Hughes earns NEC Offensive Player of the Year honors as the Conference leader in goals and points (PHOTO BY Andy Ferreira, '99) |
Hughes named NEC Offensive Player of the Year, while
Leach Collects Midfielder of the Year accolades along with All-NEC first team honors
NEC Announces Postseason Women's Lacrosse Awards
EASTON, Mass. (April 30, 2024) – Stonehill College seniors Molly Mae Hughes and Lilly Leach headline six All-Northeast Conference honorees for the program by collecting major end of the year awards as selected by the Conference's 11 head coaches the league announced this afternoon.
Hughes has been named the NEC Offensive Player of the Year, while Leach has collected the NEC's Midfielder of the Year, marking the program's first NEC major award recipients in the Skyhawks second year at the NCAA Division I level as members of the Conference. Hughes is the 11th Stonehill student-athlete to earn Conference Player/Attack of the Year in program history, and the first since former teammate Lydia Rudden, '23 was named Northeast-10 Conference Attack of the Year in 2022. Leach is the third Skyhawk to earn Midfielder of the Year since 2013, and the first since former teammate Emma Sullivan, '22 collected her second of two-straight awards in 2022.
Joining Hughes and Leach on the All-NEC first team is junior midfielder Sofia D'Agostino, while earning second team All-NEC accolades are senior defender Karly King and sophomore attacks Natalie Coutu and Grace Murphy. It marks the third-straight year Stonehill has collected three first team All-Conference accolades, doing so at the NCAA Division I level for the second-straight year, with the trio giving the program 69 first team All-Conference performers all-time. The six total All-NEC selections surpass Stonehill's five earned during its inaugural NCAA Division I season in 2022 and give the Skyhawks 131 All-Conference performers in program history overall, including 11 in two seasons as members of the NEC – with 69 All-Conference selections under head coach Katie Conover, '03 in her 17 years at the helm of her alma mater, including 28 on the first team.
Hughes |
Leach |
D'Agostino |
King |
Coutu |
Murphy |
Hughes earns All-NEC honors for the second-straight year with a first team selection for the first time after collecting second team accolades as a junior. She has started all 17 games for a Stonehill team that leads the NEC and ranks 18th nationally in scoring offense with 14.82 goals per game, leading the Conference in scoring with 83 points (16th nationally), netting a Conference-high 55 goals and ranking second in the league with her 28 assists. Her point and goal totals are both nine shy of the NEC single-season records, while ranking tenth nationally in points per game (4.88). She has also contributed 14 ground balls, 22 draw controls and four caused turnovers for the Skyhawks.
Hughes earned NEC Player of the Week honors for the second time in her career on April 8 and has been selected as an NEC Prime Performer a team-high seven weeks this spring. She has scored multiple goals in 14 games this season, netting four-plus markers eight times. Hughes is one of just 16 in Stonehill history to surpass 200 career points and currently ranks ninth all-time in program history with 231 points, also ranking ninth with 82 assists and tenth in goals with 149 in 63 career games played (60 starts). She has also totaled 74 ground balls, 32 draw controls and 18 caused turnovers in her career.
Hughes was named to the All-Tournament team after helping lead Stonehill to its tenth NE10 Championship as a sophomore in 2022. She has been named to the NE10 and NEC Academic Honor Rolls for her efforts in the classroom.
Leach earns All-Conference honors for the third-straight year with her second-straight All-NEC first team selection. She has started all 17 games this season and leads the NEC with her 131 draw controls that rank fourth on Stonehill's all-time single-season list and ranks 14th nationally for draws per game (7.71). Leach ranks third on the team and in the NEC with her 50 goals scored, ranking fifth in scoring with 56 points, and adding 22 ground balls and 11 caused turnovers while converting 19-of-24 free-position shot attempts.
Leach earned NEC Player of the Week honors for the first time in her career last Friday and has been named an NEC Prime Performer six weeks. She has scored multiple goals 12 games this season, scoring four-plus in three-straight games and in four of the last five.
Leach earns NEC Midfielder of the Year honors and the third All-Conference selection of her career (PHOTO BY Andy Ferreira, '99) |
A third team All-NE10 selection as a sophomore and Most Outstanding Player of the 2022 NE10 Tournament, Leach has collected a program-record 318 draw controls over her career, averaging a program-best 5.78 draws per game, to go with a program-record 48 free-position goals. She has joined Hughes as one of just 23 in program history to score 100 career goals, currently ranking 21st all-time with 111, to go with 16 assists for 127 points, adding 60 ground balls and 34 caused turnovers in 55 career games (51 starts). Leach has been named to both the NEC and NE10 Academic Honor Rolls over the course of her career.
D'Agostino earns All-Conference honors for the first time in her career with her first team All-NEC selection. She has started all 17 games this spring and is fifth on the team in scoring with 32 points on 28 goals and four assists, ranking second to Leach in draw controls with 57 (9th NEC) and totaling a team-high 41 ground balls (4th) and 17 caused turnovers (9th). D'Agostino scored a season-high four goals against Boston University on February 28 and has scored multiple goals in nine games.
D'Agostino, who transferred from UMass Lowell following her freshman season, has played 32 games over her collegiate career and totaled 43 goals and five assists for 48 points, adding 50 ground balls, 71 draw controls and 19 caused turnovers.
King earns the first All-Conference selection of her career with a spot on the All-NEC second team. She has started all 16 games played for a Stonehill defensive unit that ranks seventh in the NEC with a 12.24 team goals against average, second with 20.06 ground balls per game and fourth with 7.41 caused turnovers per game. King leads the Skyhawks with 19 caused turnovers to rank sixth in the NEC, while ranking fifth in the Conference with 36 ground balls to go along with five draw controls.
King is a two-time NEC Prime Performer over the course of her career, earning the honors once this spring, and has started 43 of the 46 games she has played at Stonehill. She has collected 70 ground balls, 40 caused turnovers and 11 draw controls over her career.
D'Agostino rounds out the Skyhawks three All-NEC first team selections (PHOTO BY Mary Gettens, '23) |
Coutu has enjoyed a breakout sophomore season for Stonehill to earn All-NEC second team honors for the first time. She has dished out a Conference-leading 37 assists that is tied for sixth on the program's all-time single-season list, while ranking third among NEC scoring leaders with 64 points and scoring 27 goals, having started all 17 games this spring after starting five of 11 games played as a freshman.
Coutu earned NEC Player of the Week honors for the first time in her career on March 4 and has been named an NEC Prime Performer two weeks this season. She has dished out multiple assists in 11 games, including seven with three assists or more, posting multiple goals in eight contests. Coutu has started 22 of 28 career games in two seasons at Stonehill and totaled 72 points with 30 goals and 42 assists, adding 20 ground balls and seven caused turnovers.
Murphy earns All-NEC second team honors for the first time for Stonehill, ranking second only to Hughes among NEC leaders with 51 goals this spring. She has started all 17 games and ranks fourth among Conference scoring leaders with 63 points, dishing out 12 assists to go with 15 ground balls and six caused turnovers. Murphy has scored multiple goals in 13 games this season, including four-plus markers in eight games.
Murphy was named the NEC Player of the Week for the first time in her career on February 26 following Stonehill's first week of the season. She has earned NEC Prime Performer status five weeks this season. Murphy has started 27 of the 32 games she has played over her two-year career at Stonehill, totaling 62 goals and 17 assists for 79 points, adding 20 ground balls and eight caused turnovers.
Stonehill (9-8, 7-3 NEC) is seeded fourth in the 2024 NEC Tournament and advanced to the semifinal round after making its NCAA Division I postseason debut with a 19-14 first round victory over Saint Francis University at W.B. Mason Stadium on Sunday. The Skyhawks will face No. 2-seeded Long Island University for an NEC semifinal on Thursday at Sacred Heart University's Campus Field in Fairfield, Connecticut, at 4 p.m. The game, along with Saturday's NEC Championship (1 p.m.) will be broadcast live on ESPN+ and NEC Front Row.
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