Sullivan earns All-East Region honors for the second-straight year (PHOTO BY Jon Bourque) |
Sullivan earns All-Region honors for second-straight year, highlights three first team selections
IWLCA Announces Division II All-Region Teams
EASTON, Mass. (May 12, 2022) – Five members of the Northeast-10 Conference champion Stonehill College women's lacrosse program have earned selection to the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) Division II All-East Region team by the organization's head coaches, it was announced today.
Senior midfielder Emma Sullivan highlights Stonehill's honorees as one of three first team selections, earning All-Region accolades for the second-straight year after collecting a spot on the second team in 2021. She is joined on the All-East Region first team by junior attack Lydia Rudden and junior defender Victoria Butler, while senior Kendall Fressle and sophomore Molly Mae Hughes were named to the second team. Stonehill's five All-East Region honorees are the most for the program since that same total earned All-North Region honors in 2015 and the three Skyhawks named to the first team are the highest total since three earned the honors in 2011.
Sullivan, who earned Midfielder of the Year honors from the NE10 for the second-straight year as well as a spot on the All-NE10 first team, earns IWLCA All-East Region honors for the second-straight year with her first selection to the first team. The USA Lacrosse Magazine preseason All-American earned NE10 Defensive Player of the Week accolades five times this spring, adding NE10 Player of the Week honors once. She has had an impact all across the field for Stonehill this season, leading the NE10 with 66 goals (16th nationally) to go with 18 assists for 84 points that rank second among NE10 leaders to Rudden. Sullivan also leads the NE10 with her program-record 131 draw controls, 71 ground balls and school-record 46 caused turnovers, ranking seventh nationally in Division II for ground balls per game (3.7), ninth in caused turnovers per game (2.4) and 13th for draw controls (6.9 per game).
Sullivan |
Rudden |
Butler |
Fressle |
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Hughes |
Sullivan's 66 goals this spring rank fourth on Stonehill's all-time single-season list, just five shy of Kristin Darrell's '08 record of 71 goals in 2006, while her ground ball total ranks second in program history, only four behind Taylor Shannahan's '18 record of 75 in 2018.
Sullivan, who received an Athletic Director's Award this spring and was named Stonehill's "Breakout Sophomore" Award recipient for the spring season in 2020, has been named to the NE10 Academic Honor Roll multiple semesters over her career. She has surpassed both 100 points and 100 goals in her 50 career games played, totaling 126 goals and 33 assists for 159 career points, contributing 216 draw controls, 130 ground balls and 71 caused turnovers in her career. She ranks second all-time in program history for career draw controls, while ranking 14th all-time in career goals, 11th in ground balls and eighth in caused turnovers.
Rudden, the NE10 Attack of the Year and an All-NE10 first team selection, earns All-East Region honors for the first time in her career. The four-time NE10 Player of the Week and two-time IWLCA Division II Offensive Player of the Week has posted just the third 100-point season in Stonehill history, leading the Conference in scoring by 25 points, while her school-record and NCAA Division II leading 68 assists in 19 games played lead the NE10 by 22. Her 109 points (3rd nationally) are just one shy of Jenny McGrath's '06 single season record of 110 in 2006, while Rudden ranks fifth on the team and 14th among NE10 leaders with her 41 goals.
Rudden, named Stonehill's Outstanding Junior Award recipient at its annual athletics awards night, matched a program record with her eight assists in Stonehill's season-opening win at Molloy College on February 27. She has totaled 58 goals and 97 assists for 155 points in her 32 career games played and is tied with her older sister, Brooke Rudden, '15 for fifth in the program's career assist list. She earned NE10 Academic All-Conference honors as a sophomore and is a two-time recipient of the Saint Thomas Aquinas, Patron Saint of Students, Medal for having the highest cumulative grade point average on the team. Rudden has been named to the NE10 Academic Honor Roll and Athletic Director's Honor Roll every semester, receiving Academic Excellence status from the NE10 for having a 4.0 semester GPA.
Butler, an All-NE10 first team selection, earns All-East Region honors from the IWLCA for the first time. She spearheads a Stonehill defense that ranks fifth in the NE10 for scoring defense (11.11 goals per game) and fourth in caused turnovers per game (11.1), while leading the Conference and ranking third nationally with 18.5 draw controls per game and 19.8 ground balls per game. Butler is third on the team with 79 draw controls (10th NE10), which ranks seventh on Stonehill's all-time single-season list, while ranking second on the team with 46 ground balls (5th) and 24 caused turnovers. She has contributed on the offensive end with 15 goals and three assists for 18 points in 19 games played.
Butler has started 29 of her 33 games played over three seasons at Stonehill, having totaled 66 ground balls, 79 draw controls and 37 caused turnovers, while adding 23 goals and three assists for 26 points. She has been named to the NE10 Academic Honor Roll and Athletic Director's Honor Roll every semester.
Rudden leads Division II in assists and is program's fourth to reach the milde-srown (PHOTO BY Crystal Ayn Photography |
Fressle, an NE10 All-Rookie Team selection as a freshman and second team All-NE10 pick this spring, earns IWLCA All-East Region honors for the first time with her spot on the second team. Named to the NE10 All-Championship team over the weekend, Fressle, has also recorded her 100th career point this spring and is third on the team with 50 goals scored (7th NE10), adding 12 assists for 62 points (12th) to rank fourth on the team. Fressle has scored a school-record 20 free-position goals this season, breaking the previous record of 17 by Samantha Lynott in 2010.
Fressle has started 25 of 47 games played in her Stonehill career and totaled 114 points with 95 goals, including 37 on free-position attempts to rank third all-time in program history, and 19 assists for 114 points. She has also collected 37 ground balls and 13 caused turnovers in her career, and has been named to the NE10 Academic Honor Roll and Athletic Director's Honor Roll, receiving the Division II Athletic Director's Association (ADA) Academic Achievement Award.
Hughes, named to the NE10 All-Championship team, earns IWLCA All-East Region honors for the first time in her career with second team honors. She has started 18 of her 19 games played this spring and is third among NE10 leaders behind only Rudden and Sullivan with her 78 points, ranking second on the team and sixth in the NE10 with 54 goals to go with 24 assists (7th), while contributing 28 ground balls. Hughes has recorded multiple goals in 14 games, including four games with more than five goals, including a career-high seven markers in wins over then No. 25 The College of Saint Rose (April 5) and Southern Connecticut State University (April 20).
Hughes, named to the NE10 All-Rookie Team as a freshman, has started 28 of the 29 games she has played over her two-year career at Stonehill. She became the fourth 100-point scorer on the team this spring, joining Sullivan, Rudden and Fressle, in Saturday's NE10 semifinal win over Pace University, having totaled 66 goals and 35 assists for 101 points, adding 45 ground balls and 11 caused turnovers. Hughes has been named to the NE10 Academic Honor Roll every semester.
Stonehill (17-2, 12-1 NE10), ranked No. 5 in this week's IWLCA Division II poll and No. 7 in the USA Lacrosse Magazine poll, has earned the ninth NCAA Tournament bid in program history and the top-seeded Skyhawks will serve as host of the East Regional at W.B. Mason Stadium this weekend. Stonehill opens against fourth-seeded and No. 13/14 Mercy College (14-4, 6-0 ECC) for a first round matchup at W.B. Mason Stadium on Friday at 11 a.m. Game two on Friday will feature second seeded and No. 7/8 Adelphi University (16-2, 12-1 NE10) against third-seeded and No. 9/10 Le Moyne College (15-5, 10-3 NE10) at 3 p.m. The winners will play for the East Region Championship at W.B. Mason Stadium on Sunday at noon.
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