May 3, 2007
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BALTIMORE, Md. — On the eve of its first American Lacrosse Conference Tournament game, Vanderbilt women’s lacrosse had five players recognized on the 2007 All-ALC team, as decided by a vote of league coaches and announced Thursday by the conference office.
Juniors Sasha Cielak and Margie Curran earned first-team accolades, while seniors Nicole Pugno and Kendall Thrift and sophomore Cara Giordano were voted onto the second team.
The Commodores will play host Johns Hopkins in the semifinals of the inaugural ALC Tournament at Baltimore’s Homewood Field on Friday, May 4, at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Cielak (Sparks, Md.) has started every game of her three-year Commodore career. She earned second-team All-ALC honors following her freshman and sophomore seasons. This season, Cielak again leads the Commodores in caused turnovers and ground balls.
Curran (Moorestown, N.J.) leads the in goals this season, having recently tallied the 100th goal of her career. With 156 career points, she is already among Vanderbilt’s all-time Top 5 scorers. This is also Curran’s third time to be recognized on the all-conference team.
Pugno (Upper Montclair, N.J.) was named the ALC Player of the Week after leading the Commodores to a victory over league rival Penn State. Pugno scored 23 points while starting every game of the season for the first time in her career.
Thrift (Reisterstown, Md.) became Vanderbilt’s all-time leader for career assists against Ohio State. She contributed five points to VU’s victory over Johns Hopkins on her way to earning ALC Player of the Week honors.
Giordano (Moorestown, N.J.) scored 23 goals on the year while connecting on 50 percent of her shots. A former high school teammate of Curran, Giordano led the team with three game-winning goals this year.
Northwestern’s Kristen Kjellman was named Conference Player of the Year for the third consecutive year. Her mentor, Kelly Amonte Hiller, was named the Coach of the Year by her peers for the fourth consecutive year. NU’s Morgan Lathrop was named the Goalie of the Year, while Johns Hopkins’ Sam Schrum earned Rookie of the Year honors.
The Wildcats led all teams with five first-team selections and had seven All-Conference selections overall. Joining Kjellman and Lathrop on the first team are teammates Christy Finch, Meredith Frank, and Hannah Neilsen.
Vanderbilt and Ohio State both had five student-athletes honored, including Curran and Cielak from Vanderbilt and Jessica Patane from Ohio State on the first team. Johns Hopkins had four student-athletes honored, including Mary Key and Lauren Schwarzmann on the first team; Penn State also had two on the first team with Jessi Lieb and Renee Cipro.
Player of the Year: Kristen Kjellman, Northwestern
Rookie of the Year: Sam Schrum, Johns Hopkins
Goalie of the Year: Morgan Lathrop, Northwestern
Coach of the Year: Kelly Amonte Hiller, Northwestern
ALC First Team
Sasha Cielak, Vanderbilt
Renee Cipro, Penn State
Margie Curran, Vanderbilt
Christy Finch, Northwestern
Meredith Frank, Northwestern
Mary Key, Johns Hopkins
Kristen Kjellman, Northwestern
Morgan Lathrop, Northwestern
Jessi Lieb, Penn State
Hannah Neilsen, Northwestern
Jessica Patane, Ohio State
Lauren Schwarzmann, Johns Hopkins
ALC Second Team
Lindsay Finocchario, Northwestern
Danielle Gibson, Ohio State
Kristen Gilwee, Ohio State
Cara Giordano, Vanderbilt
Aly Josephs, Northwestern
Cherie Michaud, Johns Hopkins
Nicole Pugno, Vanderbilt
Kerry Shea, Penn State
Amanda Shimp, Ohio State
Kristen Slahor, Ohio State
Kadie Stamper, Johns Hopkins
Kendall Thrift, Vanderbilt
