Central Islip, N.Y. - Hunter Isnardi (Hicksville, N.Y.) of Mercy College, Erin Smith (Wantagh, N.Y.) of NYIT, and LIU Post teammates Olivia Kirk (Farmingdale, N.Y.) and Alyssa Mallery (Wantagh, N.Y.) have earned the conference's top honors in the 2017 East Coast Conference Women's Lacrosse All-Conference Team. In a vote by the league's coaches, Isnardi is the Offensive Player of the Year, Smith takes home the Defensive Player of the Year honor, Kirk repeats as the Goalkeeper of the Year, and Mallery has been named the Rookie of the Year.
Isnardi was a huge reason behind the best season in Mercy's program history. After winning the conference's Rookie of the Year honor in 2016, Isnardi followed up with a 62 goal campaign this season. Her goal total was good for second in the ECC and her point total of 69 finished tied for sixth. In addition to her scoring prowess, Isnardi constantly got the Mavericks into their offense by dominating the draw. She led the league with 165 draw controls, a whopping 105 more than the league's runner-up in the category. Isnardi also leads all of Division II in draw controls per game with 9.71 per contest.
After being named the ECC Preseason Defensive Player of the Year, Smith followed through on the coaches' prediction by earning the post-season honor, as well. Smith was the anchor of a Bears' defense that ranked fourth in Division II with a scoring defense of 6.12 goals per game. Smith also came in the top-10 in the ECC with 38 ground balls (sixth) and 24 caused turnovers (ninth) on the season.
Kirk repeats as the Goalkeeper of the Year after another stellar season between the pipes for the Pioneers. She has compiled a 13-2 record in net this year while making 101 saves and holding a 6.78 goals against average and a .510 save percentage. Both of those numbers rank in the top-10 in all of Division II with the goals against average coming in fourth and the save percentage ranking sixth.
Mallery, a three-time ECC Rookie of the Week, put together a standout debut season for the Pioneers. She ranked third on the Pioneers with 23 goals and also added six assists for 29 points on the year. She was also among the league leaders in draw controls, ranking eighth with 46.
Mercy Head Coach, Dawn Anselmin was named the Coach of the Year by her peers for the second straight season after leading the Mavericks to a program-record 15 wins and the first national ranking in program history.
2017 ECC Women's Lacrosse All-Conference
First Team
A - Connor Bird, LIU Post
A - Cassley Jackowski, Roberts Wesleyan
A - Emily Jehle, Mercy
A - Katie Meinecke, NYIT
A - Alyssa Milano, NYIT
A - Brianna Wilson, Molloy
A - Karie Znaniecki, NYIT
M - Grace Davidson, Mercy
M - Hunter Isnardi, Mercy
M - Ryan McKinney, LIU Post
M - Cooper Sesselman, Molloy
D - Taylor Davide, NYIT
D - Cara Douglas, LIU Post
D - Erin Smith, NYIT
D - Talia Stagnitta, Mercy
GK - Olivia Kirk, LIU Post
Second Team
A - Caroline Finnen, St. Thomas Aquinas
A - Alexa Haines, Mercy
A - Jessica Markowitz, Molloy
A - Alexis Newman, LIU Post
A - Alexa Watson, Molloy
M - Brooke Basso, NYIT
M - Alyssa Mallery, LIU Post
M - Lauren Mengel, Bridgeport
M - Trisha Serras, NYIT
D - Kelly Backus, LIU Post
D - Emily Bauer, Molloy
D - Hope Coticchio, Mercy
D - Melissa DellaRocca, Mercy
D - Kelly McQuail, NYIT
GK - Shannon Knapp, Roberts Wesleyan
GK - Lauren Young, NYIT
Offensive Player of the Year: Hunter Isnardi, So., M, Mercy
Defensive Player of the Year: Erin Smith, Sr., D, NYIT
Goalkeeper of the Year: Olivia Kirk, Jr., LIU Post
Rookie of the Year: Alyssa Mallery, Fr., M, LIU Post
Coach of the Year: Dawn Anselmin, Mercy
