IWLCA Names 2021 Divisional Players of the Year

12 student-athletes honored

The IWLCA has named four All-Americans from each Division as positional Players of the Year. Each Division’s selection committee has also chosen one of the positional honorees as the Player of the Year for each Division.

DIVISION I

Charlotte North was named the 2021 Tewaaraton Award winner after a stellar campaign that included an NCAA record 102 goals and culminated with BC claiming their first national championship. During the NCAA Tournament, she set the record for goals in a single tournament with 31 and was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. North racked up 114 points and 174 draw controls in 2021, earning first-team All-ACC honors. North, who finished the season ranked first in Division I for goals, second for points, and third for draw controls, announced earlier this week that she would return to Boston College for the 2022 season. She was also named a finalist for the 2021 Honda Award for women’s lacrosse.

Ally Kennedy is a three-time IWLCA All-American and a three-time America East Midfielder of the Year. She became the third player in program history to score her 200th career goal, finishing her career with 266, while also adding 63 assists, 343 draw controls, 180 ground balls, and 59 caused turnovers. As the America East Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player this year, she set a new tournament record with 12 goals in two games and matched a tournament record with seven goals against UMBC. Kennedy was drafted second overall in the Athletes Unlimited draft and named a finalist for the 2021 Honda Award for women’s lacrosse.

Lizzie Colson was a Tewaaraton Finalist, a unanimous First Team All-Big Ten selection, the Big Ten Defender of the Year, and was named to the Big Ten All-Tournament Team in 2021. Colson led Division I with 49 caused turnovers, the second-highest mark in Maryland program history, while ranking third for groundballs with 59. Colson had more than three caused turnovers in nine-of-17 games this season and had six games of four-plus caused turnovers, while recording at least four groundballs in 10-of-17 games. Colson is a three-time All-American, having been named to the IWLCA Division I third team in both 2018 and 2019. She was named a finalist for the 2021 Honda Award for women’s lacrosse earlier this week.

Taylor Moreno finished second in the nation in goals against average (6.65) and save percentage (.549) and led her team to the ACC championship and the NCAA Semifinals. The 2021 ACC Defender of the Year, Moreno was a Tewaaraton Award finalist, and also named a finalist for the 2021 Honda Award for women’s lacrosse. Moreno is a two-time ACC Tournament MVP and was an IWLCA All-American in 2019. She ranks second all-time at UNC in wins with a career record of 48-6 and has announced she will return to North Carolina for the 2022 season.

DIVISION II

Peyton Romig is the University of Indianapolis’ all-time draw control leader, corralling 200 draw controls, the highest total in Division II this year. Romig  added 29 goals, 25 assists, 34 ground balls, and 19 caused turnovers to demonstrate her prowess at both ends of the field. She was previously named the 2021 GLVC Midfielder of the Year and was a unanimous first-team All-Conference selection.

Abigail Lagos compiled a team-high 80 points in 2021, scoring a career-high 62 goals, which was the second highest total in Division II this year. She also posted a team-high 18 free position goals throughout the season, nailing three game-winning goals as well. Lagos was selected as the 2021 GLVC Attacker of the Year and also named first-team All-Conference.

Riley McClure was a force on defense for the Hounds in 2021, grabbing 62 draw controls, causing 18 turnovers, and picking up 24 ground balls. She was also recognized as the 2021 GLVC Defender of the Year and a unanimous pick on the All-Conference first-team. McClure was a 2018 and 2019 IWLCA All-American selection, and posted 160 ground balls, 148 caused turnovers, and 312 draw controls in her career.

Eliza Bresler led Division II in both save percentage at .599, and in total saves with 169, and ranks sixth in goals against average at 7.76. She was selected as the NE10 Northeast Division Goalie of the Year, first team All-NE10, and the Most Outstanding Player of the NE10 Championship. Bresler is a two-time IWLCA All-American (2019 and 2021) and boasts a career record of 34-17, with a .538 save percentage and 10.16 goals against average.

DIVISION III

Alexis Strobel led Division III with 82 assists, which set a new single-season assist record at Salisbury and ranks fourth-best in Division III history. She also scored 28 goals and picked up 11 ground balls in 2021, en route to being named the Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference (C2C) Player of the Year. Strobel also became the seventh player in SU history to tally 100 or more points in a season with her 110 points this season, as the Gulls capped their perfect season with a Division III NCAA Championship win. Strobel, who was named to the NCAA All-Tournament team, is Salisbury's all-time leader in assists with 191 assists and was a 2019 IWLCA All-American.

Jacqui Hallack set a program record for goals in a season with 79 in 16 games in 2021 the fourth highest total in Division III this year. She added 16 assists for a total of 95 points, which earned her Liberty League Offensive Player of the Year and first-team all-league honors. Hallack also collected 28 ground balls, seven caused turnovers, and a team-high 100 draw controls over the course of the season, proving herself as the nation’s top midfielder.

Carrie Hesen was the go-to player on the backline for Salisbury this year and was assigned to defend the best attackers on the opposing teams. Hesen had a career season in 2021, earning the first-ever C2C Defensive Player of the Year award and first-team All-Conference honors after registering career-highs in caused turnovers (27), draw controls (69) and ground balls (27). As a team, Salisbury led the C2C in scoring defense (7.85), caused turnovers per game (9.90) and ranked second in ground balls per game (17.90).

Molly Laliberty was outstanding as Tufts’ last line of defense in goal. She stopped 112 of the 188 shots she faced this season for a .596 save percentage, ranking her sixth in Division III. She was named first-team All-NESCAC and NESCAC Player of the Year, finishing with a 7.24 goals against mark in a season which saw the Jumbos fall to Salisbury in the NCAA Championship game.