May 3, 2011
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern midfielder Alyssa Leonard has been voted the Rookie of the Year in the American Lacrosse Conference and a quartet of Wildcats landed on the first-team all-conference squad, the ALC announced on Tuesday. Junior Shannon Smith drew first-team All-ALC accolades for the second straight year while Alex Frank, Colleen Magarity and Taylor Thornton each make their debuts on the first team.
Northwestern's four first-team honorees are the most of any ALC school.
A freshman from Bay Shore, N.Y., Leonard joins past NU greats Kristen Kjellman (2004) and Meredith Frank (2006) in becoming the third Wildcat to be named ALC Rookie of the Year. She has been among the nation's leaders in draw controls all season and currently ranks sixth in Division I with 4.06 per game. Against Navy, Leonard posted the third 10-draw control effort in a single game in NU history. Leonard also has chipped in seven goals and 11 ground balls.
The nation's most prolific scorer with 5.47 points per game, Smith is second in the ALC with 58 goals this year while her 35 assists represent the sixth-best single-season total in Northwestern history. With single-game outings that included seven goals (vs. Stanford) and the sixth 10-point game by a Wildcat (vs. Georgetown), Smith has moved up to eighth all-time in points (233) and ninth in career goals (160).
Magarity, Frank and Thornton each joined the ranks of first-team All-ALC honorees after receiving second-team recognition in 2010. A senior defender, Magarity started every game for NU for the second straight year and stuffed the stat sheet with 21 ground balls, 14 draw controls and seven caused turnovers in 17 contests. She also joined the attack on occasion and notched her first goal since 2008 against Stanford.
As a rock in the NU midfield, Frank scored 17 goals -- including a last-minute game-winner vs. Stanford -- and ranks in the top-20 nationally with 55 draw controls. The Westwood, Mass., native, who scooped up 22 ground balls and caused 17 turnovers, currently stands sixth all-time at NU with 160 draw controls and seventh with 65 forced turnovers.
Thornton established herself as one of the most versatile players in the conference, scoring a career-best 13 goals while ranking second on NU with 39 draw controls and tied for third with 10 caused turnovers. Thornton also is invaluable in Northwestern's ability to successfully clear the backfield and set up the attack. Her 13 scores have come on only 17 shots and she is 8-for-12 on free position shot attempts.
Northwestern (15-2, 3-2 ALC) joins the rest of the conference at the 2011 ALC Tournament hosted by Vanderbilt this week. NU, the No. 2 seed and four-time champion of the event, earned a first-round bye and will open play at 5:30 p.m. Friday against the winner between third-seeded Penn State and sixth-seeded Johns Hopkins.
A complete list of all-conference honorees is listed below:
Individual 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
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