April 28, 2006

Center Valley, Pa. - Holy Cross' Patricia Sutton (Saratoga Springs, N.Y./Saratoga Springs) was named the 2006 Patriot League Player of the Year, becoming the first Crusader to ever capture the League's top honor in women's lacrosse, Patriot League Executive Director Carolyn Schlie Femovich announced. Sutton was joined by four of her Holy Cross teammates and Head Coach Stephanie Pavlick Friday as the 2006 All-Patriot League Teams and the Player, Coach, Defensive Player, Goaltender and Rookie of the Year Awards in women's lacrosse were released by the Patriot League's head coaches.

Pavlick became the first Holy Cross head coach to earn Patriot League Coach of the Year honors since 1996 and just the third in the 16-year history of the award. Bucknell senior Rachel Prowler (Philadelphia, Pa./Penn Charter) became the third Bison to be named the Patriot League's Defensive Player of the Year, while Holy Cross junior Megan Orr (Wilton, Conn./Wilton) was named the Patriot League's Goaltender of the Year for the second-straight season. Rounding out the 2006 major award winners was a pair of freshmen - Lafayette's Kristin Ruminski (Gilbertsville, Pa./Boyertown) and Lehigh's Sara MacIntyre (Holmes, Pa./Agnes Irwin), as the two became the first duo since 1994 to tie for the Patriot League's Rookie of the Year award.

Seven of the 12 First-Team All-Patriot League members are on the squad for the second-straight season, with Sutton leading the way at midfield. Joining Sutton on the First-Team for the second-straight year are at attack Colgate seniors Katie McVeigh (Basking Ridge, N.J./Ridge School) and Kelly Winning (Oreland, Pa./Germantown Academy); at midfield American senior Moriah Linnell (Antrim, N.H./Contoocook Valley); on defense Colgate senior Heidi Ross (Berwyn, Pa./Conestoga) and Prowler; and in goal Orr. McVeigh, Winning, Ross and Prowler are all three-time First-Team selections.

Rounding out the First-Team at attack Lafayette sophomore Madalyn Booth (Wallingford, Pa./Strath Haven); at midfield Bucknell freshman Bonnie Buechel (South Orange, N.J./Columbia), Ruminski and Holy Cross senior teammate Carolyn Smirti (Huntington, N.Y./Cold Harbor Spring); and on defense American sophomore Cailtin Bell (Flourtown, Pa./Springfield).

Lehigh junior attack Amy Chamberlain (Wayne, Pa./Conestoga) and Colgate junior midfield Tara Casey (Syracuse, N.Y./Westhill) headline the All-Patriot League Second-Team as each player was named All-Patriot for the second-straight season. Rounding out the remainder of the Second-Team were 11 student-athletes making their All-Patriot debut - at attack, freshmen MacIntrye and Bucknell's Sarah Collins (Golden Bridges, N.Y./John Jay); at midfield Bucknell junior Lauren Kremer (Chadds Ford, Pa./Unionville), Colgate freshman Molly Carroll (Swarthmore, Pa./Strath Haven) and Holy Cross sophomore Nikki Bolduc (Exeter, Pa./Exeter); on defense Lafayette senior Farrell Sharkey (Glenside, Pa./Cheltenham), Bucknell sophomore Lauren Deitrich (Collegeville, Pa./Hill School), Colgate junior Kate Metevia (Delmar, N.Y./Bethlehem), Lehigh sophomore Chrissy Smith (Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown) and Holy Cross junior Darcy Wolcott (Concord, N.H./Concord); and in goal, Bucknell senior Lizzy McDaniel (West Chester, Pa./Unionville).

Two-time defending champion Colgate and Bucknell lead the All-Patriot League team with six players each. Regular-season champion Holy Cross followed with five. This is the sixth time in Patriot League history that the Player of the Year and Coach of the Year have come from the same school.

The Patriot League, which was founded on the principles of admitting athletes who are academically representative of their class, is in its second decade of academic and athletic excellence. Participation in athletics at Patriot League institutions is viewed as an important component of the undergraduate experience. The Patriot League, which began as a successful Division I-AA football conference in 1986 and became an all-sport conference in 1990, includes American, Army, Bucknell, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh and Navy as full members and three associate members. These institutions are among the oldest and most prestigious in the nation and their alumni have played leadership roles in the shaping of our country. In the most recent NCAA Graduation Rate Report of student-athletes, the Patriot League ranked FIRST among NCAA Division I conferences.