April 29, 2015
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Its first season in the BIG EAST Conference might be in the books, but the Vanderbilt lacrosse team continued to reach new heights on Wednesday.
Six Commodores earned All-BIG EAST honors, with two named to the First Team and four on the Second Team. Defender Alex Duckenfield and attacker Mallory Schonk were named All-BIG EAST First Team. Attacker Jill Doherty, midfielders Emma Dagres and Alexa Kunowsky and goalkeeper Maddie Kratz were tabbed to the All-BIG EAST Second Team.
For all six, it was the first time any have received postseason honors — from the BIG EAST or the American Lacrosse Conference, where Vanderbilt spent the last 13 years.
The six all-conference honorees mark the most in one year for Vanderbilt since the 2004 team had seven named to the All-ALC teams. It is also the first time since 2010 the Commodores have had at least two players receive all-conference first team honors.
Duckenfield, a native of Rutledge, Pa., wrapped up her career with a superb senior season. The pesky defender led the team with 27 caused turnovers and ranked second with 29 ground balls. She was named the BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week earlier this month and started every game this season except one, which she missed due to illness. She finished her career with 84 ground balls and 57 caused turnovers.
Schonk, a junior from Perry Hall, Md., was tabbed as to the preseason All-BIG EAST Team and lived up to the billing. She was named BIG EAST Attacker of the Week twice and led the team in both goals (32) and points (52). She also had 20 assists for second-most on the team. She ranked in the top six in the BIG EAST in goals, assists and points. In addition, she picked up 22 ground balls, caused 12 turnovers and won 11 draw controls. She has started all 50 games of her career and is the team’s active leader in goals with 82.
Doherty, a sophomore from Reading, Mass., led the team with 23 assists, which was the third-most in the BIG EAST. She had a career-high five assists against Cincinnati. She also ranked third on the team with 25 goals and was second with 48 points. Her 28 ground balls were the third-most on the team and she had 23 draw controls. She also caused 19 turnovers, which tied for second on the team and was the most by any non-defender.
Dagres, a junior from Weston, Mass., was also balanced across the board. She came on strong at the end of the season to lead the team with 33 draw controls. She also scored 12 goals, dished out nine assists, notched 21 points, collected 23 ground balls and caused nine turnovers. The midfielder was the fastest player on the team and was often assigned with defending the opposing team’s best scorer.
Kunowsky, a junior from Severna Park, Md., was a scoring threat every game for the Commodores. She ranked second with 27 goals, which tied for eighth in the BIG EAST. She also had four assists, 26 ground balls, 19 draw controls and caused 12 turnovers. She also tied a career-high with five goals against Liberty — the most by any Commodore in a game this season. Like Schonk, she has started all 50 games of her career.
Kratz, a senior from Wilton, Conn., overcame an early back injury for a great final collegiate season. Her 95 saves in 12 games led the team and her 7.92 saves a game was third-most in the BIG EAST. She also ranked fifth in the conference with a .450 save percentage. She set a career high with 13 saves against No. 20 Johns Hopkins and had 74 saves over her last eight games.