Emily Lesure One of Five Southern Vermont Mountaineers Selected to All-NECC Women's Lacrosse Teams

2017 May 24

Emily Lesure of Cheshire was one of five Southern Vermont College women's lacrosse players who was named to All-New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) teams for the 2017 season as announced by the league in May.

Senior captains Emily Lesure (Chittenden, Vt.) and Mel Orrell (Gloucester, Mass.) were both named to the All-NECC First Team while fellow senior captain Lauren Nesshoever (Chittenden, Vt.) collected a Second Team honor. Sophomore defender Sydnee Julian (Mexico, N.Y.) was voted to the All-NECC Third Team as classmate Stephany Ferreira (Shelton, Conn.) was placed on the Conference's All-sportsmanship Team.

The handful of selections comes on the heel of SVC making it back to the NECC playoffs for the third-straight year and registering its most wins and first-ever winning record in program history.

Lesure is garnering an all-NECC accolade for the first time in her career after having a stellar senior season. She scored 49 goals in 2017-that marking the third-most in a single campaign in school history-while adding 14 assists for the third-most points (63) for a Mountaineer in one season. She will graduate at second in program history for goals (118) and points (136).

"Emily, a two-sport athlete, balances her academics with her athletics very well," said third-year SVC head coach Thomas L. Otero. "Emily was a true team player-sometimes sacrificing personal achievement for the goals of her team and teammates. She was a great leader who motivated other players to increase their skills and level of play."

Orrell's laurel is the Mountaineer's second-straight All-NECC First Team honor and comes after she was named the NECC Player of the Week once in 2017. While her goals total dropped from last year for the senior to finish with 45, the captain spent more time facilitating the SVC offense by shattering the previous school record for assists in a single season (8) to tally 19 helpers for a team-leading 64 total points. She also led Southern Vermont in ground balls (95), draw controls (79), and caused turnovers (40).

"Mel has continually led the team by example," Otero said. "She has set the bar high for all her teammates to follow; her effort is second-to-none. When you combine her athletic achievements with her academic achievements-it has really set the foundation for all future student-athletes at Southern Vermont College."

Nesshoever landed a spot on an all-NECC squad for the third-straight year after she was named to the Second Team in 2016 and reeled in an Honorable Mention in 2015. She had a career season in the goals column with 50-that being the second-most a Mountaineer has ever recorded in a single campaign. The captain also had career-bests for ground balls (44) and draw controls (47) while adding five assists and 12 caused turnovers to her season's line.

"Lauren was a special athlete who led our team in goals this season while registering her 100th career goal for SVC," Otero commented. "She would routinely work with other players during her free time to help them increase their individual skills for the sport."

Julian is also a first-time all-league recipient and received the Third Team honor with stellar play on the defensive end. She was part of a Mountaineer unit that conceded just 10.3 goals per game and held its opponents to six or less goals four times during the season. Julian started in 13 of SVC's 14 games and totaled 30 ground balls and eight caused turnovers.

"Sydnee-a quiet, but steady, defender and goalkeeper-played any position she was asked to play for the benefit of the team," Otero said. "Her leadership on the defense was tantamount to our success this season."

Ferreira was a solid all-around player for Southern Vermont and built upon her rookie campaign to turn in a great sophomore season. She amassed nine goals and five assists while adding 18 ground balls, seven draw controls and five caused turnovers. She also spent plenty of time in the back third of the field to help Julian and the defense limit their opposition's attack. Ferreira, along with Julian and two others, was voted by her coaches and teammates at the end of 2017 as one of SVC's captains for next year.

"Stephany is a great, developing player who understands the phrase, 'Honor the game,'" Otero noted. "She always played hard-but played fairly-and she's a great example for teammates and younger players to follow."

Coaches from around the NECC nominate their players for the league's major awards and all-Conference teams, and they then vote for each of the top accolades and all-NECC crews before the start of the postseason tournament.

NECC 2017 Women's Lacrosse Major Awards Winners & All-Conference Teams

Player of the Year: Ashley Murtha, Mitchell College
Goalkeeper of the Year: Meghan Lewis, Wheelock College
Rookie of the Year: Kerri Anselmo, Regis College
Coach of the Year: Courtney Duggan, Regis College

First Team
A - Kaylee Herring, Bay Path (Jr., Worcester, Vt.)
A - Ashley Murtha, Mitchell (Sr., South Windsor, Conn.)
A - Kerri Anselmo, Regis (Fr., Natick, Mass.)
A - Emily Lesure, Southern Vermont (Sr., Cheshire, Mass.)
M - Jackie Soucia, Elms (Jr., Belchertown, Mass.)
M - Mel Orrell, Southern Vermont (Sr., Gloucester, Mass.)
M - Katie Frade, Wheelock (Jr., Dartmouth, Mass.)
M - Colleen Macdonald, Wheelock (So., Sandwich, Mass.)
D - Rachel Adams, Becker (So., Leominster, Mass.)
D - Maddy Rodriguez, Regis (Fr., Amherst, Mass.)
D - Violet Vig, Wheelock (Sr., Glastonbury, Mass.)
GK - Meghan Lewis, Wheelock (Sr., South Berwick, Maine)

Second Team
A - Vanessa Vurno, Elms (So., Salem, Conn.)
A - Haley Richard, Elms (Fr., Monson, Mass.)
A - Taylor Assarian Regis (So., Arlington, Mass.)
A - Georgia Schindele, Wheelock (So., Sparkill, N.Y.)
M - Elena Helming, Bay Path (Jr., Maplewood, N.J.)
M - Kathleen Tuechler, Elms (Sr., Farmingdale, N.Y.)
M - Linsay Bumila, Regis (Jr., Raynham, Mass.)
M - Lauren Nesshoever, Southern Vermont (Sr., Chittenden, Vt.)
D - Megan Mackie, Bay Path (So., APO,/AE)
D - Samantha Carter, Becker (Fr., Boothbay, Maine)
D - Kaeleigh Dowe, Elms (Sr., Somers, Conn.)
GK - Meeghan O'Connor, Elms (Sr., Fall River, Mass.)

Third Team
A - Taryn Flebbe, Becker (So., Neptune, N.J.)
A - Madeline Roulier, Daniel Webster (Sr., Pittsfield, Mass.)
A - Janis Christian, Elms (Fr., Westfield, Mass.)
A - Alecia Keesee, Elms (Fr., Westfield, Mass.)
M - Dallas Jackson, Bay Path (Sr., Springfield, Mass.)
M - Meghan Bealka, Becker (Jr., Freetown, Mass.)
M - Cassandra Nelson, Becker (Fr., Exeter, N.H.)
M - Brooke Ross, Regis (Fr., Hanover, Mass.)
D - Jordyn Martel, Becker (So., Chicopee, Mass.)
D - Sydnee Julian, Southern Vermont (So., Mexico, N.Y.)
D - Rachel Danis, Wheelock (Jr., Underhill, Vt.)
GK - Maresa Malcolm, Regis (Jr., Barrington, N.J.)

All-sportsmanship Team
Raquel Neary, Bay Path (Sr., D, Revere, Mass.)
Jordyn Martel, Becker (So., D, Leominster, Mass.)
Delaney Ruiz, Daniel Webster (Fr., D, Meriden, Conn.)
Arianna Santiago-Sullivan, Elms (Jr., M, Willimantic, Conn.)
Willeen Pun, Mitchell (Sr., D, Stamford, Conn.)
Keely Molloy, Newbury (Fr., GK, Staten, Island, N.Y.)
Emma Dagesse, Regis (Sr., D, Rockland, Mass.)
Stephany Ferreira, Southern Vermont (So., M, Shelton, Conn.)
Gabrielle Haywood, Wheelock (Jr., D, East Longmeadow, Mass.)