For a second straight year, a Liberty player has been named the Big South Conference Women's Lacrosse Freshman of the Year. Freshman Carly White was honored as the Big South Freshman of the Year, joining Kayla Foster, who received the honor in 2016.
Foster, senior Courtney Brown and senior Victoria Tickle were selected to the Big South All-Conference second team, while sophomore Brianna McCaffrey and senior Lindsey McNamara both received Big South All-Conference honorable mention.
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| Six Lady Flames garnered Big South All-Conference recognition in the league's release of annual award winners. |
Carly White
White, a native of Marietta, Ga., performed exceptionally in seven Big South regular-season contests. The freshman compiled 17 goals, eight assists and 25 points in those matches. The two best efforts of her season came in Big South play against Campbell and Winthrop.
Against Campbell on April 8, the midfielder scored a career-high four goals to go along with an assist, five ground balls, two draw controls and two caused turnovers. Last Saturday at Winthrop, she matched a career-best with four goals and added three assists for a career-high seven points. White also contributed two caused turnovers, two ground balls and two ground balls on the afternoon.
In 17 games this season, White is tied for third on the team in goals (21), second in assists (15) and third in points (36). The native of Georgia has also contributed 33 ground balls, 21 caused turnovers and 19 draw controls.
Kayla Foster
Foster, who was the Big South Freshman of the Year in 2016, makes her second straight appearance on the Big South All-Conference second team.
The native of Sewickley, Pa., led Liberty with 34 points in seven Big South Contests (15 goals, 19 assists). Foster's signature performance came on April 12 at Gardner-Webb. On that day, she broke the Liberty lacrosse single-game program record for assists (8) and points (11).
Through 17 contests this spring, Foster is second on the squad in goals (26), first in assists (31) and first in points (57). The sophomore has 108 points in 35 games, placing her sixth all-time in school history for career points.
Courtney Brown
Brown, a senior midfielder from Ladera Ranch, Calif., has put together the best year, statistically, of her four-year Liberty career in being selected to the all-conference second team for the first time in her career.
In 17 regular-season contests, Brown tallied 15 goals, nine assists, 24 points, 32 ground balls, 26 draw controls and 16 caused turnovers. The senior contributed nine goals, four assists and 13 points in Big South action, this spring. Brown's top two performance both came in conference play. She poured in a career-high four goals at Gardner-Webb on April 12 and scored three times on Senior Night, April 19 versus Radford.
Brown was also named to the Big South All-Academic team for her efforts in the classroom. She holds a cumulative GPA of 3.64 and will graduate with a degree in industrial & systems engineering.
Victoria Tickle
Tickle, a senior defender, has anchored the defense during her final season with the Lady Flames in earning all-conference second team distinction for the first time in her Liberty career. The native of Fairfax, Va., leads the squad with 50 ground balls and places 29th nationally in ground balls per game (2.94). Tickle also paces the team with 25 caused turnovers, while she has compiled 19 ground balls and 14 caused turnovers in seven Big South contests.
The senior's best performance of her career came eight days ago on Senior Night at the Liberty Lacrosse Field. Tickle recorded six caused turnovers and corralled six ground balls versus Radford, both career highs. Her six forced turnovers was the second-highest output by any Lady Flame in program history.
Tickle ranks seventh all-time in program history in both ground balls (99) and caused turnovers (55) in 48 career matches.
Brianna McCaffrey
McCaffrey, the team's leading scorer with 31 goals, makes her second consecutive appearance among the Big South's annual award winners after being named second team all-conference in 2016. The sophomore attacker scored 15 of her 31 markers in league play, including a four-goal effort at Presbyterian in Liberty's Big South opener (April 8) and a pair of three-goal efforts against Longwood (April 5) and Radford (April 19).
McCaffrey ranks first on the team in draw controls (75) and shots (103) and second in points (40) and caused turnovers (24). The Boca Raton, Fla., native's work in the draw circle puts her at fifth in the Big South and 37th in the country in draw controls per game (4.41).
Lindsey McNamara
McNamara, a junior defender hailing from Orlando, Fla., makes her first career appearance among the Big South's annual award winners. The junior has started all 17 games for Liberty, compiling 21 caused turnovers (tied for third on the team) and 22 ground balls. She has exhibited dominance in the midfield throughout the season, often carrying the ball out of the Lady Flames' zone during clear attempts.
McNamara started the year on a strong note, putting together a pair of three-ground ball, three-caused turnover efforts at No. 8 Notre Dame and Butler, Feb. 10 and 12. She matched those performances with three ground balls and three caused turnovers in a 21-7 victory at Gardner-Webb on April 12.
Other Award Winners and Postseason Preview
High Point, the top seed for the upcoming 2017 Big South Women's Lacrosse Championship, won three of the conference's major awards handed down. Attacker Samantha Brown was tabbed the Big South Offensive Player of the Year, while Christina Del Sesto was voted the Big South Defensive Player of the Year. High Point Lacrosse Head Coach Lyndsey Boswell was named the Big South Coach of the year.
Campbell attacker Mackenzie Koeller was named the Big South Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
No. 4 seed Liberty will begin 2017 Big South Women's Lacrosse Championship play with a quarterfinal contest No. 5 seed Longwood, Saturday at noon at the Liberty Lacrosse Field. The victor will move on to face No. 1 seed High Point on May 5 at 4 p.m. in the semifinals. The Big South Women's Lacrosse Championship title game will take place at noon on May 7 at High Point's Vert Stadium.
First Team All-Conference
ATT Samantha Brown, Sr., High Point
ATT Nicole Beatson, Jr., Winthrop
ATT Kayla Reilly, Jr., Campbell
MF Katherine Judge, Jr., Winthrop
MF Melissa Placek, Soph., Campbell
MF Erica Perrotta, Jr., High Point
MF Carly White, Fr., Liberty
MF Molly Barkman, Fr., Longwood
D Christina Del Sesto, Sr., High Point
D Maura Talvacchia, Sr., Presbyterian College
D Paige Jenkins, Sr., Winthrop
GK Merredith Bechler, Sr., Campbell
AL Emma Rogers, MF, Soph., Radford
AL Samantha Herman, MF, Soph., High Point
AL Ashley Britton, MF, Fr., High Point
Second Team All-Conference
ATT Kayla Foster, Soph., Liberty
ATT Brooke Stevens, Jr., High Point
ATT Kristen Shriver, Jr., Winthrop
MF Kaitlin Luccarelli, Fr., Longwood
MF Courtney Brown, Sr., Liberty
MF Stephanie Roberts, Soph., Longwood
MF Callie Bonnel, Soph., Radford
MF Abby Hanscom, Soph., Gardner-Webb
D Erin O'Hara, Sr., Campbell
D Victoria Tickle, Sr., Liberty
D Maddie Rollins, Sr., Longwood
GK Jill Rall, Fr., High Point
AL Megan Reilly, D, Jr., Campbell
AL Olivia Nostrant, D, Jr., High Point
AL Lindsey Carroll, ATT, Fr., Radford
Honorable Mention All-Conference
ATT Amanda Steinmuller, Jr., Gardner-Webb
ATT Brianna McCaffrey, Soph., Liberty
GK Imani West, Jr., Longwood
D Lindsey McNamara, Jr., Liberty
ATT Mackenzie Koeller, Jr., Campbell
All-Academic Team
Mackenzie Koeller, Jr., ATT, Campbell
Emma Rose, Sr., ATT, Gardner-Webb
Samantha Brown, Sr., ATT, High Point
Courtney Brown, Sr., MF, Liberty
Riley Dolan, Jr., ATT, Longwood
Maura Talvacchia, Sr., D, Presbyterian College
Adrian Rius, Soph., ATT, Radford
Katherine Judge, Jr., MF, Winthrop
Offensive Player of the Year
Samantha Brown, Sr., ATT, High Point
Defensive Player of the Year
Christina Del Sesto, Sr., D, High Point
Freshman of the Year
Carly White, Fr., MF, Liberty
Coach of the Year
Lyndsey Boswell, High Point
Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Mackenzie Koeller, Jr., ATT, Campbell
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