LATHAM, N.Y. – The United East Conference office released the 2022 All-United East Conference Women’s Lacrosse Teams Thursday afternoon and the St. Mary’s College of Maryland women’s lacrosse team landed seven on the all-conference teams plus grabbed two of the four major awards.
Senior Lucy Gussio (Baldwin, Md./Notre Dame Prep) was tabbed the United East Offensive Player of the Year while fellow classmate Mary Kate Fitz-Patrick (Cockeysville, Md./Notre Dame Prep) picked up United East Defensive Player of the Year.
They become the fifth and sixth Seahawk women’s lacrosse players to earn a Player of the Year award as Gia Trionfo ’99 (1998 and 1999), Kathy Holmes ’02 (2002), Carol Schmoeller ’04 (2004), and Lauren Carrier ’09 (2009) all did it when St. Mary’s was a member of the Capital Athletic Conference (CAC).
Gussio and Fitz-Patrick, along with sophomore Rachael Freeman (Baltimore, Md./Friends) and first-years Hailey Betch (Severna Park, Md./Severna Park) and Colin Horton (University Park, Md./Elizabeth Seton) were named to the All-United East First Team.
Additionally, senior Jayne Barkman (Lothian, Md./Southern) and junior Lily Davison (Phoenix, Md./Dulaney) garnered Second Team honors.
Fitz-Patrick is now a three-time all-conference honoree as she notched a spot on the 2019 All-CAC Second Team and the 2021 All-Coast-To-Coast (C2C) Athletic Conference Second Team. The 2019 CAC Rookie of the Year, Gussio is a two-time all-league awardee having been named to the 2021 All-C2C Second Team. Barkman is a two-time all-star as well as she was an All-C2C First Team selection in 2021.
Freeman, Betch, Horton, and Davison are all first-time postseason honorees.
A three-time United East Offensive Player of the Week selection, Gussio set the single-season record for points (109) on April 23, breaking the old record of 105 established by Carrier in 2008. The 5-6 attacker tallied her 200th career point on April 9 with a 10-point performance against SUNY Morrisville. She also scored her 100th career goal on March 4 with a four-goal effort against Dickinson College.
Gussio currently ranks second in the United East with 109 points and 49 assists while being third with 60 goals. She currently ranks 11th in Division III with 7.27 points per game, 14th with 109 points, 16th with 49 assists and 3.27 assists per game, and 33rd with 4.00 goals per game. Gussio has also added 33 ground balls and 10 caused turnovers.
Fitz-Patrick, who was named the United East Defensive Player of the Week on April 11, ranks seventh in the league with a team second-best 20 caused turnovers. The 5-4 defender is also fourth on the team with 27 ground balls. A team captain this season, she scored her first two career goals this season.
Betch dominated the draw control in her first season as a Seahawk. Ranking second in the conference with 107 draw controls, she notched the single-season record for draw controls on April 22 at Mount Aloysius College when Betch surpassed the previous mark of 85 set by Holmes in 2000. The 5-11 attacker is second for the Seahawks with a conference eighth-best 14 assists, third with 36 points, and tied for fifth with 22 goals. She has also chipped in 12 ground balls.
Horton made an immediate impact in the midfield for the Seahawks. The 5-9 midfielder ranks seventh in the United East with a team second-best 41 goals while coming in ninth with a team second-best 49 draw controls. The United East Offensive Player of the Week on March 14, she has added 20 ground balls, eight assists, and eight caused turnovers.
Freeman helped make the Seahawk defense a stone wall. The 5-2 defender currently ranks sixth in the league with a team-best 22 caused turnovers. She is also second on the team with 32 ground balls as an everyday game starter.
The United East Defensive Player of the Week on April 18, Barkman has been a consistent presence in the midfield. The 5-9 midfielder ranks third for the Seahawks with 46 draws while being tied for fourth with 12 caused turnovers. She is also fifth with 23 ground balls while contributing 10 goals and five assists.
Davison, a 5-11 attacker, is enjoying a career-best season with a team fourth-best 23 goals, 20 ground balls, 10 caused turnovers, and a team fifth-best 10 draw controls. She has also chipped in nine assists.
In its inaugural season in the United East, St. Mary’s (10-5) claimed the top seed with an undefeated 6-0 conference record. The Seahawks will host the 2022 United East Conference Women’s Lacrosse Championship Tournament title in the Jamie L. Roberts Stadium this weekend on Friday, May 6, and Saturday, May 7.
St. Mary’s will take on No. 4 seed SUNY Morrisville (6-6), the four-time defending champions, in Friday’s first semifinal at 12:00 p.m. followed by No. 2 seed Lancaster Bible College (11-5) facing No. 3 seed Medaille College (8-7) in the second semifinal at 2:30 p.m. The winners will meet in Saturday’s championship game at 1:00 p.m.
Tickets for this weekend’s action will be $5 for adults and $3 for senior citizens, non-SMCM students, and children 6-17. Children under 6 will be free. There will be no weekend passes sold and no re-entry allowed.
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Credits:
Bill Wood