth on the team in goals (16) and sixth in points (31), sixth in assists (15), third in draw controls (31), tied for third groundballs (20) and sixth in caused turnovers (15). Hancock has been remarkably consistent, posting at least one point in 15-of-16 games, at least one draw control in 13-of-16, at least one groundball in 12-of-16 and at least one caused turnover in 9-of-16. One of her best all-around games came in a win over defending America East co-champion UMass Lowell when she tallied three goals, one assist, two groundballs, two draw controls and three caused turnovers.

Lil Hancock puts us back up by two!

8-6 | 4th | 12:58#Flagship ?? pic.twitter.com/vHiBosUMKu
— UMass Women's Lacrosse (@UMassLacrosse) February 25, 2026

The Minutewomen had four second-team honorees, with midfielders Katie Onderdonk and Marshall, defender Sienna Diglio and goalkeeper Duffy.

Onderdonk has made an impact all over the field, posting 21 points (19 goals, two assists), good for eighth on the team and second among midfielders, while adding 18 groundballs and 16 caused turnovers – tied for fifth and fifth on the team, respectively. Onderdonk has seven games with multiple goals and eight with multiple points, including her first-career hat trick coming in a big win over defending MAC Tournament Champion Akron. She's had six games with multiple groundballs, with at least one caused turnover in 13-of-16 contests.

18 ?? 19

Norah Prizzi tallied a career-high six points yesterday, which included assisting on all of Katie Onderdonk's career-high three goals!#Flagship?? pic.twitter.com/rTCPvtj0vD
— UMass Women's Lacrosse (@UMassLacrosse) April 6, 2026

Diglio's 27 caused turnovers are second on the team, while she's added 20 groundballs and 11 draw controls. She was named MAC Defensive Player of the Week on Mar. 3 following three groundballs and five caused turnovers in a win over defending America East regular season co-champion UMass Lowell. She has 10 games with multiple caused turnovers on the season, including the last six straight. Diglio had two assists, two groundballs, four caused turnovers and a draw control in the regular season finale vs. Kent State. Diglio also has at least one groundball in 11 of the last 12 games. She also has a goal under her belt, in the season opening win over Holy Cross.

?????? pic.twitter.com/Qkc6NJKnLh
— UMass Women's Lacrosse (@UMassLacrosse) April 28, 2026

Duffy is the MAC leader in save percentage (52.2) and goals against average (7.66), totals that put her second and fourth in the country, respectively. Duffy's save percentage is almost three full percent better than anyone else in the MAC. She has five games with double-figure saves on the season, while stopping at least 50 percent of the shots sent her way in 11 of the 16 games, including eight of the last nine. Duffy is the back line of a defense that is first in the MAC and stands fourth nationally in scoring defense – allowing just 7.32 goals per game – including five of the six conference games allowing six goals or fewer. Duffy's 42 groundballs lead the Minutewomen, while she has added nine caused turnovers as well. UMass is first in the nation in save percentage as a team.

Bayley Duffy has been SENSATIONAL with six first-half saves, including this kick save and a beauty!

??? https://t.co/BS9uAIPZV0
?? https://t.co/2RRNHh8Yy0 #Flagship?? pic.twitter.com/7nO8QOFmRk
— UMass Women's Lacrosse (@UMassLacrosse) April 1, 2026

Named to the All-Freshman team was Duffy, Marshall, Diglio and Caitlyn Naughton. Naughton has been an important part of the Minutewomen attack, tallying 22 points via 11 goals and 11 assists. She stands seventh on the team in points, eighth in goals and seventh in assists. Naughton has nine games with multiple points this season, highlighted by three points against Vermont, at Dartmouth and against Central Michigan. Naughton also has 11 groundballs and 12 caused turnovers (seventh on the team).

Have you ever seen this before?! ??

Caitlyn Naughton goes ???????? the goalkeeper in today's win at UMass? ??#Flagship?? | #SCTop10 pic.twitter.com/EaSm7BE6Xx
— UMass Women's Lacrosse (@UMassLacrosse) March 11, 2026

The Minutewomen return to action on Thursday when they play at Robert Morris in the MAC Semifinals. Opening draw is set for 11 a.m. on ESPN+.

2026 MAC Women's Lacrosse All-MAC Teams & Specialty Award Winners
Attacker of the Year: Sienna Hinchcliffe, Akron
Midfielder of the Year: Katie Baumer, Akron
Defensive Player of the Year: Bridget Valentine, UMass
Goalkeeper of the Year: Maddy Porter, Eastern Michigan
Freshman of the Year: Cate Marshall, UMass
Coach of the Year: Jana Drummond, UMass

All-MAC First Team
Attacker- Ava Connaughton, UMass
Attacker- Dylan Lyons, UMass
Attacker- Kassidy Morris, UMass
Attacker- Mackenzie Blackwell, Eastern Michigan
Attacker- Sienna Hinchcliffe, Akron
Defender- Anna Zucconi, Kent State
Defender- Bridget Valentine, UMass
Defender- Mackenzie Flannigan, Youngstown State
Midfielder- Alyssa Jarvis, Detroit Mercy
Midfielder- Katie Baumer, Akron
Midfielder- Lil Hancock, UMass
Midfielder- Mia Berthoff, Robert Morris
Goalkeeper- Maddy Porter, Eastern Michigan

All-MAC Second Team
Attacker- Emerson Henry, Eastern Michigan
Attacker- Kellen Fletcher, Akron
Attacker- Tracy Grollman, Eastern Michigan
Attacker- Zayda Crumpton, Kent State
Defender- Annika Wozney, Eastern Michigan
Defender- Ava Regitz, Central Michigan
Defender- Sarah Baumer, Akron
Defender- Sienna Diglio, UMass
Midfielder- Cate Marshall, UMass
Midfielder- Katie Onderdonk, UMass
Midfielder- Kelsea Dague, Eastern Michigan
Goalkeeper- Bayley Duffy, UMass

All-Freshman Team
Bayley Duffy, UMass
Caitlyn Naughton, UMass
Cate Marshall, UMass
Emma Reichert, Eastern Michigan
Gabi Puzevic, Robert Morris
Lea Otts, Robert Morris
Lucy Carney, Robert Morris
Mia Bradley, Central Michigan
Molly Brooks, Youngstown State
Savannah Hinchcliffe, Akron
Sienna Diglio, UMass
Taylor Burkett, Robert Morris

Scoreboard