Central Islip, N.Y. - The women's lacrosse coaches of the East Coast Conference have selected four student-athletes as top award winners to headline the 2016 All-Conference team. LIU Post senior Emily Delaney (Long Valley, N.J.) has earned the Offensive Player of the Year while teammates Brittany Smith (Dix Hills, N.Y.) and Olivia Kirk (Farmingdale, N.Y.) earn the Defensive Player of the Year and Goalkeeper of the Year honors, respectively. Hunter Isnardi (Hicksville, N.Y.) of Mercy rounds out the top awards as the Rookie of the Year.
Delaney, the coaches' preseason pick for Offensive Player of the Year, followed through on the prediction with a standout senior season. Heading in to the upcoming ECC Championship, Delaney tops the conference in scoring with 91 points, 14 more than the league's runner-up. She also tops the loop with 51 assists and is tied for eighth with 40 goals scored. Delaney is also among the national leaders, ranking in the top 10 in all of Division II in numerous offensive categories. She ranks fifth in the nation with her assist total and 3.0 assists per game, seventh with 5.35 points per game, and her point total ranks eighth.
Smith earns the billing as the conference's top defensive player after helping anchor a back line that is currently tops in Division II in allowing only 4.18 goals per game. Smith, who spent most of the Pioneers 17 games matching up with the opponents top scorer, has also contributed with 20 ground balls and 16 caused turnovers on the season.
Kirk's play between the pipes was another big reason behind the Pioneers' stingy defense. She has compiled a 14-3 record in net this year while allowing an ECC-low 67 goals and a 4.37 goals against average. She also ranks first in the conference with a .584 save percentage. Kirk's season is more impressive when you look at the Division II leaders as her name is first in the goals against average and save percentage categories.
Isnardi earns the top rookie honor after leading the conference's freshman in scoring. To date she has tallied 41 goals and 13 assists to total 54 points, a mark that ranks tied for ninth in the conference. Her goal total is also in the top ten in the ECC, coming in sixth. The four-time ECC weekly honoree (three-time Rookie of the Week, one-time Player of the Week), is also among the nation's best at grabbing draw controls. She tops the ECC with 98 on the season, which is a whopping 29 more than her closest competitor. Her draw control per game total of 5.76 ranks fifth in Division II, as well.
There was a tie in the Coach of the Year voting, with Mercy's Dawn Anselmin and Dowling's Kerri Handras sharing the honor. Anselmin led the Mavericks to the best season in program history. Mercy has amassed a program record 12 wins to date and earned their first-ever appearance in the ECC Women's Lacrosse Championship.
Handras earns a share of the award after leading the Golden Lions to an unblemished 8-0 mark in ECC play to earn the conference's Regular Season Championship. Under her guidance, Dowling has also risen from No. 17 to their current spot of No. 9 in the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) Division II Top 20 poll.
2016 ECC Women’s Lacrosse All-Conference Team
First Team
A: Grace Davidson, Mercy
A: Emily Delaney, LIU Post
A: Cassley Jackowski, Roberts Wesleyan
A: Brooke Kreuscher, Dowling
A: Katie Meinecke, Dowling
M: Hunter Isnardi, Mercy
M: Allie Merrill, Dowling
M: Honey Roche, LIU Post
M: Cooper Sesselman, Molloy
D: Chelsea Bauer, Molloy
D: Melissa DellaRocca, Mercy
D: Cara Douglas, LIU Post
D: Brittany Smith, LIU Post
D: Erin Smith, Dowling
GK: Olivia Kirk, LIU Post
GK: Lauren Young, Dowling
Second Team
A: Connor Bird, LIU Post
A: Jessica Markowitz, Molloy
A: Meg McNally, Mercy
A: Meghan Orlando, Molloy
A: Ruth Pluviose, St. Thomas Aquinas
A: Stefani Vagelatos, LIU Post
M: Loren Dunn, Roberts Wesleyan
M: Emma Ferreira, Dowling
M: Ryan McKinney, LIU Post
M: Katie O'Brien, Molloy
M: Amber Walls, Dist. Columbia
M: Brianna Wilson, Molloy
D: Hope Coticchio, Mercy
D: Rosa Prestano, St. Thomas Aquinas
D: Alexis Serras, Dowling
GK - Shannon Knapp, Roberts Wesleyan
Offensive Player of the Year: Emily Delaney, Sr., A, LIU Post
Defensive Player of the Year: Brittany Smith, Sr., D, LIU Post
Goalkeeper of the Year: Olivia Kirk, So., LIU Post
Rookie of the Year: Hunter Isnardi, Fr., M, Mercy
Co-Coach of the Year: Dawn Anselmin, Mercy
Co-Coach of the Year: Kerri Handras, Dowling
