Photo by: © Jeff Sochko | GWUPhotos.com
Big South Announces Winners of 2023 Women's Lacrosse Annual Awards
May 04, 2023 | Women's Lacrosse
CHARLOTTE – The Big South released the winners of their annual awards for women's lacrosse on Thursday with a quartet of Runnin' Bulldogs earning different accolades from the league. Gardner-Webb finished the season with the second-most Big South victories in a year with three wins under Interim Head Coach Maddie Martin.
Grace Briggs (Waterford, Conn.) led the team's honorees as the First-Team selection for Gardner-Webb. She earned an at-large spot on the team after being one of the top defenders in the country this past spring. Briggs broke the single-season school record in caused turnovers with 35 and scooped a career-high 41 groundballs, more than double her total from 2022. During league play, she had at least one CT in every game and in each competition against non-ACC foes. She ranked Top-20 in the country in CTs per game as well on the year with 2.06.
Bria Foley (Walpole, Mass.) was named to the Second-Team for attackers after ranking near the conference's best in goals (4th), assists (2nd), and points (3rd). Foley recorded the late game-winner at Presbyterian as part of an incredible string of games. She notched at least four goals in six of the conference matches and had at least three assists in five of those contests during the year. She recorded back-to-back nine-point outings against Campbell and Wofford, the most by GWU player since Jada Preston in 2018. She led Gardner-Webb in goals, points and draw controls.
Heather Lobas (Huntingtown, Md.) earned her third selection to All-Conference status this year. She was selected to the Second-Team as a defender coming in at 35th in the country in CTs per game at 1.76. Lobas was 5th in league play for caused turnovers per game with 2.11 during those games. She finishes the year with 32 groundballs, 30 caused turnovers, and a career-high 17 draw controls. She ends her five-year career in 2nd for career CTs with 97, which is 7th in Big South history, and 4th in GBs with 112 in the Gardner-Webb record books.
Brittany Sherrod (Simpsonville, Ky.) rounded out the team's honorees with being named to the All-Academic Team. She has collected a 3.82 GPA as she has pursued a double-major in homeland security and psychology. This past April, she was named the Top MS3 Cadet for the 49er Battalion which comprises 13 schools and over 130 cadets. Sherrod also earned the Superior Cadet Decoration Award as the most outstanding cadet in her class. She is a junior captain for the team, member of the ROTC program, color guard and is VP of the Government Service United Club at Gardner-Webb.
2023 BIG SOUTH WOMEN'S LACROSSE ALL-CONFERENCE TEAMS
FIRST TEAM ALL-CONFERENCE
ATT – Shannon Urey, Sr., Mercer
ATT – Meagan Beal, Sr., Furman
ATT – Rasa Welsh, Jr., Campbell
MF – Sam Bischoff, Jr., Campbell
MF – Hannah Dintino, Sr., Furman
MF – Kayla Soltys, Sr., Mercer
D – Rebekah Taylor, Sr., Campbell
D – Emma Pizzo, Gr., Mercer
D – Katelyn Sousa, Jr., Furman
GK – Kate Vanderlinde, Sr., Mercer
AL – Mena Loescher, ATT, Gr., High Point
AL – Chandler Stewart, D, Sr., Campbell
AL – Grace Briggs, D, Sr., Gardner-Webb
SECOND TEAM ALL-CONFERENCE
ATT – Bria Foley, Soph., Gardner-Webb
ATT – Anna Roser, Soph., Furman
ATT – Maddi Koury, Jr., Mercer
MF – Willow Hammond, Soph., Presbyterian
MF – Lauren Cerretani, Sr., Longwood
MF – Margaret Gleason, Sr., Radford
D – Jenna Kraft, Gr., High Point
D – Heather Lobas, Gr., Gardner-Webb
D – Julia Koenig, Jr., Longwood
GK – Olivia Hunter, Jr., Radford
AL – Emma Genovese, MF, Gr., High Point
AL – Leah Hurley, MF, Sr., Wofford
AL – Kay Rosselli, MF, Jr., High Point
HONORABLE MENTION ALL-CONFERENCE
Lyndsey Lewis, MF, Sr., Mercer
Molly Dankowski, MF, Gr., Winthrop
Pia Cavallaro, ATT, Jr., High Point
Sophia Passa, ATT, Fr., Longwood
Ava Scudillo, D, Sr., High Point (tie)
Lily Barger, D, Fr., Wofford (tie)
ALL-ACADEMIC TEAM
Sam Bischoff, Campbell
Hannah Dintino, Furman
Brittany Sherrod, Gardner-Webb
Caitlyn Baehr, High Point
Harper Melton, Longwood
Shannon Urey, Mercer
Kendall Goldfarb, Presbyterian
Ashlyn Grogan, Radford
Maddy Hodgson, Winthrop
Leah Hurley, Wofford
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Shannon Urey, ATT, Mercer
MIDFIELDER OF THE YEAR
Sam Bischoff, Campbell
CO-DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Rebekah Taylor, D, Campbell
Emma Pizzo, D, Mercer
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Sophia Passo, ATT, Longwood
COACH OF THE YEAR
Samantha Eustace, Mercer
SCHOLAR-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Kendall Goldfarb, Presbyterian
Grace Briggs (Waterford, Conn.) led the team's honorees as the First-Team selection for Gardner-Webb. She earned an at-large spot on the team after being one of the top defenders in the country this past spring. Briggs broke the single-season school record in caused turnovers with 35 and scooped a career-high 41 groundballs, more than double her total from 2022. During league play, she had at least one CT in every game and in each competition against non-ACC foes. She ranked Top-20 in the country in CTs per game as well on the year with 2.06.
Bria Foley (Walpole, Mass.) was named to the Second-Team for attackers after ranking near the conference's best in goals (4th), assists (2nd), and points (3rd). Foley recorded the late game-winner at Presbyterian as part of an incredible string of games. She notched at least four goals in six of the conference matches and had at least three assists in five of those contests during the year. She recorded back-to-back nine-point outings against Campbell and Wofford, the most by GWU player since Jada Preston in 2018. She led Gardner-Webb in goals, points and draw controls.
Heather Lobas (Huntingtown, Md.) earned her third selection to All-Conference status this year. She was selected to the Second-Team as a defender coming in at 35th in the country in CTs per game at 1.76. Lobas was 5th in league play for caused turnovers per game with 2.11 during those games. She finishes the year with 32 groundballs, 30 caused turnovers, and a career-high 17 draw controls. She ends her five-year career in 2nd for career CTs with 97, which is 7th in Big South history, and 4th in GBs with 112 in the Gardner-Webb record books.
Brittany Sherrod (Simpsonville, Ky.) rounded out the team's honorees with being named to the All-Academic Team. She has collected a 3.82 GPA as she has pursued a double-major in homeland security and psychology. This past April, she was named the Top MS3 Cadet for the 49er Battalion which comprises 13 schools and over 130 cadets. Sherrod also earned the Superior Cadet Decoration Award as the most outstanding cadet in her class. She is a junior captain for the team, member of the ROTC program, color guard and is VP of the Government Service United Club at Gardner-Webb.
2023 BIG SOUTH WOMEN'S LACROSSE ALL-CONFERENCE TEAMS
FIRST TEAM ALL-CONFERENCE
ATT – Shannon Urey, Sr., Mercer
ATT – Meagan Beal, Sr., Furman
ATT – Rasa Welsh, Jr., Campbell
MF – Sam Bischoff, Jr., Campbell
MF – Hannah Dintino, Sr., Furman
MF – Kayla Soltys, Sr., Mercer
D – Rebekah Taylor, Sr., Campbell
D – Emma Pizzo, Gr., Mercer
D – Katelyn Sousa, Jr., Furman
GK – Kate Vanderlinde, Sr., Mercer
AL – Mena Loescher, ATT, Gr., High Point
AL – Chandler Stewart, D, Sr., Campbell
AL – Grace Briggs, D, Sr., Gardner-Webb
SECOND TEAM ALL-CONFERENCE
ATT – Bria Foley, Soph., Gardner-Webb
ATT – Anna Roser, Soph., Furman
ATT – Maddi Koury, Jr., Mercer
MF – Willow Hammond, Soph., Presbyterian
MF – Lauren Cerretani, Sr., Longwood
MF – Margaret Gleason, Sr., Radford
D – Jenna Kraft, Gr., High Point
D – Heather Lobas, Gr., Gardner-Webb
D – Julia Koenig, Jr., Longwood
GK – Olivia Hunter, Jr., Radford
AL – Emma Genovese, MF, Gr., High Point
AL – Leah Hurley, MF, Sr., Wofford
AL – Kay Rosselli, MF, Jr., High Point
HONORABLE MENTION ALL-CONFERENCE
Lyndsey Lewis, MF, Sr., Mercer
Molly Dankowski, MF, Gr., Winthrop
Pia Cavallaro, ATT, Jr., High Point
Sophia Passa, ATT, Fr., Longwood
Ava Scudillo, D, Sr., High Point (tie)
Lily Barger, D, Fr., Wofford (tie)
ALL-ACADEMIC TEAM
Sam Bischoff, Campbell
Hannah Dintino, Furman
Brittany Sherrod, Gardner-Webb
Caitlyn Baehr, High Point
Harper Melton, Longwood
Shannon Urey, Mercer
Kendall Goldfarb, Presbyterian
Ashlyn Grogan, Radford
Maddy Hodgson, Winthrop
Leah Hurley, Wofford
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Shannon Urey, ATT, Mercer
MIDFIELDER OF THE YEAR
Sam Bischoff, Campbell
CO-DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Rebekah Taylor, D, Campbell
Emma Pizzo, D, Mercer
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Sophia Passo, ATT, Longwood
COACH OF THE YEAR
Samantha Eustace, Mercer
SCHOLAR-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Kendall Goldfarb, Presbyterian
Players Mentioned
D
/ Women's Lacrosse
A
/ Women's Lacrosse
D
/ Women's Lacrosse
A
/ Women's Lacrosse
MF
/ Women's Lacrosse No videos available.
