STANDISH, ME – the 2014 Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III New England Women's Lacrosse All-Star teams have been announced and Saint Joseph's College senior defender Rachelle Messuri (Atkinson, N.H.) has collected First Team honors.
A two-time First Team All-Conference selection and 2014 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Defensive Player of the Year honoree, Messuri tallied 81 ground balls and 37 caused turnovers with five goals during her senior season. She is the first player in the seven-year history of the Saint Joseph's women's lacrosse program to earn ECAC All-New England acclaim and one of just five players from a GNAC institution to claim an ECAC honor this spring.
Messuri takes the high honor after leading the conference in ground balls and finishing the season ranked third in caused turnovers. A two-sport athlete who claimed a pair of All-Conference nods as an impact player for the SJC field hockey program, Messuri closed out her lacrosse career as the Monks' all-time leader – by a wide margin – in both ground balls (230) and caused turnovers (87) while adding nine goals, three assists and 23 draw controls in 62 games over four seasons.
Messuri joins Britney Wuorio of Lasell College, Kirsten Tuleja and Sarah Higgins of Emmanuel College, and 2014 ECAC New England Rookie of the Year Lydia Knapp of Johnson & Wales University on the short list of GNAC players claiming ECAC regional honors.
The voting for the 2014 ECAC Division III New England Women's Lacrosse All-Star teams and major award winners was completed by the head coaches within the ECAC Division III New England Women's Lacrosse membership.
This spring, Saint Joseph's posted a 12-8 record, including an 8-2 mark versus GNAC opponents, and advanced all the way to the conference championship for the first time in the seven-year history of the program. The second-seeded Monks fell to #1 Emmanuel College, 17-7, in the GNAC Championship on Saturday, April 26th.
The Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) is the nation's largest and only multidivisional athletic conference, with over 300 Division I, II and III colleges and universities from Maine to North Carolina and westerly to Colorado. Established in 1938 with 58 charter members, the ECAC has since emerged as the nationwide leader in service.
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Saint Joseph's College is Maine's only Catholic liberal arts college, providing a supportive, personalized and career-focused education for more than 100 years. From its 430-acre campus on the shores of Sebago Lake, the College offers more than 40 undergraduate programs to a population of approximately 1,000 students. Saint Joseph's College Online provides certificates, undergraduate and advanced degrees for working adults through an online learning program. For more, visit www.sjcme.edu.
