IRVING, Texas -- Florida's women's lacrosse team, which went undefeated in American Athletic Conference play for the third consecutive season, captured every most of the major individual awards and had a league-leading nine players named to The American's 2022 all-conference teams as voted by the league’s six head coaches.
Danielle Pavinelli was unanimously named as The American’s Attack Player of the Year, while Gators defender Emma Wightman was chosen as Defensive Player of the Year. Sarah Reznick was the unanimous choice as Goalkeeper of the Year for the second consecutive season, while Emma LoPinto was unanimously named as Freshman of the Year.
Temple’s Belle Mastropietro was named as The American’s Midfielder of the Year, while Florida’s coaching staff was selected by their counterparts for top honors in the conference.
Pavinelli becomes the third Florida player in as many seasons to be named as Attack Player of the Year, joining 2019 winner Lindsey Ronbeck and 2021 winner Grace Haus (the conference did not present postseason awards in 2020). Pavinelli enters the 2022 postseason with 56 goals and 22 assists for 78 points, ranking third in The American in goals, sixth in assists and second in points. She scored 15 goals with 10 assists in five conference games, helping the Gators average a league-leading 18.2 goals per game. She is one of 25 players nationally to be named as a nominee for the Tewaaraton Award as the nation’s top player.
Mastropietro becomes the first Temple player to win one of The American’s postseason individual honors. She finished the regular season ranked fifth in The American in scoring, first among midfielders, with 42 goals and 21 assists for 63 points. She leads The American with 96 draw controls and is eighth in the league with 28 ground balls.
Wightman is the third consecutive player from Florida to win The American Defensive Player of the Year honor, joining 2019 and 2021 winner Cara Trombetta. Wightman leads a Gator defense that has held its opponents to a 9.06 goals-against average, ranking 11th in NCAA Division I. Wightman is second in The American with 29 caused turnovers and ranks eighth among conference players with 28 ground balls.
Reznick, a 2021 All-America selection, earned her second consecutive unanimous Goalkeeper of the Year honor, giving Florida a third consecutive winner after Haley Hicklen won the award in 2019. Reznick leads The American in both save percentage (.490, 13th nationally) and goals-against average (9.12) and was second in the conference with 7.59 saves per game in the regular season. Reznick was even better in conference play, with a .574 save percentage and a 6.69 GAA in five games.
LoPinto becomes the second consecutive Florida player to be named American Freshman of the Year, following Pavinelli, who was the 2021 winner. Arguably the top freshman player nationally this season, LoPinto has a conference-leading 79 points on 51 goals and 28 assists. LoPinto has been named The American’s Freshman of the Week 10 times in 12 weeks, including in each of the last nine weeks to close the regular season.
Florida’s head coach Amanda O’Leary and assistant coaches Taryn Vanthof and Regy Thorpe were recognized as The American’s Coaching Staff of the Year. Florida’s staff had previously earned Big East Coaching Staff of the Year honors three times (2016-18) and earned The American’s honor last season, while O’Leary had been ALC Coach of the Year in 2011, 2013 and 2014. Florida outscored its American Athletic Conference opponents by a 91-37 margin, winning its five conference games by an average of 10.8 goals. The Gators enter the 2022 American Athletic Conference Championship at 13-4 overall and ranked No. 8 nationally in the IWLCA-Inside Lacrosse poll.
Ten players were unanimous choices of the head coaches to the 2022 All-Conference First Team. Pavinelli, Wightman, Reznick and LoPinto joined midfielder Emily Heller as unanimous selections from Florida. Mastropietro and midfielder Quinn Nicolai from Temple were on every ballot, as were Cincinnati attack Kylie Nause and Vanderbilt’s veteran triumvirate of attack Gabby Fornia, midfielder Bri Gross and defender Melissa Hawkins.
Fornia becomes the first American women’s lacrosse player to be named to the all-conference first team three times. Nause, Mastropietro, Gross, Reznick and Hawkins are all two-time first-team selections.
2022 AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE WOMEN'S LACROSSE AWARDS
AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE ATTACK PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Danielle Pavinelli, Florida *
AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE MIDFIELDER OF THE YEAR
Belle Mastropietro, Temple
AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Emma Wightman, Florida
AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE GOALKEEPER OF THE YEAR
Sarah Reznick, Florida *
AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Emma LoPinto, A, Florida *
AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE COACHING STAFF OF THE YEAR
Florida
(Head Coach Amanda O'Leary, Assistant Coach Taryn Vanthof, Assistant Coach Regy Thorpe)
| ALL-CONFERENCE FIRST TEAM |
| Pos. |
Player |
School |
Cl. |
Hometown |
| A |
Kylie Nause * 1 |
Cincinnati |
Sr. |
Phoenix, Md. |
| A |
Megan Tryniski |
East Carolina |
Sr. |
Cicero, N.Y. |
| A |
Emma LoPinto * |
Florida |
Fr. |
Manhasset, N.Y. |
| A |
Danielle Pavinelli * 2 |
Florida |
So. |
Northport, N.Y. |
| A |
Lilly Siskind 2 |
Old Dominion |
Sr. |
West Chester, Pa. |
| A |
Mackenzie Roth |
Temple |
Jr. |
Schnecksville, Pa. |
| A |
Gabby Fornia * 1 1 |
Vanderbilt |
Gr. |
Mount Laurel, N.J. |
| M |
Nicole LeGar 2 |
East Carolina |
Gr. |
Eldersburg, Md. |
| M |
Emily Heller * |
Florida |
Jr. |
Babylon, N.Y. |
| M |
Belle Mastropietro * 1 |
Temple |
Jr. |
Springfield, Pa. |
| M |
Quinn Nicolai * |
Temple |
Gr. |
Moorestown, Pa. |
| M |
Bri Gross * 1 |
Vanderbilt |
Sr. |
El Dorado Hills, Calif. |
| D |
Dani Mlkvy |
Cincinnati |
Jr. |
Berlin, N.J. |
| D |
Catherine Flaherty |
Florida |
Jr. |
Manorville, N.Y. |
| D |
Emma Wightman * 2 |
Florida |
Sr. |
Basking Ridge, N.J. |
| D |
Melissa Hawkins * 2 1 |
Vanderbilt |
Gr. |
Bridgewater, N.J. |
| G |
Sarah Reznick * 1 |
Florida |
So. |
Long Beach, N.Y. |
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| * unanimous selection |
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| ALL-CONFERENCE SECOND TEAM |
| Pos. |
Player |
School |
Cl. |
Hometown |
| A |
Leah Bestany |
East Carolina |
Fr. |
Bethpage, N.Y. |
| A |
Frances Kimel 2 |
East Carolina |
Jr. |
Durham, N.C. |
| A |
Ashley Gonzalez |
Florida |
So. |
Dix Hills, N.Y. |
| A |
Maggi Hall |
Florida |
So. |
Bel Air, Md. |
| A |
Riley McGowan |
Temple |
Jr. |
Souderton, Pa. |
| A |
Karlie Bucci |
Vanderbilt |
Sr. |
New Canaan, Conn. |
| A |
Maddie Souza 2 |
Vanderbilt |
Sr. |
Alamo, Calif. |
| M |
Ava Goeller |
Cincinnati |
So. |
Bel Air, Md. |
| M |
Ellie Bromley |
East Carolina |
Jr. |
Cary, N.C. |
| M |
Josie Hahn |
Florida |
Fr. |
Catonsville, Md. |
| M |
Caroline Shaefer 2 |
Old Dominion |
Jr. |
Glen Mills, Pa. |
| M |
Maeve Tobin |
Temple |
Jr. |
Ridgefield, Conn. |
| M |
Kayla Rieu |
Vanderbilt |
Jr. |
West Friendship, Md. |
| D |
Alexandra Giacolone |
East Carolina |
So. |
Manorville, N.Y. |
| D |
Lauren Carey |
Old Dominion |
So. |
Chester Springs, Pa. |
| D |
Maddie Barber |
Temple |
So. |
Dennis Township, N.J. |
| D |
Katie Shallow |
Temple |
So. |
Havertown, Pa. |
| G |
Annie Carroll |
Temple |
Gr. |
Yardley, Pa. |
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| 1 2 indicates previous selections to first or second team |