NEAC Selects 2019 Women's Lacrosse All-Conference Team and Annual Honorees
GANSEVOORT, N.Y. – The North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) has announced its 2019 Women’s Lacrosse All-Conference Team with 38 student-athletes receiving first, second and third team honors. Four individuals were also selected for the league’s top honors in a vote by the conference coaches.
Morrisville State’s Courtney Cavellier (Rodman, N.Y.) has been recognized as the NEAC Offensive Player of the Year after scoring 57 goals and 14 assists for 71 points in 17 games thus far. The senior midfielder enters the postseason as the Mustangs’ leading scorer while ranking seventh in goals and eighth in points among NEAC players. Cavellier has collected 49 points in nine conference games and ranks among the league’s top 10 with 57 ground balls and 38 caused turnovers. She is 13th in Division III with 7.94 draw controls per game and leads the NEAC with 130 draw controls. Cavellier tallied nine points on two occasions this season to help the Mustangs earn conference victories against Penn State Abington and Keuka College. She recorded double-digits in draws four times, including 21 in a win over Hilbert College on April 6. Cavellier also had 10 or more caused turnovers in four games with her season-high of 12 coming in a win at Medaille College. Earning the NEAC’s top offensive honor caps off an outstanding season for Cavellier as she set the single-season and all-time program records in draw control wins while also becoming the second player in Morrisville State history to surpass 200 career goals.
Lexi Firkins (Brockport, N.Y.) from Morrisville State has been named the NEAC Defensive Player of the Year after serving as a key piece of a defensive unit that limited its conference opponents to a league-best 4.11 goals-against average. Firkins and the Mustangs allowed just 37 goals in nine league games, which are 26 fewer goals than any other NEAC team. The Mustangs’ junior defender missed the first half of the season due to injury but came back in time for league play to register 44 ground balls and 35 caused turnovers in 12 games while totaling 34 ground balls and 25 caused turnovers in conference games. Firkins closed out the regular season with one of her best outings of the year with a season-high eight ground balls and five caused turnovers in a win at SUNY Poly. In addition to her defensive award, Firkins is also listed on the All-Conference First Team for the second-straight year.
SUNY Poly’s Samantha Dayter (Cohoes, N.Y.) has been selected as the NEAC Rookie of the Year after an outstanding first season. The Wildcats’ rookie midfielder ranks fifth among conference players with 60 goals and sixth with 78 points. Dayter scored nine points in two games this season, including a six goal, three assists performance in a win against Cazenovia. She ranks second in the NEAC with 81 ground balls and scooped up a season-high 11 against Penn State Abington. Dayter also is fourth in the league with 115 draw controls and 13th with 27 caused turnovers.
Morrisville State head coach Taryn Burkholder has been voted by her peers as the NEAC Coach of the Year for the first team in her career after leading the Mustangs to their second-straight regular season title. Under Burkholder’s leadership, Morrisville State posted a perfect 9-0 record against league opponents and enters the postseason at 12-5 overall. In her second season with the Mustangs, Burkholder’s squad leads the NEAC in nine categories in conference play, including goals per game (20.33) and goals-against average (4.11). In addition to receiving three major awards, the Mustangs also earned six of the 13 All-Conference First Team selections.
2019 NEAC Women's Lacrosse All-Conference Team
| Position |
Name |
Institution |
Year |
Hometown |
| All-Conference First Team |
| Attack |
Celia Abbott |
Morrisville State |
Sr. |
Shortsville, N.Y. |
| Attack |
Emily Somes |
SUNY Poly |
So. |
Elbridge, N.Y. |
| Attack ^ |
Savanah Connors |
Wells College |
Jr. |
Moriches, N.Y. |
| Attack ^ |
Chelsea McNeal |
Morrisville State |
Jr. |
Ithaca, N.Y. |
| Midfield |
Courtney Cavellier |
Morrisville State |
Sr. |
Rodman, N.Y. |
| Midfield |
Mackenzie Maloney |
Wells College |
Sr. |
Huntington, N.Y. |
| Midfield |
Kayla Prosinski |
SUNY Poly |
Jr. |
Endwell, N.Y. |
| Midfield ** |
Kendall Neuberger |
Keuka College |
Sr. |
Penn Yan, N.Y. |
| Defense |
Lexi Firkins |
Morrisville State |
Jr. |
Brockport, N.Y. |
| Defense |
Elizabeth Sherman |
Keuka College |
Sr. |
Auburn, N.Y. |
| Defense |
Lydia Cooley |
Morrisville State |
Jr. |
Honeoye Falls, N.Y. |
| Defense ** |
Samantha Burlow |
Medaille College |
So. |
West Seneca, N.Y. |
| Goalkeeper |
Kadi Bice |
Morrisville State |
Fr. |
Lorraine, N.Y. |
| All-Conference Second Team |
| Attack |
Brenna Voigt |
Keuka College |
So. |
Penn Yan, N.Y. |
| Attack |
Breana Howe |
Cazenovia College |
Jr. |
Apalachin, N.Y. |
| Attack |
Jennifer Maxam |
SUNY Poly |
Sr. |
Clinton, N.Y. |
| Attack **^ |
Alexis Ackerson |
Medaille College |
So. |
Niagara Falls, N.Y. |
| Midfield |
Hannah Thompson |
Lancaster Bible |
Sr. |
Morgantown, Pa. |
| Midfield |
Sydney Bloom |
Keuka College |
Fr. |
Penn Yan, N.Y. |
| Midfield |
Samantha Dayter |
SUNY Poly |
Fr. |
Cohoes, N.Y. |
| Midfield **^ |
Michaela Breeze |
Cazenovia College |
Sr. |
Auburn, N.Y. |
| Defense |
Molly Burdick |
SUNY Poly |
Fr. |
Vestal, N.Y. |
| Defense |
Chelsie Thomas |
Cazenovia College |
Jr. |
Central Square, N.Y. |
| Defense |
Julia Prychodko |
D'Youville College |
Jr. |
East Aurora, N.Y. |
| Goalkeeper |
Megan Dulniak |
D'Youville College |
Sr. |
Cheektowaga, N.Y. |
| Goalkeeper ** |
Anna Bozeat |
Wells College |
Sr. |
Jordan, N.Y. |
| All-Conference Third Team |
| Attack |
Emma Campagna |
Medaille College |
Jr. |
Clarence, N.Y. |
| Attack |
Madelaine Taylor |
Keuka College |
Fr. |
Oswego, N.Y. |
| Attack |
Renee Bartosz |
Wells College |
Sr. |
Hamburg, N.Y. |
| Attack ** |
Aylnn Phelan |
Penn State Abington |
Jr. |
Philadelphia, Pa. |
| Midfield |
Raegan Horst |
Lancaster Bible |
Sr. |
New Holland, Pa. |
| Midfield |
Macayla Barry |
Medaille College |
So. |
Hamburg, N.Y. |
| Midfield |
Claire Purdy |
Medaille College |
So. |
West Seneca, N.Y. |
| Defense |
Samantha Tropp |
Penn State Abington |
So. |
Strasburg, Pa. |
| Defense |
Maddy Austin |
Medaille College |
So. |
West Seneca, N.Y. |
| Defense |
Alison Gareis |
D'Youville College |
So. |
Buffalo, N.Y. |
| Defense ** |
Julia Smith |
Wells College |
Sr. |
Guilderland, N.Y. |
| Goalkeeper |
Janelle Thomas |
Keuka College |
So. |
Painted Post, N.Y. |
**Denotes at-large selection
^ Denotes unbreakable tie in voting
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The North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) has 12 NCAA Division III member institutions which include: Cazenovia College, College of Saint Elizabeth, Gallaudet University, Keuka College, Lancaster Bible College, Pennsylvania College of Technology, Pennsylvania State University – Abington, Pennsylvania State University – Berks, SUNY Cobleskill, Morrisville State, SUNY Polytechnic Institute, and Wells College. Associate members are: Cedar Crest College (W Swimming), D’Youville College (W Lacrosse), Hilbert College (M&W Lacrosse), Medaille College (M&W Lacrosse), Rutgers University – Camden (M Golf), and Wilson College (M Volleyball). The NEAC has partnered with the North Atlantic Conference in the sport of men’s tennis and with the Colonial State Athletic Conference in the sport of Field Hockey. For more information, please visit: www.neacsports.com.