Battaglino, Bowles Highlight America East All-Conference Awards for Women’s Lacrosse

 

STONY BROOK, N.Y.-  University at Albany women’s lacrosse head coach John Battaglino was named Coach of the Year and sophomore attack Rachel Bowles garnered Co-Offensive Player of the Year honors, the America East announced on Thursday. The Great Danes also earned 10 All-Conference spots.

The 2014 squad tied a program record with five All-Conference first team picks, and had multiple major award winners for the third time in four seasons.

Battaglino propelled UAlbany to its third America East regular season title in five years this season. He picked up his 50th program win at Dartmouth on March 8 on his way to his fourth-straight season with 12 or more wins. This is the second consecutive year Battaglino has won the award and third overall. He has led UAlbany to two NCAA appearances and its first program win in the NCAA Tournament. His teams are consistently nationally ranked in scoring offense and defense, sitting at fourth in both categories currently.

Battaglino’s 2014 squad tops the America East in overall goals per game (15.07), points per game (20.47), shot percentage (.514) and fewest turnovers per game (9.80).

Bowles collected her second-straight major conference award as Co-Offensive Player of the Year. The sophomore was named Co-Rookie of the Year a season ago. Bowles ranks 10th in the nation in points per game (4.40), and tops the league. The three-time league Offensive Player of the Week honoree is the only sophomore among the national top-10 in points per game. She recorded a career-high nine points in the first game of the season at Bryant with five goals and four assists. The attack tallied her 100th career point in a 12-8 win at UMBC, and has 106 for the season. Bowles ranks fourth in UAlbany program history in single-season points with 66 so far this season.

Bowles joins Ariana Parker as a unanimous selection to the All-Conference First Team. Parker will conclude her career as UAlbany’s leader in starts, and ranks 15th in the nation among active career leaders with 144 goals. A key player for the Great Danes on both sides of the ball, Parker ranks seventh in the league in points per game (3.33), eighth in goals per game (2.40) and fifth in caused turnovers per game (1.93). She has recorded 181 career points; and earned conference Offensive Player of the Week honors this past week after matching a career high with seven points at New Hampshire in the final game of the regular season. Parker is a four-time All-Conference honoree and two-time All-Academic pick, earning a spot on the All-Academic squad for the second-straight year.

Parker’s fellow seniors Kathleen Lennon and Allie Phelan were also named to the All-America East First Team. Phelan earned a spot on the Tewaraaton Watch List on April 10, following an impressive five-goal performance at Syracuse on April 1. The midfielder scored 13 goals in three games from March 29-April 5. She ranks ninth in the league with 2.20 goals per game, and garnered America East Offensive Player of the Week honors on April 7.

Lennon is a two-time First Team selection after leading the league in draw controls per game. She ranks 13th in the country with 5.00 draws per game, and is one of just two Great Danes all-time to tally 200 or more draw control victories in her career. She has won 206 for her career and 75 so far this season. Lennon earned America East Defensive Player of the Week accolades on March 18 after winning 15 draws in two games.

Sophomore defender/midfielder Christine Johnson wraps up UAlbany’s First Team honorees. Johnson was an All-Rookie pick a season ago, and ranks second on the team in draw controls with 34. She is an integral part of UAlbany’s .963 clearing percentage in conference and .913 overall.

Defensive anchors Anna Berman and Meghan Haney were named to the All-Conference Second Team. Haney is a two-year starter on defense for the Great Danes. She consistently takes on the toughest marking assignment for the Purple & Gold, helping UAlbany rank top-5 in the nation in scoring defense for the last two seasons.

Berman tallied her 50th career win between the pipes in a 19-9 victory at Niagara earlier this season. The senior ranks fourth nationally in goals against average (6.44), and earned America East Defensive Player of the Week honors on March 23 with 15 save in a 2-0 week for the Great Danes. She is the winningest goalkeeper in UAlbany women’s lacrosse Division I program history with 55 victories to date.

UAlbany had three freshmen named to the All-Rookie team in Sarah Martin, Sierra McIver and Dakotah Savitcheff. Martin and Savitcheff combined for three Rookie of the Week honors this season on the attack core for the Great Danes. Martin has scored 20 goals this season, including eight in conference. Savitcheff was named to the Insider Lacrosse Rookie of the Year Watch List earlier this season, and has 29 goals to her credit. McIver has made seven appearances this season, with four caused turnovers and five ground balls to her credit.

Parker earned UAlbany’s lone spot on the All-Academic team, posting a 3.38 cumulative GPA as a psychology major.

John Battaglino’s Great Danes face Vermont in the America East Semifinals on Friday at 7:30 p.m. The action will be streamed live on AmericaEast.tv.

2014 AMERICA EAST WOMEN’S LACROSSE MAJOR AWARD WINNERS:

 Offensive Player of the Year (Co):
Rachel Bowles, So., A, UAlbany
Sydney Mas, Sr., A, Vermont

Defensive Player of the Year:
Frankie Caridi, Sr., GK, Stony Brook

Rookie of the Year:
Dorrien Van Dyke, Fr., A, Stony Brook

Coach of the Year:
John Battaglino, UAlbany

2014 UALBANY ALL-CONFERENCE SELECTIONS

First Team
Rachel Bowles, So., A *
Christine Johnson, So., M/D
Kathleen Lennon, Sr., D
Ariana Parker, Sr., M *
Allie Phelan, Sr., M

Second Team
Anna Berman, Sr., GK
Meghan Haney, Sr., D

All-Rookie
Sarah Martin, Fr., A
Sierra McIver, Fr., D
Dakotah Savitcheff, Fr., D

All-Academic
Ariana Parker, Sr., 3.38, Psychology