The American Lacrosse Conference honored 24 student-athletes and one head coach as the end-of-season honors were announced today. Florida’s Kitty Cullen (Rockville, Md.), who leads the nation in goals scored per game, was tabbed as the Conference Player of the Year while her mentor, Florida’s Amanda O’Leary, was named the Coach of the Year. Northwestern freshman Alyssa Leonard, who leads the conference and ranks in the top-10 nationally in draw controls, was tabbed as the Rookie of the Year and Dana Cahill from Penn State was named the Goalie of the Year. Florida, the top seed in the 2011 ALC tournament, led all schools with six selections, including three on the first team, while Northwestern, the reigning champions, led all teams with four first-team honorees. Johns Hopkins, Penn State and Ohio State each were recognized with four student-athletes between the two teams, while Vanderbilt claimed two honorees.
“It’s an honor for our players because the American Lacrosse Conference is a strong conference with such amazing athletes,” O’Leary said. “To even be considered on that list is quite an accomplishment, let alone have players named to it. The ALC has truly made a name for itself this year, having all teams ranked in the IWLCA top-20 at one point, and I think our conference has set a precedent for years to come.”
Second-year Florida head coach Amanda O’Leary was named the American Lacrosse Conference Coach of the Year. In just its second year of competition, the Florida lacrosse team had 14 consecutive wins, an undefeated 11-0 home season, an undefeated ALC regular season championship, eight ALC weekly honors, six National Player of the Week recognitions and, under O’Leary’s watchful eye, seen Kitty Cullen nominated for the Tewaaraton Award as only a sophomore. The Gators have defeated five IWLCA ranked opponents in 2011, including 2010 national semifinalist, Syracuse. Florida defeated then-No. 2 Northwestern, the 2010 national championship runner-up and five-time National Champions, handing them their first ALC regular season loss in seven years. O’Leary mentored the Gators to the top seed in the 2011 ALC tournament and a No. 2 ranking nationally, marking the highest ranking for a team in their second year of play in poll history. Florida enters the ALC postseason with a top-five RPI.
Tewaaraton nominee Kitty Cullen (Rockville, Md.) was named the American Lacrosse Conference Player of the Year and a first team honoree after leading the nation in scoring for the entire 2011 season. Cullen has 68 goals on the year, averaging 4.25 goals per game to lead the NCAA. She is also second in goals overall (68) and eighth in points (74) and points per game (4.63). Cullen has scored six goals or more four times this season (6 vs. Denver, Ohio State, Northwestern, 7 vs. Penn State) and scored at least a hat trick in every game until April 17th. The Rockville, Md. native has notched a point in every game this season and holds the record for the second-fastest opening goal scored in NCAA history, as she found the back of the net in just eight seconds in the Gators’ 13-7 victory over then-No. 16 Penn State. The sophomore attacker has been named ALC Offensive Player of the Week four times, WomensLacrosse.com National Offensive Player of the Week twice, WomensLax.com National Player of the Week once and Nike National Player of the Week once. Cullen is the first sophomore since Northwestern’s Kristen Kjellman, a three-time ALC Player of the Year and two-time Tewaaraton Award recipient, to be named Player of the Year.
Sophomore attacker Ashley Bruns (Ellicott City, Md.), the 2010 National Rookie of the Year, was named to the first team after a stellar sophomore campaign where she led the Gators in assists (23) while also ranking second in points (62) and goals (39) and is third on the team in caused turnovers (14). She averages 3.88 points and 2.44 goals per game to put her among the top 50 scorers in the country. Bruns has scored at least five points in seven contests this season, including tying her career highs in goals (6 vs. Syracuse), assists (4 vs. Denver and Penn State) and setting a new high in draw controls twice this season (3 vs. Georgetown and Penn State). Bruns was honored as the ALC Offensive Player of the Week, the WomensLacrosse.com National Offensive Player of the Week and the WomensLax.com National Player of the Week for her performances against Colgate and then-No. 11 Syracuse, as she netted six goals on seven shots. She has scored at least three goals on eight occasions this year. Bruns was a second-team selection a year ago.
Sophomore defender Sam Farrell (Millersville, Md.) was named to the first team while leading the Gators in ground balls with 25. She has controlled the Florida midfield with speed and strength, causing seven turnovers while holding the majority of her marks to less than half of their season scoring average. Farrell was named the ALC Defensive Player of the Week for her performances against then-No. 9 Georgetown and Temple. Farrell had six draw controls total in those games, notching three against both the Hoyas and the Owls. In Florida’s upset of Georgetown, Farrell constantly matched up with Jordy Kirr, Georgetown’s best scorer, who scored 30 goals last season. Kirr only scored twice against the Gators and was only able to get off three shots for the entire evening. Farrell and the Florida defense frustrated the Georgetown offense, as they were continually unable to penetrate the Gator backfield. In the Gators’ throttling of Temple, Farrell was part of a stellar Florida defense who held Temple to just four goals and only four shots in the entire second half. Her work through the midfield was more than could be written on a scoresheet. The Millersville, Md. native was aggressive, quick and constantly kept Temple guessing.
Sophomore midfielder Janine Hillier (Farmingdale, N.Y.) has had her best year as a Gator while being named to the second team. She has scored 23 goals on the season, while also recording 21 ground balls, 32 draw controls and a team-leading 16 caused turnovers. Hillier has set new career highs in nearly every statistical category, as she has scored a hat trick twice this season (vs. Colgate and Cornell), while also setting new marks in assists (2 vs. Syracuse), points (4 vs. Syracuse), ground balls (3 vs. Jacksonville, Denver and Ohio State), caused turnovers (2 vs. Denver, Georgetown, Ohio State, Penn State, Northwestern and Cornell) and draw controls (5 vs. UMBC). The Farmingdale, N.Y. native had her best games of the season against then-No. 11 Syracuse and Cornell. Against the Orange, Hillier had two goals and two assists while going perfect from free position and adding two draw controls. Against the Big Red, Hillier had a career-high tying three goals, scoring on every shot she took. She also added two ground balls and two caused turnovers.
Sophomore defender Haydon Judge (Chestertown, Md.) was named to the second team while helping to anchor the Florida defense. The Gators have held 10 out of 16 of their opponents to single-digit scoring and Judge was a large part of that, ensuring that all of her marks were rarely able to get off a shot, let alone score. Judge may be a smaller defender, but what she may lack in girth, she makes up for in determination, speed and strength. The Chestertown, Md. native has notched 11 ground balls, nine draw controls and five caused turnovers, while also adding two assists on the season. She had her best performances against then-No. 9 Georgetown, where she recorded a career-high three draw controls, and Jacksonville, where she grabbed a career-high four ground balls. Judge is a workhorse, matching up against the more prolific scorers because of her speed and quick feet. She's unbelievable at denying cuts and 1-on-1 opportunities, while constantly bettering her teammates in the Florida backfield.
Sophomore goalkeeper Mikey Meagher (Liverpool, N.Y.) was named to the second team after leading the ALC and ranking fifth in the nation in goals-against average (7.85). Meagher was named the ALC Defensive Player of the Week after her performance against Johns Hopkins where she set a career-high with 13 saves against the Blue Jays. Meagher has had three double-digit save performances this season, notching 10 saves against both No. 2 Northwestern and Cornell. Meagher and the Gator defense have held 10 of the Gators’ 16 opponents to single-digit scoring, including a season-low four goals against Temple. Meagher also has 21 ground balls on the season, good for fourth on the team, and four caused turnovers. One of Meagher’s most memorable performances of the season came against No. 2 Northwestern, as the Liverpool, N.Y. native had back-to-back saves in the closing seconds to clinch the upset win for the Gators, 13-11.
ALC All-Conference Honors
Player of the Year: Kitty Cullen, Florida
Goalie of the Year: Dana Cahill, Penn State
Rookie of the Year: Alyssa Leonard, Northwestern
Coach of the Year: Amanda O’Leary, Florida
ALC First Team
Ashley Bruns, Florida
Dana Cahill, Penn State
Ally Carey, Vanderbilt
Kitty Cullen, Florida
Maggie Dunbar, Penn State
Sam Farrell, Florida
Alex Frank, Northwestern
Colleen Magarity, Northwestern
Alayna Markwordt, Ohio State
Colleen McCaffrey, Johns Hopkins
Shannon Smith, Northwestern
Taylor Thornton, Northwestern
ALC Second Team
Gabby Capuzzi, Ohio State
Taylor D'Amore, Johns Hopkins
Jackie Eastman, Penn State
Lindsey Gysin, Ohio State
Janine Hillier, Florida
Haydon Judge, Florida
Alyssa Kildare, Johns Hopkins
Courtney Kirk, Vanderbilt
Mikey Meagher, Florida
Candace Rossi, Johns Hopkins
Jen Steadman, Penn State
Brittney Zerhusen, Ohio State
