IRVING, Texas -- James Madison's women's lacrosse team, which went undefeated in American Athletic Conference play and closed the regular season with a 16-game winning streak, captured three major individual awards and had a league-leading nine players named to The American's 2023 all-conference teams as voted by the league’s seven head coaches.
JMU's Isabella Peterson was unanimously named as The American’s Attack Player of the Year, while Dukes defender Mairead Durkin was the unanimous choice as Defensive Player of the Year.
Florida's Sarah Reznick was named as Goalkeeper of the Year for the third consecutive season, while the Gators' Emily Heller and Temple's Belle Mastropietro were chosen as Midfielders of the Year.
Cincinnati attack Camryn Callaghan was named Freshman of the Year, while James Madison's coaching staff was selected by their counterparts for top honors in the conference.
Peterson was the clear choice as Attack Player of the Year after she led The American with 70 goals and 88 points in the regular season, finishing 15 goals ahead of any other player in the conference. She is one of 25 candidates nationally for the Tewaaraton Award as the nation's top player and became James Madison's all-time scoring leader in her junior year, with 202 career goals entering the postseason. Peterson earned conference player of the year honors for the second consecutive season as she was named the Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Year in 2022.
Durkin likewise repeats as her conference's defensive player of the year after she earned CAA honors last season. Also one of the top-25 Tewaaraton Award candidates, Durkin leads The American with 40 caused turnovers and leads a James Madison defense that ranks third nationally in scoring defense (7.2 goals per game) and has held 14 opponents to single-digit scoring in 2023.
Heller and Mastropietro shared The American's Midfielder of the Year award. One of The American's most complete players, Heller finished the regular season with 34 goals, 35 ground balls, 40 draw controls and 14 caused turnovers and was unanimously chosen to The American's all-conference first team. Mastropietro earned the top midfielder honor for the second consecutive season after she led all American Athletic Conference midfielders in scoring with 39 goals and 20 assists for 59 points to go with 94 draw controls and 15 caused turnovers.
Reznick earned her third consecutive unanimous Goalkeeper of the Year honor, giving Florida a fourth consecutive winner after Haley Hicklen won the award in 2019. Reznick leads The American with a .532 save percentage and is one of the 25 candidates for the Tewaaraton Award.
Callaghan was chosen as The American's Freshman of the Year after she scored 55 goals with 13 assists for 68 points in the regular season. Callaghan ranks second in The American in goals and leads all Division I freshmen in scoring as she helped the Bearcats to a four-game improvement in the win column from last year.
James Madison head coach Shelley Klaes, associate head coach Kateri Linville, assistant coach Colleen Shearer and volunteer assistant Matt Snyder were recognized as The American’s Coaching Staff of the Year. James Madison outscored its American Athletic Conference opponents by a 94-33 margin, winning its six conference games by an average of 10.2 goals. The Dukes enter the 2023 American Athletic Conference Championship at 16-1 overall and ranked No. 6 nationally in the ILWomen-ILWCA poll.
James Madison and Florida both had nine players named to The American's all-conference teams. Four players were unanimous choices of the head coaches to the first team as Peterson, Durkin, Heller and James Madison attack Tai Jankowski were on every ballot. Mastropietro and Reznick become the second and third American women’s lacrosse players to be named to the all-conference first team three times.
2023 AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE WOMEN'S LACROSSE AWARDS
AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE ATTACK PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Isabella Peterson, James Madison *
AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE MIDFIELDERS OF THE YEAR
Emily Heller, Florida
Belle Mastropietro, Temple
AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Mairead Durkin, James Madison *
AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE GOALKEEPER OF THE YEAR
Sarah Reznick, Florida
AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Camryn Callaghan, A, Cincinnati
AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE COACHING STAFF OF THE YEAR
James Madison
(Head Coach Shelley Klaes, Associate Head Coach Kateri Linville, Assistant Coach Colleen Shearer, Volunteer Assistant Matt Snyder)
ALL-CONFERENCE FIRST TEAM
| Pos. |
Player |
School |
Cl. |
Hometown |
| A |
Camryn Callaghan |
Cincinnati |
Fr. |
Upper Arlington, Ohio |
| A |
Caroline Kimel 2 |
East Carolina |
Sr. |
Durham, N.C. |
| A |
Maggi Hall 2 |
Florida |
Jr. |
Bel Air, Md. |
| A |
Emma LoPinto 1 |
Florida |
So. |
Manhaset, N.Y. |
| A |
Danielle Pavinelli 2 1 |
Florida |
So. |
Northport, N.Y. |
| A |
Tai Jankowski * |
James Madison |
Sr. |
Bridgewater, N.J. |
| A |
Isabella Peterson * |
James Madison |
Jr. |
Sparks, Md. |
| M |
Ava Goeller 2 |
Cincinnati |
Jr. |
Bel Air, Md. |
| M |
Camryn Pennypacker |
East Carolina |
Gr. |
Mullica Hill, N.J. |
| M |
Emily Heller * 1 |
Florida |
Sr. |
Babylon, N.Y. |
| M |
Belle Mastropietro 1 1 |
Temple |
Sr. |
Springfield, Pa. |
| D |
Dani Mlkvy 1 |
Cincinnati |
Sr. |
Berlin, N.J. |
| D |
Mairead Durkin * |
James Madison |
Sr. |
Stony Point, N.Y. |
| D |
Rachel Matey |
James Madison |
Sr. |
Phoenixville, Pa. |
| D |
Katie Shallow 2 |
Temple |
Jr. |
Havertown, Pa. |
| G |
Sarah Reznick 1 1 |
Florida |
Jr. |
Long Beach, N.Y. |
* unanimous selection
ALL-CONFERENCE SECOND TEAM
| Pos. |
Player |
School |
Cl. |
Hometown |
| A |
Maddie Epke |
James Madison |
Fr. |
Guilford, Conn. |
| A |
Katelyn Morgan |
James Madison |
Jr. |
Marietta, Ga. |
| A |
Mackenzie Roth 1 |
Temple |
Sr. |
Schnecksville, Pa. |
| A |
Nancy Halleron |
Vanderbilt |
So. |
Timonium, Md. |
| M |
Ellie Bromley |
East Carolina |
Sr. |
Cary, N.C. |
| M |
Paisley Eagan 2 |
Florida |
Sr. |
Wilton, Conn. |
| M |
Madison Waters |
Florida |
Jr. |
Bayport, N.Y. |
| M |
Lizzy Fox |
James Madison |
Sr. |
North Rockland, N.Y. |
| M |
Taylor Marchetti |
James Madison |
Jr. |
Forest Hill, Md. |
| M |
Bri Gross 1 |
Vanderbilt |
Gr. |
El Dorado Hills, Calif. |
| D |
Sydney Frank |
East Carolina |
Gr. |
Bel Air, Md. |
| D |
Alexandra Giacolone 2 |
East Carolina |
Jr. |
Manorville, N.Y. |
| D |
Becky Browndorf |
Florida |
Sr. |
Dresher, Pa. |
| D |
Catherine Flaherty 1 |
Florida |
Sr. |
Manorville, N.Y. |
| D |
Katie McGrain |
Old Dominion |
Sr. |
Forest Hill, Md. |
| D |
Maddie Barber 2 |
Temple |
Jr. |
Dennis Township, N.J. |
| G |
Brynn Knight |
East Carolina |
So. |
Manchester, Md. |
| G |
Kat Buchanan |
James Madison |
Sr. |
Milton, Mass. |
1 2 indicates previous selections to first or second team