Richard Tabbed NECC Player Of The Year To Highlight 7 Elms Women's Lacrosse Honorees

ATTLEBORO, Mass. – Seven members of the Elms women's lacrosse team were honored on Tuesday morning as the New England Collegiate Conference announced its 2018 All-Conference teams and major award winners. 

Blazer attack Haley Richard picked up NECC Player of the Year honors while skipper Rosamaria Riccobono was voted as the league's Coach of the Year. Richard, Jackie Soucia (Belchertown, Mass.) and Vanessa Vurno (Salem, Conn.) were selected to the All-NECC First Team while Alecia Keesee (Westfield, Mass.), Madison Jung (Stafford Springs, Conn.) and Erienne Dowe (Somers, Conn.) were picked to the all-conference second team. 

The awards were voted on by the conference's eight coaches following the conclusion of the regular season. Seven of the eight conference schools are represented on the all-conference teams. 

In her sophomore campaign, Richard led the Blazers to an undefeated 7-0 regular season conference record (10-8 overall), and the No. 1 seed in the 2018 NECC Tournament. Elms went on to win the program's first NECC Championship, and Richard was named to the All-Tournament team for her play. Overall, Richard is tied for the league lead in goals with 60, and is second in points with 79. Her 19 assists are also good for third in the conference. Richard was a one-time 2018 NECC Player of the Week selection (week ending 4/29/18).

Joining Player of the Year Richard in the first team midfield slot is her teammate Soucia (Belchertown Mass.), Bay Path's Kaylee Herring (Worcester, Vt.) and Wheelock's Colleen Macdonald (Sandwich, Mass.). Rookie of the Year, Alex Safford, leads the first team attack selections, along with fellow newcomer Venezia Delgadillo (Sharon, Mass.) of Newbury College. Rounding out the first team attacks is Vanessa Vurno (Salem, Conn.) of Elms and Georgia Schindele (Sparkill, N.Y.) of Wheelock. Schindele's teammate, Katie Frade (Dartmouth, Mass.)  joins her on the first team as a defender, along with Francesca Pinard (Arlington, Mass.) of Mitchell College, and Juliena D'Alessio (Berlin, N.Y.) from Southern Vermont. Goalkeeper of the Year, Kristina Tran, is the first team goalkeeper selection.

The second team features two Wheelock midfielders, Alexandra Clark (Oak Bluffs, Mass.) and Alexah Mellis (East Longmeadow, Mass.), along with Mitchell midfielder Kate McCormack (Narragansett, R.I.) and Newbury's Hannah Gorham (Lyman, Maine). Gorham's teammate Sophia Kiasi (Yorba Linda, Calif.) joins her on the second team as an attack, along with Bay Path's Samantha Rubacha (Feeding Hills, Mass.), Elms' Alecia Keesee(Westfield, Mass.) and Wheelock's Ashley Eppolito (Nashua, N.H.). Elms fills two of the three defender slots, as Erienne Dowe (Somers, Conn.) and Madison Jung (Stafford Springs, Conn.) were honored. Wheelock's Rachel Danis (Underhill, Vt.) fills the third defender spot. Becker College's Nikolle Storey (Cumberland, Maine) closes out the second team at the goalkeeper position.  

In her first season at Elms, Riccobono led the Blazers to a 10-8 overall record, including an undefeated conference record of 7-0. She would lead Elms to the program's first NECC Championship victory. Her squad led the league in goals (214), assists (121), and shooting percentage (45.6). This is her first NECC Coach of the Year selection.

NECC Player of the Year: Haley Richard, Elms (So., M, Monson, Mass.) 
NECC Goalkeeper of the Year: Kristina Tran, Bay Path (So., G, Agawam, Mass.)
NECC Rookie of the Year: Alex Safford, Southern Vermont (Fr., A, Burnt Hills, N.Y.)  
Coach of the Year: Rosa Riccobono, Elms  

First Team All-NECC

A – Vanessa Vurno, Elms (Jr., Salem, Conn.)
A – Venezia Delgadillo, Newbury (Fr., Sharon, Mass.)
A – Alex Safford, Southern Vermont (Fr., Burnt Hills, N.Y.)  
A – Georgia Schindele, Wheelock (Jr., Sparkill, N.Y.)
M – Kaylee Herring, Bay Path (Sr., Worcester, Vt.)
M- Haley Richard, Elms (So., Monson, Mass.)
M – Jackie Soucia, Elms (Sr., Belchertown, Mass.)
M- Colleen Macdonald, Wheelock (Jr., Sandwich, Mass.)
D – Francesca Pinard, Mitchell (Jr., Arlington, Mass.)
D – Juliena D'Alessio, Southern Vermont (So., Berlin, N.Y.)
D – Katie Frade, Wheelock (Sr., Dartmouth, Mass.)  
GK – Kristina Tran, Bay Path (So., Agawam, Mass.)

Second Team All-NECC

A- Samantha Rubacha, Bay Path (Fr., Feeding Hills, Mass.)
A- Alecia Keesee, Elms (So., Westfield, Mass.)
A- Sophia Kiasi, Newbury (Fr., Yorba Linda, Calif.)
A- Ashley Eppolito, Wheelock (Fr., Nashua, N.H.)
M- Kate McCormack, Mitchell (Jr., Narragansett, R.I.)
M- Hannah Gorham, Newbury (Fr., Lyman, Maine)
M- Alexandra Clark, Wheelock (Sr., Oak Bluffs, Mass.)  
M- Alexah Mellis, Wheelock (Jr., East Longmeadow, Mass.)
D – Erienne Dowe, Elms (Fr., Somers, Conn.)
D – Madison Jung, Elms (Sr., Stafford Springs, Conn.)
D – Rachel Danis, Wheelock (Sr., Underhill, Vt.)
GK – Nikolle Storey, Becker (Jr., Cumberland, Maine)

All-NECC Sportsmanship Team

Jo Orrick, Bay Path (Jr., M, Belden, Miss.)
Gabrielle Tucker, Becker (So., D, Grafton, Mass.)
Genesis Johnson, Dean (Fr., M, Norwalk, Conn.)
Madison Crawford, Elms (Sr., A, Bennington, Vt.)
Hannah Corrigan, Mitchell (Fr., A/M, Fairfax, Vt.)
Sophia Kiasi, Newbury (Fr., A, Yorba Linda, Calif.)
Meagan McSweeney, Southern Vermont (Sr., A, Falmouth, Mass.)
Keeghan Hughes, Wheelock (Jr., M, Ipswich, Mass.)