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South Easton, Mass. – Bentley University senior midfielder Alyssa Ritchie (North Andover, Mass.) has been named the 2009 Northeast-10 Women’s Lacrosse Player of the Year as voted by the conference’s head coaches.

Ritchie put together a record setting senior year as the former freshman of the year currently leads the Northeast-10 in total points with 93 and goals with 66. She finished the year averaging 3.67 goals and 5.17 points per game and is nationally ranked in the top 10 among Division II leaders. Ritchie helped lead Bentley to the Northeast-10 Championships for the fourth straight season as the Falcons finished with a record of 9-9 and 7-3 in the Northeast-10. Ritchie finished her collegiate career tied for the all-time Northeast-10 scoring lead with 326 points and is Bentley’s all-time leader in goals (198), assists (128) and points (326). In addition, Ritchie was named to the All-Northeast-10 First Team for the fourth straight season.

Stonehill College junior defender Jackie Craig (Rocky Point, N.Y.) was selected the 2009 Northeast-10 Defensive Player of the Year. She helped lead the Skyhawk defense hold opponents to only 8.36 goals per game, which is second-best in the Northeast-10. The Stonehill defense is also averaging 13.93 caused turnovers per game. Craig currently has 33 groundballs, 25 caused turnovers and 38 draw controls. In addition, Craig was named to the All-Northeast-10 First Team for the second straight season.

The University of New Haven goalkeeper Maureen Spellman (Trumbull, Conn.) and Southern New Hampshire midfielder Emily Mongeau (Westborough, Mass.) have been named Co-Northeast-10 Freshmen of the Year.

Spellman currently ranks atop the conference leader board in goals against average (8.36) and save percentage (.472), while recording 111 saves in goal for the Chargers. She is also ranked in the top five among Division II leaders in goals against average and in the top 20 in save percentage. In addition to her Freshman of the Year accolade, Spellman was also honored as the conference’s Goalkeeper of the Year and was named to the All-Northeast-10 First Team and All-Rookie Team.

In her first year of collegiate action, Mongeau is currently ranked second on the team with 33 goals, while recording two assists for 36 total points. She has also picked up 35 groundballs and recorded 50 draw controls which ranks her fifth among the conference leaders. Mongeau was also named to the All-Northeast-10 Second Team as well as the All-Rookie team.

New Haven head coach Jen Fallon was voted the 2009 Northeast-10 Coach of the Year by her peers. Fallon, in her third year at the helm in New Haven, guided the Chargers to a share of the Northeast-10 Regular Season Title and the top seed in the NE-10 Championship. New Haven finished conference play with a 9-1 record and are currently 14-3 overall. This is the second straight season that Fallon has been honored as coach of the year. Last year, she received the honor as a member of the East Coast Conference.

With 15 member institutions the Northeast-10 is the second largest NCAA Division II athletic conference in the nation. Its 23 championship sports provide athletic opportunities for over 5,500 student-athletes, the largest such program of any Division II conference.

- NE-10 -

Northeast-10 Women’s Lacrosse All-Conference Teams

First Team
Mary Maloney, Stonehill
Michaela Rocha, Saint Anselm
Lauren Stille, Franklin Pierce
Ashley Ferrandiz, New Haven
Mallory Ferrandiz, New Haven
Jaclyn Griffin, Bentley
Michelle Kelly, Stonehill
Alyssa Ritchie, Bentley
Jackie Craig, Stonehill
Liz Lyons, Merrimack
Julie Kraus, So. New Hampshire
Maureen Spellman, New Haven

Second Team
Brigid Brady, New Haven
Liza Gross, Stonehill
Elizabeth Parent, So. New Hampshire
Lucretia Joy, So. New Hampshire
Lauren Leddy, Merrimack
Emily Mongeau, So. New Hampshire
Kelly Pasquantonio, Merrimack
Meghan Smith, Saint Anselm
Aubrey Duncan, New Haven
Kristine Lambracht, New Haven
Kayleigh Farrell, Saint Anselm
Justine Ferland, Stonehill

All-Rookie Team
Jillian Bolduc, Franklin Pierce
Mary Pasquantonio, MerrimacK
Aubrey Duncan, New Haven
Sarah Magnone, New Haven
Maureen Spellman, New Haven
Meghan Smith, Saint Anselm
Emily Mongeau, So. New Hampshire
Leyla Kuz-Dworazk, Stonehill