Dykstra and Redfern garner major postseason awards; five named All-League
4/26/2011 10:44:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Lehigh women's lacrosse senior Lauren Dykstra was named Patriot League Midfield Player of the Year while head coach Jill Redfern garnered her second straight Coach of the Year award, as announced on Tuesday. In addition, four other Mountain Hawks were named First Team All-League honorees along with Dykstra. They were freshman goalie Alexandra Fitzpatrick, senior midfielder Allison Thomas, junior attack Kelly Draper and junior defender Leigh Ann Torcivia.Dykstra's award marks her fourth major award in as many years. After winning Rookie of the Year as a freshman, she followed that up with Offensive Player of the Year as a sophomore, then Defensive Player of the Year as a junior before capturing the league's first-ever Midfield Player of the Year as a senior.
The Patriot League's All-Time leader in goals, Dykstra leads the nation with 68 on the season to up her career total to 253, good for seventh in NCAA history. She also has a career-high 81 points, which is second nationally while she is tied for second on the team in caused turnovers (20) and stands third in groundballs (32) and draw controls (31).
Redfern's Coach of the Year honor marks the third of her career and second in a row, after the Mountain Hawks grabbed a share of the Patriot League Regular Season Championship for a second consecutive season. Redfern also won Coach of the Year laurels in 2000 at Lafayette. Redfern owns a stellar 46-20 overall record as head coach, 35-16 in her three seasons at Lehigh.
Earning her third straight All-League selection and second straight First Team nod, Draper has enjoyed a career year, posting a career-high 56 points via 25 goals and 31 assists. The assist total currently leads the Patriot League and stands eighth best in the nation. Draper has also posted a team-best 25 caused turnovers while also registering 24 groundballs and 22 draw controls. Overall, Draper is second on the team and seventh in the league with her 56 points.
Joining Dykstra at midfield is Thomas, who earned First Team laurels for a second straight season, this after grabbing Second Team as a freshman and sophomore. A force all over the field, Thomas stands third on the Mountain Hawks with 48 points (33 goals, 15 assists) while she is second in groundballs (33) and draw controls (36). Thomas was also recognized by Snyapse Sports on Tuesday as one of only nine players in the nation on their weekly honor roll following a three-goal, one-assist effort at Navy.
Only a freshman, Fitzpatrick has burst onto the scene in a big way, posting an 8.56 GAA and .513 save percentage to go with a 9-6 record. Her save percentage not only leads the Patriot League, but stands second in the nation, while her GAA is good for 12th nationally. Fitzpatrick has turned it up over the latter half of the season. That includes a career-high 16 saves at Temple, 14 vs. American, 11 against Virginia Tech and 10 at No. 15 Penn State. Fitzpatrick did earn two-straight Patriot League Rookie of the Week awards earlier this month.
Torcivia earns First Team laurels for a second straight season after cracking the Second Team as a freshman. Despite missing the first three games of the year, Torcivia still leads the Mountain Hawks in both draw controls (41) and groundballs (38), good for 23rd and 18th in the nation, respectively. Steady all over the field, Torcivia was honored with Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week laurels on Mar. 28 following a pair of dominant wins over Temple and Lafayette. Torcivia combined for 10 groundballs and eight draw controls in those two games alone.
Lehigh's win over Navy gave the Mountain Hawks a share of the Regular Season Title for a second straight season. However, due to a 19-16 loss against Colgate last month, the Raiders will host the entire Patriot League Tournament, which begins with the semifinals on Thursday. Lehigh will enter as the No. 2 seed and rematch with No. 3 Navy in the second game of the day at 7 p.m. following No. 1 Colgate versus No. 4 American at 4 p.m. The championship game will take place on Saturday, Apr. 30 at 3 p.m. and will air nationally on CBS Sports Network.
2011 All-Patriot League First-Team
Attack
Jasmine DePompeo, Navy, So.
Kelly Draper, Lehigh, Jr.
Caitlin Mandrin Hill, Navy, Sr.
Midfielder
Lauren Dykstra, Lehigh, Sr.
Colleen Bubnack, Colgate, Sr.
Courtney Miller, Colgate, Jr.
Katrina Nietsch, Navy, Sr.
Defense
Leigh Ann Torcivia, Lehigh, Jr.
Kierstin King, Navy, Jr.
Catherine Furman, Holy Cross, Jr.
Goalkeeper
Alexandra Fitzpatrick, Lehigh, Fr.
At-Large
Allison Thomas, Lehigh, Sr.
2011 All-Patriot League Second-Team
Attack
Kat Sutton, Holy Cross, Jr.
Kimmy Collins, American, So.
Addie Godfrey, Lafayette, So.
Midfielder
Ana White, Lafayette, Fr.
Emily Stankiewicz, American, Jr.
Kathy Young, Navy, So.
Meg O'Leary, Holy Cross, Sr.
Defense
Brit Ferguson, American, Sr.
Caitlin Mitchell, Lafayette, So.
Rachel Martin, Lafayette, Fr.
Goalkeeper
Alyssa DeLorenz, Bucknell, Sr.
At-Large
Aimee Gennaro, Navy, Fr.
Defensive Player of the Year: Christina Roa, Colgate, Jr., GK
Midfield Player of the Year: Lauren Dykstra, Lehigh, Sr., MF
Rookie of the Year: Ana White, Lafayette, Fr., MF
Coach of the Year: Jill Redfern, Lehigh
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