NEWTOWN, Pa. (May 7, 2024) – Five members of the Stevens Institute of Technology women's lacrosse team took home major MAC Freedom Awards, the league office announced Tuesday. Graduate student Zoe Cook was named the Attacker of the Year, sophomore Stefanie Sellitto was named Midfielder of the Year, sophomore Lauren Sullivan was named the Defender of the Year, first-year Brooke Sullivan was named the Rookie of the Year, while head coach Karen Basciano was named the Coach of the Year.

Zoe Cook, Sellitto, and Lauren Sullivan were also First Team All-MAC Freedom selections, where they were joined by senior Emily Leiby, sophomore Felicity Heilferty, and sophomore Eran Gleason. Graduate student Josie Cook landed on the MAC Freedom's Second Team, along with sophomores Maddie Hogan, Lindsay Esposito, and Emma Guzowski. Junior Emily Smart, junior Rebecca Guerra, and sophomore Maggie Zarish-Yasunas each received an honorable mention to round out the Ducks' all-conference selections. 

Arcadia's Emily Griffith was named Goalie of the Year to wrap up the individual awards.

After earning first-team honors from the MAC Freedom a season ago, Zoe Cook returns as the MAC Freedom's Attacker of the Year. She leads the Ducks in points this year with 72, scoring 51 goals and providing 21 assists. She eclipsed 200 career points earlier this year in a game against FDU-Florham on April 13, scoring four goals and tallying two assists in the game. The graduate student had a season-high seven points back on April 20 against Arcadia. She ranks tenth overall in the conference in goals with 51, averaging 2.83 per game. 24 of those goals came in MAC Freedom play.

Sellitto was named the conference's Midfielder of the Year as she has been one of the best two-way players in the conference all year. The MAC Freedom Championship MVP has been stuffing the stat sheet on the offensive side, scoring a team-high 63 goals while adding 10 assists to lead the team in points. Her goal tally ranks seventh in the conference. She had a career-high nine goals and nine points in a game against Kean back on February 28. On the defensive end, Sellitto has caused a team-high 36 ground balls and 27 caused turnovers. She has also controlled 146 draws, which leads the MAC Freedom and is 18th in the nation.

Lauren Sullivan has now won the conference's Defensive Player of the Year award for the second-straight season. She became the first player since FDU-Florham's Brienna Reasoner (2015 & 2016) to win back-to-back Defensive Player of the Year awards. She has helped anchor a defense that has conceded just 6.53 goals per game, which ranks fifth nationally amongst all Division III schools. The team conceded just 20 goals in their seven conference games for an average of just 2.86. She has caused 21 turnovers which ranks second on the team. The sophomore has also corralled 27 ground balls, which is third amongst all of the Ducks. 

Brooke Sullivan becomes the first Duck to win the MAC Freedom's Rookie of the Year. She has been a big addition to one of the nation's best defenses this campaign. She has picked up 12 ground balls and caused seven turnovers this year in 14 games played. She has also controlled one draw.

After winning a third-straight MAC Freedom conference championship, Basciano has the Ducks ready for another NCAA Tournament run as the Ducks are ranked no. 15 in the nation. This is the second time in her career winning the MAC Freedom Coach of the Year award and the second in as many years. Basciano has led the Ducks to a 16-3 record, as well as going 7-0 in MAC Freedom play. This is the first time in program history that the Ducks have reached the NCAA Tournament in three-straight seasons, as they won the last three MAC Freedom Championships to snag the automatic bid.

Leiby was named to the MAC Freedom First Team after having a dominant season on the offensive end. She has scored 45 goals and provided 23 assists, which ranks third and second on the team, respectively. Leiby reached 100 career points back on March 23 against Cabrini after scoring four goals and providing two assists in the game. She totaled a career-high eight points on April 20 against Arcadia, scoring five and providing three helpers. She is averaging 1.35 assists per game, which is tenth best in the MAC Freedom despite missing a few games due to injury. The senior has also corralled 18 ground balls, caused nine turnovers, and controlled 46 draws.

Heilferty has been consistent in net all year for the Ducks as she checks into the first team. After appearing in just nine games last season, she has started all 19 games for Stevens this year and has posted a record of 16-3. The sophomore has a .464 save percentage, which is third best in the conference. She has made 84 saves this year, averaging 4.42 per game. Heilferty also has the second-best goals against average in the MAC Freedom and the eighth-best in Division III, allowing just 7.52 goals per game.

Gleason rounds out the first team selections for Stevens. The sophomore has been an integral part of the back line, appearing in 18 games and starting in 15. She has picked up 26 ground balls this year, which is tied for third on the team. Gleason has averaged 2.67 ground balls per game in conference play, which is the seventh-best total in the MAC Freedom. She has the fourth-most caused turnovers on the Ducks with 15.

Josie Cook and Esposito joined Sullivan on the back line to disrupt opposing teams' offenses. Esposito was a menace on defense as she caused 20 turnovers. Cook has caused nine so far this campaign. Esposito has picked up 31 ground balls this year, which is the second-best total on the team. Cook has picked up 20.

Hogan has had a breakout season so far for the Ducks. She has set career-bests in both goals (30) and assists (12) this year. Hogan recorded a career-high eight points against King's back on April 10. She scored five goals and provided three assists in the contest. She has also added 11 ground balls.

Guzowski makes the second team to give the Ducks two goalies on the All-Conference teams. She has appeared in 12 games for Stevens this year. Guzowksi has the best goals against average in the conference, allowing just 4.83 goals per game and a total of 23 all year. Her save percentage of .556 in conference games is also the best in the MAC Freedom. She has made 25 saves so far this year.

Smart, Guerra, and Zarish-Yasunas each received an honorable mention to round out the all-conference honors. Smart had a career game against Kean on February 28, as she scored twice and provided nine assists. The nine assists was a program record for assists in a game. She also eclipsed 100 career assists on April 20 against Arcadia. Guerra has scored 15 goals and provided eight assists so far this year. She scored twice and added two assists in the season-opener against Bates. Zarish-Yasunas has been solid on the defensive end for the Ducks, causing 10 turnovers so far this year. She has also picked up seven ground balls.

Stevens led the conference with ten placements on either the MAC Freedom's First or Second Team. The All-MAC Freedom Women's Lacrosse Team is nominated and voted on by the eight conference women's lacrosse coaches.

Up Next: Stevens faces Springfield in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday, May 11 at Springfield. Game time is set for 1 p.m. The winner will play Babson on May 12. Links for live stats and live video will be available on stevensducks.com.

X (Formerly Twitter): @stevenswlax
Instagram: @stevens_wlax

#AllRise