TRAFFORD, Pa. (pacathletics.org) -The Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) released the 2023 All-PAC women's lacrosse teams and yearly award winners Friday morning, which were determined by vote of the league's 10 head coaches.

The PAC Offensive Player of the Year award went to Washington & Jefferson College senior Amanda Effland (Frederick, Md./Frederick), while Grove City College sophomore Sarah Jackson (Brookfield, Conn./Brookfield) was tapped as the Defensive Player of the Year and W&J senior Sarah Labovitz (Great Falls, Va./The Bullis School) earned Midfielder of the Year.

Rounding out the major award winners was Franciscan University senior Rose Kane (Brackney, Pa./Seton Catholic Central) being voted Goalie of the Year, W&J freshman midfielder Caleigh Bogats (Oakdale, Pa./Chartiers Valley) earned Newcomer of the Year and W&J 10th-year head coach Alison Valerio was selected as the PAC Coach of the Year. 

Effland, a three-time PAC Offensive player of the Week selection during the season, was ranked near the top in every offensive category prior to suffering an injury. Despite playing in only 13 games, she is still ranked seventh in the PAC with 46 goals, fifth with 27 assists, sixth with 73 points and fifth with 5.62 points per game. Largely due to Effland's work, the Presidents rank first in the conference with 16.25 goals per game, while also leading the league in points (25.25) and assists (9.00) per game while ranking just fifth in shots per game (30.63). This is the third time Effland has earned First Team All-PAC in her career.

A First Team All-PAC selection last year as a freshman, Jackson repeats as a First Team honoree and adds the Defensive Player of the Year award after anchoring the Wolverines' defense this season. She ranked second in the conference with 37 caused turnovers for the season, with 22 of those coming in PAC play, and ranked third with 1.94 CTs per game. Grove City held four PAC teams to single-digit goals in a game this season, including the only shutout in the league this year, a 22-0 victory over Waynesburg April 11. Jackson also tallied five goals this season and collected 55 ground balls, second on the team.

In earning Midfielder of the Year, Labovitz did a little of everything for the Presidents. She leads the PAC with 69 ground balls and 4.31 GBs per game, ranks second in caused turnovers per game (2.13) and third in total CTs (34) and ranks third in draw controls per game (6.44) and fifth in total draw controls (103). Also a strong offensive player, Labovitz scored 27 of her 45 goals and 41 of her 66 points this season against PAC opponents. The 2021 PAC Offensive Player of the Year and now three-time First Team All-PAC selection, Labovitz earned PAC Midfielder of the Week April 11 and PAC Offensive Player of the Week for May 2.

Kane turned in a strong year to earn PAC Goalie of the Year laurels. She posted eight games with 12 or more saves and had a save percentage of .600 or higher in six contests. Twice named the PAC Defensive Player of the Week this season, Kane was at her best against PAC foes. She limited four conference teams to single-digit goals and her 14.33 saves and .561 save percentage in PAC games were both tops in the league. Kane was clutch in the Barons' 15-14 win over Saint Vincent in the PAC Quarterfinals, making three of her eight saves in the fourth quarter, including one on a free-position shot with 3:24 left to preserve the one-goal lead.

Bogats made an immediate impact on the W&J lineup this season. She tied for fourth on the team with 46 points, including 33 goals and 12 assists. Bogats was also solid in the field, as 26 of her 37 ground balls and 13 of her 17 caused turnovers this season came in games against PAC opponents. She closed her first college regular season on a high note, notching three goals and three assists for a career-high six points in a 20-9 win over Grove City April 29, which helped Bogats earn her second PAC Rookie of the Week award this season.

This is Valerio's third consecutive PAC Coach of the Year honor and her fourth overall coach of the year award. She was recognized after leading the Presidents to the top spot in the regular season standings with a perfect 9-0 PAC record, as well as a 14-3 overall mark, and into the PAC Title Game for the third straight year. Behind the strength of 13 consecutive victories, W&J ranks fourth in the most recent NCAA Division III Women's Lacrosse Region VI rankings. One of the teams ranked ahead of the Presidents is Mount Union, a team W&J defeated on the road 16-15 on April 7.

Also announced were the members of this year's PAC Sportsmanship Team. The PAC’s Sportsmanship Teams were established to recognize student-athletes who have distinguished themselves through demonstrated acts of sportsmanship and ethical behavior and are an ongoing effort to both recognize and encourage positive sportsmanship among all conference teams.   

PAC Award Winners
Offensive Player of the Year: W&J senior attack/midfielder Amanda Effland (Frederick, Md./Frederick)
Defensive Player of the Year: Grove City sophomore defender Sarah Jackson (Brookfield, Conn./Brookfield)
Midfielder of the Year: W&J senior Sarah Labovitz (Great Falls, Va./The Bullis School)
Goalie of the Year: Franciscan senior Rose Kane (Brackney, Pa./Seton Catholic Central)
Newcomer of the Year: W&J freshman midfielder Caleigh Bogats (Oakdale, Pa./Chartiers Valley)
Coach of the Year: W&J 10th-year head coach Alison Valerio
 

All-PAC First Team
Position	Name	School	Yr.	Hometown | High School
A	Grace Baginski	Allegheny	Sr.	Lakeville, N.Y./Our Lady of Mercy
A	Lauren Petrarca	Allegheny	So.	Simi Valley, Calif./Royal
A	Grace Deegan	Franciscan	Grad.	Akron, Ohio/Stow
A	Bridget Doyle	Saint Vincent	Jr.	Pittsburgh, Pa./Oakland Catholic
A	Amanda Effland	W&J	Sr.	Frederick, Md./Frederick
M	Senna Perelman	Allegheny	Sr.	Cleveland, Ohio/Cleveland Heights
M	Sam Beall-Dennell	Chatham	Jr.	Sykesville, Md./Century
M	Madison Nazigian	Grove City	Sr.	Forest, Va./Jefferson Forest
M	Ashlyn Wightman	Thiel	Jr.	Pittsburgh, Pa./Shaler
M	Sarah Labovitz	W&J	Sr.	Great Falls, Va./The Bullis School
D	Sybi Gerhart	Allegheny	Jr.	Denver, Pa./Cocalico
D	Josie Barton	Chatham	So	Harmony, Pa./North Allegheny
D	Sarah Jackson	Grove City	So.	Brookfield, Conn./Brookfield
D	Ella Phillips	W&J	So.	Arnold, Md./Broadneck
GK	Samantha Barrett	Chatham	So.	Algonquin, Ill./Dundee-Crown
GK	Rose Kane	Franciscan	Sr.	Brackney, Pa./Seton Catholic Central

 

All-PAC Second Team
Position	Name	School	Yr.	Hometown | High School
A	Kaylee Bandow	Saint Vincent	Sr.	York, Pa./York Catholic
A	Destiny Johnson	Thiel	Sr.	Baltimore, Md./Western
A	Aisa Uhler	W&J	Jr.	East Lansing, Mich./East Lansing
M	Erin Goodwin	Chatham	So.	Milford, Conn./Jonathan Law
M	Maggie Edwards	Saint Vincent	Jr.	North Huntingdon, Pa./Norwin
M	Stephanie Cimini	Westminster	Sr.	Mars, Pa./Mars
D	Amelia Henderson	Allegheny	Fr.	Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny
D	Mary Bohli	Franciscan	Jr.	Fairfax, Va./St. John Paul the Great
D	Jessica Persin	Saint Vincent	Sr.	Greensburg, Pa./Hempfield
D	Mary Cassano	Thiel	Jr.	Fairview, Pa./McDowell

 

Honorable Mention All-PAC
Position	Name	School	Yr.	Hometown | High School
M	Cassidy Mailloux	Bethany	Sr.	Bell River, Ontario/École secondaire catholique l'Essor
M	Bailey Donofrio	Chatham	Sr.	Pittsburgh, Pa./Chartiers Valley
M	Theresa Lyle	Franciscan	So.	McMurray, Pa./Seton LaSalle
M	Caleigh Bogats	W&J	Fr.	Oakdale, Pa./Chartiers Valley
M	Sofia Jenkins	W&J	Jr.	Hughesville, Md./The Calverton School
M	Tori Meiklejohn	Waynesburg	Sr.	Boonsboro, Md./Boonsboro
M	Nina Rascona	Westminster	Jr.	Somerset, Pa./Somerset
GK	Kaitlyn Brown	W&J	Jr.	Charlotte Hall, Md./La Plata