ATTLEBORO, Mass. - Freshman Kerri Anselmo (Natick, Mass.) and head coach Courtney Duggan of the Regis (Mass.) women's lacrosse team took home New England Collegiate Conference major awards on Monday afternoon, headlining six All-Conference selections for the Pride. Anselmo was named the NECC Rookie of the Year, while Duggan received Coach of the Year for the third time.
The NECC Champions had seven players named to All-Conference team as well. Anselmo and freshman defender Maddy Rodriguez (Amherst, Mass.) were named to the First Team All-NECC, with sophomore Taylor Assarian (Arlington, Mass.) and junior Linsay Bumila (Raynham, Mass.) named to the Second Team. Freshman Brooke Ross (Hanover, Mass.) and junior goalkeeper Maresa Malcolm (Barrington, N.J.) landed spots on the Third Team All-Conference, while senior defender Emma Dagesse (Rockland, Mass.) was named to the All-Sportsmanship Team.
Duggan previously was named the NECC Coach of the Year in 2014 and 2015, and nabs her third in 2017. Duggan guided the Pride to its fifth consecutive NECC crown this season, and third straight NCAA Tournament appearance. The Pride went a perfect 8-0 in conference games under Duggan in 2017, the fifth straight season Regis finished NECC play with an unblemished record. A 15-13 win over Elms in the NECC title game was the 15th win on the season for the Pride, setting a new program record for wins in a season.
Anselmo was a two-time winner of the NECC Player of the Week and five-time winner of Rookie of the Week, culminating in the NECC Rookie of the Year award. Anselmo ranked third in the NECC in both goals (62) and assists (20) on the season, ranking second with 82 points. She scored at least two goals in all but one game this season, a game against New England College in which she instead recorded three assists. In the Pride's 19 games played, Anselmo netted 14 hat tricks, including a pair of six-goal games. Rodriguez, also in her rookie campaign, was tied for second on the team with 19 caused turnover and was alone in second with 45 ground balls. Rodriguez was the anchor on a defense that allowed just 135 goals in 19 games to set a program record for fewest goals allowed in a season.
Assarian scored 18 goals and added 18 assists on the season to take home her first All-Conference honors. Her 36 points and 18 assists were both good for second on the Pride, while her two goals and five assists in two NECC Tournament games landed her a spot on the All-Tournament Team. Bumila was just as impressive in the NECC Tournament, as she netted six goals and two assists over the two games to be named the Tournament's Most Valuable Player. Never before had Bumila scored a collegiate hat trick, but the junior saved her best for the NECC Championship game, when she netted a career-high four goals. Bumila finished the season with 15 goals and eight assists, while leading the Pride with 48 ground balls and 51 draw controls.
Ross finished the season ranking second on the Pride with 29 goals to be the third Regis freshman named to the All-Conference teams. Ross also finished with 46 draw controls for the team's second highest mark. The rookie finished with nine multi-goal games on the year, including a pair of four-goal games. Malcolm allowed the fewest goals in the NECC in 2017, allowing 11 goals in 18 appearances, with a goals against average of 7.03, also best in the conference. Malcolm also earned the first Pride shutout in goal in over two years when she held Newbury scoreless in a 20-0 win on Apr. 25.
Dagesse was named to the NECC All-Sportsmanship Team for the first time in 2017. The senior captain scored her first collegiate goal on the season as a defender, while ranking third on the team with 43 ground balls. Dagesse was one of just four players on the Pride to start each of the team's 19 games.
Rounding out the NECC major awards were Player of the Year Ashley Murtha from Mitchell and Goalkeeper of the Year Meghan Lewis from Wheelock.
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