NEWTON, Mass. – Five members of the Lasell College women's lacrosse team were honored Monday with the naming of the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) All-Conference Team for 2018. The All-GNAC Teams are selected by a vote of the league's head coaches.
Senior Taylor Falco (Hazlet, N.J.) and junior Vanessa Pino (Methuen, Mass.) picked up two of the major awards as Falco was named GNAC Defender of the Year and Pino was tabbed Attacker of the Year. Falco and Pino were also joined on the All-GNAC First Team by senior Taylor Yandow (Moretown, Vt.). All three Lasers are repeat selections from last year's All-Conference First Team, and Yandow is a three-time First Team choice.
Junior Jordan McComb (Cumberland, R.I.) and freshman Kellie Matthews (Walpole, Mass.) were also All-GNAC selections for Lasell, McComb earning Second Team honors and Matthews being named to the Third Team.
The five All-Conference selections helped the Lasers to a 14-4 overall record and an 8-2 mark in conference play under eighth-year head coach Cait Connolly. Lasell advanced to the GNAC championship game for the second time in three years, falling to top-seeded Johnson & Wales University in the title game.
Falco anchored a Laser defense that allowed just 10.00 goals per game. Often matched up against the opponent's top attacker, she recorded 11 caused turnovers, tops among defenders on the team, and tied for third on the team with 31 ground balls. A three-year starter for the Lasers, Falco winds up her career with 41 caused turnovers and 86 ground balls. Falco was also named First Team All-GNAC in field hockey last fall.
Pino led the Lasers and ranked fifth in the GNAC with 90 points this spring. She led the team and was fourth in the conference with 42 assists while scoring 48 goals, third-best on the team and 10th-most in the GNAC. She set a single-game program record with seven assists in a regular-season win over Simmons College, then matched the feat in a playoff victory over Simmons. She also scored a career-high eight goals in a victory at Norwich University. Pino heads into her senior season with 109 goals, 60 assists and 169 career points.
Yandow led the Lasers, ranked second in the GNAC and 20th in Division III with 72 goals, and was second on the team and sixth in the conference with 88 points. She also topped the GNAC and ranked 24th in Division III with 129 draw controls, which also set a single-season program record. She tallied career-highs with eight goals and nine assists in a regular season win over Simmons, and reach double digits in draw controls four times, including a career-best 15 in a playoff win over Simmons. Yandow completes an outstanding career with totals of 208 goals, 56 assists, 264 points, 188 ground balls, 330 draw controls and a program-record 120 caused turnovers.
McComb was also a major contributor to the Laser offense, scoring 53 goals, second-most on the team and ninth in the GNAC, and finishing with 63 points, third on the team at 12th in the conference. She scored at least five goals in a game five time, including a career-best six goals in a playoff victory over Johnson & Wales University. She totaled 15 goals in Lasell's three playoffs games. Despite missing all but five games of her sophomore season, McComb enters her senior season with career totals of 86 goals, 15 assists and 101 points along with 69 ground balls, 60 draw controls and 33 caused turnovers.
Matthews enjoyed an outstanding rookie campaign for the Lasers, finishing with 35 goals, 14 assists, 49 points, and 56 draw controls. She ranked fourth on the team in both goals and points and second in draw controls. Matthews scored at least two goals in 10 of her 16 games, including a season-high six goals in a win over Simmons. She also had at least five points five times, including seven against Simmons.
Additionally, junior Molly Fraser-Kulis (Falmouth, Mass.) was Lasell's representative on the GNAC All-Sportsmanship Team.
2018 GNAC All-Conference Team
FIRST TEAM
A – Maria Patane, Johnson & Wales (RI)
A – Raquel Pederzani, Johnson & Wales (RI)
A – Vanessa Pino, Lasell
A – Kasey Fries, Simmons
M – Taylor Yandow, Lasell
M – Alyssa Kelly, Mount Ida
M – Brooke Scahill, Mount Ida
M – Elyse Caiazzo, Saint Joseph's (Me.)
D – Deja Hursey, Johnson & Wales (RI)
D – Taylor Falco, Lasell
D – Meghan Sargent, Mount Ida
D – Brianne Maloney, Saint Joseph's (Me.)
GK – Maresa Malcolm, Regis (Mass.)
SECOND TEAM
A – Dani Lydecker, Johnson & Wales (RI)
A – Allison Pazienski, Johnson & Wales (RI)
A – Kerri Anselmo, Regis (Mass.)
A – Kara Kelly, Saint Joseph's (Me.)
M – Madeline Bishara, Johnson & Wales (RI)
M – Jordan McComb, Lasell
M – Brittney Arsenault, Saint Joseph's (Me.)
M – Kayla Kelly, Saint Joseph's (Me.)
D – Sophia Czarnecki, Johnson & Wales (RI)
D – Elizabeth Tonn, Johnson & Wales (RI)
D – Erin Loehner, Regis (Mass.)
D – Rachel Nadeau, Regis (Mass.)
GK – Eleanor Garvey, Mount Ida
THIRD TEAM
A – Kellie Matthews, Lasell
A – Hayley Napier, Mount Ida
A – Olivia Bloom, Norwich
A – Madison Beaulieu, Saint Joseph's (Me.)
M – Marley Medina, Johnson & Wales (RI)
M – Kathryn Albretsen, Norwich
M – Linsay Bumila, Regis (Mass.)
M – Mallory Cottam, Simmons
D – Sophia White, Emmanuel (Mass.)
D – Alyssa Ciszek, Rivier
D – Liz Callahan, Saint Joseph's (Me.)
D – Lauren Williams, Simmons
GK – Cassidy O'Hara, Johnson & Wales (RI)
ATTACKER OF THE YEAR – Vanessa Pino, Lasell
MIDFIELDER OF THE YEAR – Alyssa Kelly, Mount Ida
DEFENDER OF THE YEAR – Taylor Falco, Lasell
GOALKEEPER OF THE YEAR – Maresa Malcolm, Regis (Mass.)
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR – Dani Lydecker, Johnson & Wales (RI)
COACH OF THE YEAR – Jessica Scannapieco, Johnson & Wales (RI)
INSTITUTIONAL SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD – Saint Joseph (Conn.)
ALL-SPORTSMANSHIP TEAM
Korina Zelaya, Albertus Magnus (So., Trumbull, Conn)
Madeline Bishara, Johnson & Wales (So., Saunderstown, R.I.)
Molly Fraser-Kulis, Lasell (Jr., Falmouth, Mass.)
Jordyn Ringuette, Mount Ida (Fr., Colchester, Conn.)
Mary-Kait Mace, Norwich (So., Canton, N.Y.)
Erin Loehner, Regis (Mass.) (Sr., Danvers, Mass.)
Courtney Laperriere, Rivier (Jr., Keene, N.H.)
Samantha Medlin, Saint Joseph's (ME) (Kingston, Mass.)
Elena Bragg, Simmons (Jr., Belmont, Mass.)
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