New England Small College Athletic Conference

NESCAC Women's Lacrosse All-Conference Teams Announced

5/9/2007 12:00:00 AM

Middlebury's Walker, Heritage Earn Player, Rookie of the Year

HADLEY, Mass. - Middlebury senior midfielder Kim Walker (Ridgewood, N.J.) has been named the 2007 NESCAC Player of the Year, while first year teammate Dana Heritage (Cheshire, Conn.) came away with NESCAC Rookie of the Year honors. The two combined to help lead the Panthers to an unblemished 9-0 conference mark and the 2007 NESCAC Women's Lacrosse crown, the seventh-consecutive title for Middlebury.

A unanimous choice by the conference coaches for Player of the Year, Walker also earned a spot on the NESCAC All-Conference First Team for the third year in a row. The senior midfielder has paced the Panther offense this season with a team-leading 41 goals and 48 points while scooping up 42 ground balls, winning 46 draw controls and recording 29 caused turnovers, all team-bests. Walker tied a championship record for goals in a game with six during the final against Colby on May 6. In her first season with the Panthers, Heritage has started all 15 games, tallying 24 goals and five assists for 29 points, seventh among her teammates. The first year midfielder also received All-NESCAC Second Team recognition.

Seniors Alyssa Briody (Hopewell, N.J.) of Amherst and Allie Libby (Needham, Mass.) of Colby both came away with First Team honors for the second-consecutive year at attack. The two players led their respective squads in scoring for the second-straight season along with leading the NESCAC in points, as Libby accumulated a conference-high 69 (27-42-69) through 17 games while Briody was second with 66, collecting a league-leading 47 assists, in 16 appearances. Trinity junior CJ Yanofsky (Needham, Mass.) accompanied Briody and Libby at attack, as her career-high 36 goals and 25 assists so far this season currently rank fourth in the NESCAC in points with 61.

Joining Walker at midfield were four other players that received All-Conference accolades last spring, three of whom are former NESCAC Rookie of the Year honorees. Williams senior Kaylan Tildsley (Andover, Mass.) earned All-NESCAC First Team honors for the third year in a row after being named the 2004 Rookie of the Year. Tildsley led her team in scoring for the second time in three years this season with 27 goals and a career-high 37 assists for 64 points, third among all NESCAC players, along with scooping up a team-high 34 ground balls. Moving up from last year's Second Team were Bowdoin senior Taylor White (Wellesley, Mass.), Bates junior Molly Wagner (Longmeadow, Mass.), and Colby sophomore Kate Sheridan (Hingham, Mass.). White was third for the Polar Bears in scoring with a team-high 27 goals and one assist while leading her club in ground balls (34), draw controls (27), and caused turnovers (36). Wagner, the 2005 Co-Rookie of the Year, led the Bobcats in points for the third-consecutive campaign, collecting 39 goals and 10 assists for 49 points with 37 ground balls, 35 draw controls, and 30 caused turnovers. The 2006 Rookie of the Year, Sheridan matched her point total of 59 from last season this year in one fewer game, tallying 43 goals to rank second in the NESCAC among all players along with 16 assists through 17 outings.

At defense, Bowdoin junior Grace Moore (Groton, Mass.) returned to the First Team for the second-straight year. Moore was part of a Polar Bear defense that held a goals against average of 8.29 this season and allowed only 126 goals over 15 games, second among all league squads, while contributing seven points (6-1-7), 30 ground balls and 22 draw controls. Colby senior Liz Morbeck (Seattle, Wash.) earned First Team honors in her final season with the Mules after finding a spot on the Second Team in 2006. A disruptive force for the Mule defense, Morbeck led the NESCAC in both ground balls (52) and caused turnovers (57) this season. Senior Kate Perry (Cambridge, Mass.) rounds out the defenders on the All-Conference First Team with the first NESCAC honor in her four-year career with the Panthers.

Trinity junior goalkeeper Michelle Smith (Wayland, Mass.) completes the 2007 NESCAC All-Conference First Team. A Second Team selection last season, Smith helped the Bantams secure a home game in the first round of the 2007 NESCAC Women's Lacrosse Championship and the program's first berth in the NCAA Tournament since 1998 with a 9.47 goals against average (5th NESCAC) and a league-leading .572 save percentage.

Trinity first year head coach Kate Perine was the choice among her peers this season, garnering NESCAC Coach of the Year honors. Perine has guided the Bantams to an 11-4 record this season, one win shy of the program record set during the 1998 season heading into Wednesday's NCAA action.

2007 NESCAC Women's Lacrosse All-Conference Team