Sullivan collects All-Conference honors for the third-straight year with her first team All-NEC selection. (PHOTO BY Andrew Katsampes) |
Rudden, Sullivan and Leach earn first team honors, while Hughes and Crispens selected to second team
NEC Postseason Awards Announcement
EASTON, Mass. (May 3, 2023) – Five members of the Stonehill College women's lacrosse program have earned All-Northeast Conference honors, as selected by the Conference's nine head coaches, following the program's inaugural NCAA Division I season the league announced today.
Stonehill's five All-NEC selections include first team honors for postgrad Emma Sullivan, senior Lydia Rudden and junior Lilly Leach, while junior Molly Mae Hughes and sophomore Mallory Crispens both earned second team honors. It marks the second-straight year Stonehill has collected three first team All-Conference accolades, doing so this year at the NCAA Division I level, with the trio giving the program 66 first team All-Conference performers all-time. The quintet are the first All-NEC selections in program history give the Skyhawks 125 All-Conference performers in program history overall – with 63 All-Conference selections, including 25 on the first team under head coach Katie Conover, '03 in her 16 years at the helm of her alma mater.
Sullivan, named to the Tewaaraton Award Preseason Watch List, caps her collegiate career with All-Conference honors for the third-straight year with her second-straight first team selection – this time as a member of the NEC. The two-time Northeast-10 Conference Midfielder of the Year and 2022 Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) Division II Midfielder of the Year, returned for a postgrad year and started all 15 games for Stonehill, finishing third on the team in scoring with 39 points, scoring a team-high 36 goals to go with three assists, while collecting 27 ground balls, 43 draw controls and team-best 21 caused turnovers. She currently ranks sixth among NEC goal scoring leaders and ninth for caused turnovers.
Rudden |
Sullivan |
Leach |
Hughes |
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Crispens |
Sullivan, an IWLCA Division II first team All-American in 2022, became Stonehill's 15th 200-point scorer this spring, finishing her career tied for 13th all-time with 206 points, while her 170 career goals rank eighth in program history. She has also totaled 36 assists and ranks second in Stonehill history with 276 draw controls, tied for third with 94 caused turnovers and sixth with 164 ground balls. Sullivan set program records for woman-up goals (19) and woman-down goals (3) in her 67 career games played. She is a two-time IWLCA All-Region selection and was named to the NE10 Academic Honor Roll multiple semesters.
Rudden, an IWLCA first team All-American in 2022, earns All-Conference honors for the second-straight year with her second first team selection. The 2022 NE10 Attack of the Year made a smooth transition to NCAA Division I and the NEC, leading the Conference with her 48 assists this season – which ranks fifth nationally in Division I and is tied with her older sister, Brooke Rudden, '15 for third on Stonehill's all-time single-season list behind her own record of 77 in 2022. Rudden also leads the NEC in scoring with 72 points (28th nationally), having scored 24 goals in starting all 15 games, adding 16 ground balls and five caused turnovers.
Rudden, named Stonehill's Edward E. Martin Senior Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year on Monday, is the program's all-time assists leader with 154 in her 49 career games played. She became the 14th player in Stonehill history to surpass 200 career points, finishing ranked eighth all-time with 237, having added 83 goals to her record assist total, with 61 ground balls and 20 caused turnovers. She posted just the third 100-point season in Stonehill history in 2022, leading the NE10 in scoring by 22 points with a program-record 119, to go with her record 77 assists and 42 goals, posting the 16th 100-point season in NE10 history. Rudden is a two-time Academic All-District selection by College Sports Communicators and NE10 Academic All-Conference honoree and a three-time recipient of the Saint Thomas Aquinas, Patron Saint of Students, Medal for having the highest cumulative grade point average on the team.
Leach earns All-Conference honors for the second-straight year with her first first team selection. She started all 14 games played and leads the NEC with her 84 draw controls, which ranks seventh on Stonehill's all-time single-season list. Leach finished fifth on the team in scoring with 31 points, scoring 24 goals to go with seven assists, while collecting 27 ground balls and four caused turnovers.
Rudden is a first team All-Conference selection for the second-straight year with her All-NEC pick (PHOTO BY Andrew Katsampes) |
A third team All-NE10 selection and Most Outstanding Player of the 2022 NE10 Tournament as a sophomore, Leach ranks fifth all-time at Stonehill with her 187 career draw controls. She has started 34 of 38 games played over her career and totaled 61 goals and ten assists for 71 points, adding 38 ground balls and 23 caused turnovers. Leach was named to the NE10 Academic Honor Roll her first four semesters at the College.
Hughes earns the first All-Conference selection of her career with her second team All-NEC pick. She started 13 of 15 games played and finished second on the team in scoring with 46 points, totaling 28 goals and 18 assists to rank third and second on the team, respectively. Hughes earned NEC Player of the Week accolades once and is ranked fifth among NEC assist leaders and seventh in scoring.
Hughes has started 43 of 46 games played over her Stonehill career and totaled 94 goals and 54 assists for 148 points, adding 60 ground balls and 14 caused turnovers. She has been named to the NE10 Academic Honor Roll and was an NE10 Rookie of the Week once during the 2020 season.
Crispens earns All-Conference honors for the second-straight year with her second team All-NEC selection. She helped spearhead the Stonehill defensive effort, starting all 15 games and finishing second on the team with 13 caused turnovers, to go with a team-high 29 ground balls.
An All-NE10 third team and NE10 All-Rookie Team selection in 2022, Crispens has started all 36 games of her collegiate career, totaling 77 ground balls and 40 caused turnovers, while chipping in with one assist. She was named to the NE10 Academic Honor Roll each semester as a freshman.
Stonehill finished its inaugural NCAA Division I season with a 5-10 record overall, including 5-3 in the NEC to finish tied for third in the final regular season standings. The Skyhawks produced the No. 2-ranked attack in the NEC, averaging 13.27 goals per game, while leading the Conference in draw controls (16.47/gm) and ranking third in ground balls (17.20). Stonehill finished the season strong with three-straight NEC wins as part of winning three of its final four games, including a 15-11 triumph at NEC Tournament participants LIU.
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