Conover earns NE10 Coach of the Year honors for the first time in guiding the Skyhawks to the NE10 regular season title (PHOTO BY Andrew Katsampes) |
15-year mentor earns honors for first time in guiding Skyhawks to NE10 title
NE10 Women's Lacrosse Postseason Awards
EASTON, Mass. (May 6, 2022) – Stonehill College head coach Katie Conover, '03, one of the most decorated student-athletes in school history, has added Northeast-10 Conference Coach of the Year honors to her list of accolades, as selected by the Conference's 14 head coaches, the league announced.
Conover, who earns NE10 Coach of the Year honors for the first time in her career, is the second coach in Stonehill history to collect the award in women's lacrosse after Stonehill Athletic Hall of Famer Michael Daley was named an NE10 record six times, including a record five-straight years from 2002-06. Conover's selection is among three major award announcements for Stonehill as senior Emma Sullivan earned NE10 Midfielder of the Year for the second time and junior Lydia Rudden has been selected as NE10 Attack of the Year to headline seven All-Northeast-10 Conference selections for the Skyhawks.
Conover, as well as associate head coach Katherine McDonough, '14 and assistant coach Bailey Grant, '20, have led Stonehill to a program-record 12 NE10 wins to capture a share of its NE10 record 12th regular season championship. The Skyhawks are the top seed for this week's NE10 Tournament and are ranked No. 2 in the NCAA Division II East Region rankings for the third-straight week, while earning No. 8 national rankings from both the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) and USA Lacrosse Magazine. Among Stonehill's 15 wins this spring is an 8-1 against nationally ranked opponents, including a pair of wins against Le Moyne College and Adelphi University while they were ranked No. 2 in the country at the time.
Conover became the first women's lacrosse coach in NE10 history to reach 200 career wins in March (PHOTO BY Andrew Katsampes) |
Stonehill, winners of nine-straight games, boasts the top attack in the NE10, scoring 17.4 goals per game (5th nationally in Division II), with a Conference-high 8.1 assists per game (9th) and 18.1 draw controls per game (4th), while ranking second in the NE10 for ground balls per game (19.2), third in scoring margin (+6.6) and fourth in the NE10 for scoring defense (10.8 goals per game) and caused turnovers per game (11.0).
Conover, who became the first NE10 women's lacrosse coach to reach 200 career wins with a 19-2 win at American International College on March 23, has posted a 210-105 (.667) career record in 19 seasons as a head coach, including her first four years at Merrimack College. She has led her alma mater to a 165-85 (.660) mark since replacing Daley as just the second head coach in program history in 2008. Conover has guided the Skyhawks to four NE10 Championships, with regular season crowns in 2008, 2009 and this spring, to go with the 2008 NE10 Tournament title. The Skyhawks have made three NCAA Tournament appearances under her watch as well.
Conover has been inducted to the Stonehill Athletic Hall of Fame and NE10 Hall of Fame after a record-breaking career at Stonehill as a student-athlete, capped by the program's first NCAA Division II National Championship in 2003. The four-time first team All-American was the first of two from Stonehill to earn NE10 Player of the Year honors three-straight years, was a four-time All-NE10 first team pick and selected as the 2000 NE10 Rookie of the Year. She still holds a share of Stonehill's career scoring record with 326 points, ranking fourth all-time with her 220 goals and second in program history with 106 career assists.
Stonehill (15-2, 12-1 NE10) has reached the NE10 semifinal round for a Conference-record 19th time in a Conference-record 21 all-time NE10 Tournament appearances. Stonehill will host fourth-seeded and No. 12/13-ranked Pace University for an NE10 semifinal at W.B. Mason Stadium on Saturday at 11 a.m. Stonehill will host Sunday's NE10 Championship at W.B. Mason Stadium at 1 p.m.
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