Lacrosse Places Eight Players on All-Conference Teams; Pechulis Named MASCAC Coach of the Year

WESTFIELD, Mass. – Westfield State women's lacrosse put eight players on the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference All-Conference Teams with four players earning First Team placement and four players making Second Team.

Earning All-Conference First Team placement were sophomores' Natalie DeMaio (Westwood, Mass.), Victoria Paine (Dudley, Mass.), Paige Jelliffe (Monroe, Conn.), and Kara Banagan (Niskayuna, N.Y.). On the Second Team were juniors' Emma Cretella (Cheshire, Conn.), Cassidy Harvey (Niskayuna, N.Y.), Megan Bailey (Quincy, Mass.) and sophomore Olivia Hadla (Westfield, Mass.). The eight Owls' players selected were the most of any team in the conference.

Along with the most All-Conference nods, Westfield State head coach Jeff Pechulis was named the MASCAC Coach of the Year after leading the Owls to a 7-0 record in the conference to win the MASCAC regular season title.

DeMaio led the Owls in goals on the year, tallying 53 goals in 18 games, ranking her sixth in school history in single-season goals.

Paine and Jelliffe headlined a dominant defensive front for the Owls, with Paine starting all 18 games while causing 13 turnovers and 28 ground balls. Jelliffe started 17 games on the year, recording two goals and an assist. She also earned the Owls' Defensive Player of the Year award during the Westfield State Athletics award ceremony.

Banagan finished top three in the MASCAC in save percentage (54.6%), goals against (83), and goals against average (9.33) to earn first team placement as the top goalkeeper in the conference.

Cretella was named to the second team after finishing the season scoring the second most goals (37) and points (53) on the team. The junior midfielder was also third in draw controls at 45. She was named the teams' Offensive Player of the Year during the end of the year awards ceremony.

Harvey racked up 33 goals and ten assists for a total of 43 points. She scored a goal in 16 of 18 games played this season.

Bailey set the single-season record for most caused turnovers in a season, leading the way with 31 while also recording the most ground balls (53) and draw controls (61) for the Owls. The junior midfielder showed her two-way abilities by also scoring six goals and five assists. She received the teams' Most Valuable Player award at the end of the year athletics ceremony.

Hadla was another key piece to the Owls defense, registering the second-most ground balls (34) and third-most caused turnovers (17).

Westfield State finished the regular season with a 12-5 record, while completing conference play with a 7-0 mark. The Owls would fall in the MASCAC semifinals to Bridgewater State in a tightly contested one goal loss.