2011 All-PSAC Lacrosse Team (pdf)
Lock Haven, Pa. - Gannon senior midfielder Mary Eshenour has been named the PSAC Athlete of the Year as she headlines the 2011 All-PSAC lacrosse teams. Jessica Pandolf of PSAC champion Lock Haven has been tabbed the PSAC Freshman of the Year while East Stroudsburg’s Jane Koeniges has been named the PSAC Coach of the Year, being honored as the conference’s top coach in her first year of guiding the Warrior program.
PSAC lacrosse returned to single-division play this season and with that comes the return of single-division all-conference teams. Instead of two all-conference teams in each division as was the setup the last two seasons, there are three all-conference teams this season - a first, second and third team - comprised of four forwards, four midfielders, four defenders and one goalkeeper on each team.
Lock Haven and Gannon led the way with six overall selections each. The Lady Eagles were represented by attacker Allison Berger, defender Katie Zichelli and goalkeeper Heather Sacko on the first team, attacker Kayleigh Johnson and Pandolf on the second team, and midfielder Jamie Uzialko on the third team. Gannon was represented by Eshenour and forward Rachel Dercola on the first team, midfielder Jess Fugate and defender Miranda Walters on the second team, and attacker Caitlyn Fisher and defender Jenna Hughes on the third team. Lock Haven and Mercyhurst led the way with three selections each on the first team. The Lakers placed forward Alexandra Keirn, midfielder Kimberly Masterton and defender Maggie Yackel on the first team.
The first team is comprised almost entirely of repeat selections as 11 of the 14 members of the first team have been named all-conference prior to this year. Only a pair of freshmen defenders in Shippensburg’s Liz French and IUP’s Taylor Norwood and Sacko of Lock Haven are first-time all-conference honorees. Of the 11 players to previously garner All-PSAC recognition, Mercyhurst’s Masterton and Yackel as well as Lock Haven’s Zichelli mark their third straight season on an all-conference first team. Gannon’s Eshenour is on the first time for the first time in her career after previously being a second team pick twice, while Lock Haven’s Berger and Slippery Rock’s Amy Halls are both on the all-conference team for the third time in their careers, once previously on the first team and once on the second team.
Bloomsburg senior defender Ashley Bowers highlights the second team as the only four-time All-PSAC selection on this year’s all-conference team. She was a first team pick last year and second team for two seasons previous to that. She is one of just four players on the second team with previous all-conference accolades in their careers as two-thirds of the team earns all-conference recognition for the first time in their careers. Lock Haven’s Johnson and East Stroudsburg’s Michelle Mangiaruga, who both previously earned two first team selections, and Bloomsburg’s Samantha King, a second team selection last year and a first team pick in 2009, are the only other previous all-conference players on the second team. Lock Haven’s Pandolf, this year’s Freshman of the Year, joins both of last season’s Freshmen of the Year in King and Gannon’s Fugate.
The third team has five previous all-conference honorees led by Kutztown junior Rachel Mehaffey who is on the all-conference team for the third consecutive season after previously being honored on the East second team twice. Shippensburg’s Katie Brewer and Lindsey Kennedy, Lock Haven’s Uzialko and Mercyhurst’s Jordan Hogan are the other former all-conference honorees on the third team.
Eshenour becomes the first Gannon player to earn the PSAC Athlete of the Year award in this, the Golden Knights’ third year in the conference. The Waterloo, N.Y. native led the PSAC in goals (68) and goals per game (3.78) and finished third in the league in points per game (4.33) and fourth in total points (78). She also topped the league in goals in conference games with 40 and 3.64 per game. She scored on nearly half of her shots (47.2 percent) and put 73.6 percent of her shots on goal. While she is the first Golden Knight to earn to be named the top athlete in the conference, she is the second straight Gannon player to earn a PSAC postseason award after Fugate was named the West Freshman of the Year after last season.
Pandolf becomes the second Lady Eagle in the last three seasons to be honored as a Freshman of the Year, following her teammate Johnson, who was the West Freshman of the Year two seasons ago. She is also the fourth Freshman/Rookie of the Year from Lock Haven in the last six seasons. She was a major contributor to Lock Haven’s third consecutive PSAC championship team as she currently ranks second on the team in goals (35) and fourth in points (40). She also lead the team in draw controls (65) and is fourth in ground balls (34) and second in caused turnovers (30).
Koeniges is the Coach of the Year after guiding the Warriors to their second straight PSAC tournament berth in her first season as head coach. It also marked East Stroudsburg’s third postseason berth in the last four seasons but this year, the Warriors won a postseason game for the first time since 1986 with its PSAC quarterfinal win at Gannon. Koeniges, an assistant under former coach Lynne Elphick, who was the 2008 PSAC Coach of the Year, for four seasons prior to being named the head coach, led the Warriors to a sixth place finish in the PSAC after being picked seventh in the preseason poll.
2011 All-PSAC Lacrosse Team
First Team
Attacker#
Allison Berger*^ Lock Haven Sr. Oreland, Pa./Springfield
Rachel Dercola^ Gannon Jr. Rochester, N.Y./Brighton
Amy Halls^* Slippery Rock Jr. Westerville, Ohio/Olentangy
Alexandra Keirn* Mercyhurst Jr. Henrietta, N.Y./Rush-Henrietta
Becca Vogt^ IUP Jr. Hamburg, N.Y./Frontier
Midfielder
Mary Eshenour^^ Gannon Sr. Waterloo, N.Y./Waterloo
Claire Grimwood^ West Chester Sr. Hopewell, N.J./Hopewell Valley
Kimberly Masterton** Mercyhurst Sr. Penfield, N.Y./Penfield
Molly O’Hara* East Stroudsburg Sr. Glen Mills, Pa./Penncrest
Defender
Liz French Shippensburg Fr. Sykesville, Md./Century
Taylor Norwood IUP Fr. Chantilly, Va./Chantilly
Maggie Yackel** Mercyhurst Sr. Camilus, N.Y./West Genesee
Katie Zichelli** Lock Haven Sr. South Orange, N.J./Columbia
Goalkeeper
Heather Sacko Lock Haven Jr. Fairport, N.Y./Fairport
Second Team
Attacker#
Tori Dugan West Chester So. West Chester, Pa./Rustin
Kayleigh Johnson** Lock Haven Jr. Fairport, N.Y./Fairport
Samantha King^* Bloomsburg Jr. Elkton, Md./North East
Midfielder
Jess Fugate Gannon So. Wooster, Ohio/Wooster
Michelle Mangiaruga** East Stroudsburg Sr. North Wales, Pa./North Penn
Jessica Pandolf Lock Haven Fr. Holbrook, N.Y./Sachem North
Casey Quinn Slippery Rock Jr. Vernon, N.J./Vernon Twp.
Defender
Ashley Bowers*^^ Bloomsburg Sr. Springfield, Pa./Springfield
Amanda Mattera Millersville So. Boothwyn, Pa./Cardinal O’Hara
Randy Vite Kutztown So. Highland Mills, N.Y./Monroe-Woodbury
Miranda Walters Gannon So. Pittsburgh, Pa./Shaler
Goalkeeper
Sara Bates Bloomsburg So. Wading River, N.Y./Shoreham-Wading River
Third Team
Attacker
Katie Brewer* Shippensburg Sr. West Chester, Pa./Henderson
Caitlyn Fisher Gannon So. Cypress, Texas/Cy-Fair
Alexa Lodovici IUP So. Voorhees, N.J./Eastern Regional
Rachel Mehaffey^^ Kutztown Jr. Woodbury, N.J./West Deptford
Midfielder
Lindsey Kennedy^ Shippensburg So. Springfield, Pa./Springfield
Colleen Berlin IUP Fr. Baltimore, Md./Institute of Notre Dame
Shannon Hayes West Chester Sr. Montgomery, N.J./Montgomery
Jamie Uzialko^ Lock Haven Sr. Lima, N.Y./Honeoye Falls-Lima
Defender
Xeni Barakos East Stroudsburg Sr. Denver, Pa./Cocalico
Jordan Hogan^ Mercyhurst Sr. Golden, Colo./Golden
Jenna Hughes Gannon So. Morgantown, W.Va./University
Andrea Smith West Chester Jr. Florence, N.J./Holy Cross
Goalkeeper
Kaitlin Sterling IUP So. Cranberry Twp., Pa./Seneca Valley
PSAC Athlete of the Year
Mary Eshenour Gannon Sr. Waterloo, N.Y./Waterloo
PSAC Freshman of the Year
Jessica Pandolf Lock Haven Fr. Holbrook, N.Y./Sachem North
PSAC Coach of the Year
Jane Koeniges East Stroudsburg
* Indicates previous All-PSAC first team selection
^ Indicates previous All-PSAC second team selection
# Additional or fewer honorees due to tie