2009 All-PSAC Lacrosse Teams (pdf)
Lock Haven, Pa. - Courtney Whiting of PSAC East champion West Chester and Leigh Titus of PSAC West and tournament champion Lock Haven have been named the PSAC Lacrosse East and West Athletes of the Year, respectively, as they highlight the 2009 All-PSAC teams. For the first time in PSAC lacrosse history this year, the league was split into two divisions, an Eastern and Western, and as a result, this marks the first year that there are an East and West all-conference team.
Lock Haven, which this year won its first PSAC Tournament title since 1981 in its fourth straight appearance in the championship game, swept the awards in the Western Division as Titus was joined by Kayleigh Johnson, who was named the PSAC West Freshman of the Year, and head coach Kristen Selvage, who was named the PSAC West Coach of the Year. Bloomsburg took the remaining two awards in the PSAC East as Samantha King was named the Freshman of the Year and head coach Leah Carr was named the Coach of the Year.
West Chester and Gannon led the way with four selections each on their respective first teams. Whiting was joined by teammates Katy Crouse, Gina DiDomenicis and Mary Beth Green on the first team. In addition to being named the East Athlete of the Year, Whiting also was named to the first team for the first time in her career. Crouse was named to the first team for the second straight year while DiDomenicis capped her career by being named to the first team for the fourth straight year. Gannon’s first team representatives in the West were Christina Alexander, Acacia Cook, Colleen Dixon and Krista Schunk. The Golden Knights led all teams with nine total all-conference selections as the quartet on the first team was joined by Kayla Nelson, the PSAC’s leader in assists, Mary Eshenour, Taryn Millerd, Heidi Lott and Molly Meagher.
Bloomsburg, Lock Haven, Mercyhurst and West Chester all had six overall selections apiece. The West Chester first team quartet was joined by Jackie Baker and Chrissy Stokes on the second team.Titus was joined by Johnson and Kate Zichelli on the first team for Lock Haven while Allison Berger, Jaimie Uzialko and Amber Hoch made the second team. Mercyhurst which finished second in the PSAC West, was represented by the PSAC’s leading goal scorer Breanna Haggerty, Kimberly Masterton and Maggie Yackel on the first team and Kristie Jennings, Beth O’Neil and Elizabeth Wagner on the second team. The Huskies, who finished second in the PSAC East, were led by Kelsey Quigley, who made the first team after two straight years on the second team. She was joined by King and Sam Alexander on the first team and Tia Mazzie, Ashley Bowers and Allison Ziants on the second team. Ziants makes her second All-PSAC East second team of the 2008-09 school year, as she was also a All-PSAC East second team selection in field hockey. Ziants is one of three players on the All-PSAC lacrosse team that was also named All-PSAC in a different sport this year. Beth Long of Shippensburg, who was also a first team All-PSAC East goalkeeper in soccer in the fall, was a first team defender in lacrosse while teammate Gayle Kuntzmann, a first team forward in soccer, was a first team midfielder in lacrosse for the second straight year.
The All-PSAC West team was full of first-time all-conference selections. With first-year members Gannon and Mercyhurst combining for 15 of the 24 spots on both the first and second teams. Only Titus, who is now a three-time all-conference selection, including two straight years on the first team, and Hoch, who was named to the second team after being on the first team for the last two years, were repeat selections in the PSAC West.
Whiting co-led defending national champion West Chester in goals this year with 46 and was second on the team in points with 59. She was also third in the league this year with five game-winning goals for the 14-3 Golden Rams. Her selection as the East Athlete of the Year marks the sixth straight year that a West Chester player has earned an Athlete of the Year award, as the Golden Rams have had the last five consecutive PSAC Athletes of the Year in the previous one-division format.
Titus, a junior, who was the PSAC Rookie of the Year in 2007, was among the league leaders in goals, assists and points, as she has accumulated 64 goals and 28 assists for 92 points this year. She formed a fierce attacking trio along with Johnson and Hoch for the 16-3 Lady Eagles in addition to making the all-conference team for the third straight year.
King finished second on the Bloomsburg team in goals with 41 goals and also was second on the Huskies in points. She becomes Bloomsburg’s first Freshman of the Year since former standout Cali Toms was named the Rookie of the Year in 2005.
Johnson, who scored 61 goals and dished out 32 assists to lead Lock Haven in points with 93, is the second Lady Eagle in the last three years to be named a PSAC Freshman of the Year. She is also the third in the last four years and the fourth in the last six years. She joins former Lock Haven standouts Jessica Blickenstaff (2006) and Jenna Richter (2004) in addition to Titus as former PSAC Freshmen of the Year in the last six seasons.
Selvage is the PSAC West Coach of the Year for the third time in her career, as she also earned the conference coach of the year award in both 2002 and 2004. The 2004 season marked the first of a current six-year streak in which the Lady Eagles have qualified for the PSAC Tournament. This year marked Lock Haven’s fourth straight appearance in the PSAC title game.
Carr earns her first PSAC East Coach of the Year award for Bloomsburg. The third-year head coach guided the Huskies back to the PSAC Tournament for the third straight season, finishing in second place in the Eastern Division with an 8-2 mark and a 12-6 record overall. Formerly an East Stroudsburg standout, Carr was the PSAC Rookie of the Year in 2002 and she also becomes the first Bloomsburg coach honored as a coach of the year since Kathy Frick in 2003.
2009 All-PSAC East Lacrosse Team
First Team
Attacker
Sam Alexander Bloomsburg Sr. Willow Grove, Pa./Upper Moreland
Christine Bradley^ East Stroudsburg So. Pottstown, Pa./Pottstown
Samantha King Bloomsburg Fr. Elkton, Md./Northeast
Michelle Mangiaruga East Stroudsburg So. North Wales, Pa./North Penn
Midfielder
Gayle Kuntzmann* Shippensburg Jr. Hatboro, Pa./Hatboro-Horsham
Kelsey Quigley^^ Bloomsburg Sr. Lansdale, Pa./Methacton
Courtney Whiting^ West Chester Sr. Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown East
Defense
Katy Crouse* West Chester Jr. Gilbertsville, Pa./Boyertown
Gina DiDomenicis*** West Chester Sr. Voorhees, N.J./Eastern
Bethany Long^* Shippensburg Sr. Berwyn, Pa./Conestoga
Laura Riegel East Stroudsburg Fr. Royersford, Pa./Spring-Ford
Goalkeeper
Mary Beth Green* West Chester Sr. West Chester, Pa./Henderson
Second Team
Attacker
Jackie Baker**^ West Chester Sr. Media, Pa./Penncrest
Elizabeth DiNunno Shippensburg Jr. Bel Air, Md./Fallston
Rachael Murray Shippensburg So. Lancaster, Pa./Lampeter-Strasburg
Chrissy Stokes West Chester Jr. Lafayette Hill, Pa./Plymouth-Whitemarsh
Midfielder
Tia Mazzie Bloomsburg So. Barto, Pa./Boyertown
Rachel Mehaffey Kutztown Fr. West Deptford, N.J./West Deptford
Liz Weekley* Millersville Jr. Pottstown, Pa./Pottstown
Defense
Ashley Bowers^ Bloomsburg So. Springfield, Pa./Springfield
Kelsey Browning Shippensburg Sr. Sanatoga, Pa./Pottsgrove
Lindsay Keeley Millersville Jr. Spring City, Pa./Owen J. Roberts
Megan Schwar Kutztown Fr. Alpa, N.J./Phillipsburg
Goalkeeper
Allison Ziants Bloomsburg Jr. Winfield, Pa./Selinsgrove
PSAC East Athlete of the Year
Courtney Whiting West Chester Sr. Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown East
PSAC East Freshman of the Year
Samantha King Bloomsburg Fr. Elkton, Md./Northeast
PSAC East Coach of the Year
Leah Carr Bloomsburg
* Indicates previous All-PSAC first team selection
^ Indicates previous All-PSAC second team selection
2009 All-PSAC West Lacrosse Team
First Team
Attacker
Breanna Haggerty Mercyhurst Sr. Skaneateles, N.Y./Skaneateles
Amy Halls Slippery Rock Fr. Westerville, Ohio/Olentangy
Kayleigh Johnson Lock Haven Fr. Fairport, N.Y./Fairport
Krista Schunk Gannon Sr. Honeoye Falls, N.Y./Honeoye Falls-Lima
Midfielder
Colleen Dixon Gannon Sr. Lafayette, N.Y./Lafayette
Kimberly Masterton Mercyhurst So. Penfield, N.Y./Penfield
Leigh Titus*^ Lock Haven Jr. Towaco, N.J./Montville
Defense
Christina Alexander Gannon Sr. Syracuse, N.Y./Westhill
Bri Dishong Slippery Rock So. Stow, Ohio/Stow Munroe Falls
Maggie Yackel Mercyhurst So. Camilus, N.Y./West Genesee
Katie Zichelli Lock Haven So. South Orange, N.J./Columbia
Goalkeeper
Acacia Cook Gannon Sr. Syracuse, N.Y./Cicero North Syracuse
Second Team
Attacker
Allison Berger Lock Haven So. Oreland, Pa./Springfield
Kristie Jennings Mercyhurst Jr. Whitby, Ontario/Anderson
Kayla Nelson Gannon Jr. Oswego, N.Y./Oswego
Jaimie Uzialko Lock Haven So. Lima, N.Y./Honeoye Falls-Lima
Midfielder
Mary Eshenour Gannon So. Waterloo, N.Y./Waterloo
Amber Hoch** Lock Haven Sr. Souderton, Pa./Souderton
Taryn Millerd Gannon Jr. Shortsville, N.Y./Midlakes
Defense
Heidi Lott Gannon Sr. Painted Post, N.Y./Corning West
Molly Meagher Gannon Sr. Liverpool, N.Y./Liverpool
Beth O’Neil Mercyhurst Sr. Syracuse, N.Y./Westhill Central
Elizabeth Wagner Mercyhurst Sr. Rush, N.Y./Rush-Genrietta
Goalkeeper
Katie Lee IUP Sr. Marlton, N.J./Camden Catholic
PSAC West Athlete of the Year
Leigh Titus Lock Haven Jr. Towaco, N.J./Montville
PSAC West Freshman of the Year
Kayleigh Johnson Lock Haven Fr. Fairport, N.Y./Fairport
PSAC West Coach of the Year
Kristen Selvage Lock Haven
* Indicates previous All-PSAC first team selection
^ Indicates previous All-PSAC second team selection