STANDISH, Maine – The 2023 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) women's lacrosse postseason accolades have been announced and eight members of the Saint Joseph's College program have earned honors.
Fourth-year Head Coach David Keenan has been selected as the GNAC Coach of the Year, grad student Lydia Dexter (Oakland, Maine) has been named as the GNAC Offensive Player of the Year and is listed on the First Team, along with junior midfielder Carson Battaglia (Gorham, Maine) and junior defender Heather Rohr (Merrimack, N.H.).
Junior attack Bridget Collins (Milford, Conn.) and junior defender Madison Scott (Cumberland, Maine) have claimed Second Team All-Conference honors while sophomore midfielder Shauna Clark (Oakland, Maine) has earned Third Team acclaim and freshman goalkeeper Alexis Eldridge (Effingham, N.H.) has been listed on the GNAC All-Rookie Team.
Keenan claims the first Coach of the Year honor of his career after leading the Monks to a 16-4 overall record with a 12-1 mark in conference play this spring. As the #2 seed in the GNAC Tournament, the Monks disposed of #7 Norwich University by a 21-2 score and #3 Simmons University, 11-5, before falling short of defending the 2022 GNAC Championship with a hard-fought 10-6 loss at top-seeded Johnson & Wales University on May 6th. In four years at the helm for St. Joe's, Keenan has posted an incredible .852 (46-8) winning percentage – including an otherworldly .931 (27-2) in conference play.
Dexter becomes the first SJC women's lacrosse player to earn back-to-back Offensive Player of the Year honors after scoring 85 goals with 46 assists for a total of 131 points during the 2023 season. As of May 7th, the 2023 First Team All-GNAC honoree leads NCAA DIII in points and ranks fifth in goals, 11th in points per game (6.55), and 22nd in assists.
Dexter leaves the women's lacrosse program as the Monks' career leader in points (375), points per game (5.77), assists (161), and assists per game (2.48) and is also second in man-up goals (13), fourth in total goals, free-position tallies (33), and game-winning goals (11), and fifth in goals per game (3.29) in 65 career contests.
Last spring, the 2022 GNAC Offensive Player of the Year helped the Monks win their second GNAC Championship while setting SJC single-season records for points (155), points per game (7.38), goals (80), goals per game (4.44), assists (75), assists per game (4.00), and man-up goals (9).
Dexter set the GNAC single-season points record (previously 130 points) last spring and, after scoring 131 this season, owns the top two slots in the conference season record book. Among active NCAA DIII Women's Lacrosse players, she ranks fourth in points and assists, ninth in goals and points per game, 12th in ground balls (181), and 13th in assists per game.
Battaglia takes home First Team All-Conference honors for the second consecutive season after tallying 41 goals, 10 assists, 72 ground balls, 157 draw controls, and 35 caused turnovers in 20 games this spring. The junior midfielder led the conference in draw controls and ranked third in the GNAC in ground balls this season.
Battaglia broke the Monks' career draw controls record in the team's final game of the 2023 campaign and heads into her senior season with 328 draw controls in 48 career games. The previous record holder – Anneka Adame '14 – produced 326 draw controls in 63 games over four seasons.
Rohr earns her first All-Conference award after netting two goals with two assists while picking up 60 ground balls, 43 draw controls, and 42 caused turnovers in 20 starts this season. She ranked seventh in the GNAC in ground balls and eighth in caused turnovers.
Collins claims Second Team All-GNAC accolades for the second year in a row after netting 36 goals with 15 assists for 51 total points in 20 games during her junior season. She capped the 2023 campaign with 98 goals and 32 assists for 130 points in 49 career games.
A 2022 Third Team All-Conference selection, Scott collects Second Team All-GNAC honors after recording 46 ground balls and 46 caused turnovers while starting all 20 of the Monks' games this spring. The junior defender broke the SJC single season caused turnovers record (previously 44) in the Monks' GNAC quarterfinal victory over Norwich on April 28th.
Clark, who was listed on the 2022 GNAC All-Rookie Team, earned Third Team All-Conference honors after enjoying a breakout 2023 campaign. In 20 games, including 19 starts, the sophomore midfielder registered 38 goals, 30 assists, 38 ground balls, 38 draw controls, and 22 caused turnovers this spring. She capped the season ranked fourth in the conference in assists, 12th in free-position goals (11), and 14th in points (68).
Eldridge is listed on the 2023 GNAC All-Rookie Team after posting a 7.05 goals against average with a 51.1% save percentage after making 92 saves and allowing 88 goals in 749 minutes between the pipes this spring. She ranked second in the conference in wins (14), third in goals against average, and fourth in fewest goals allowed (88) and save percentage.
2023 ALL-GNAC WOMEN'S LACROSSE TEAMS
