FH: Four Lasell athletes named All-GNAC; Esposito earns Def. Player of the Year

NEWTON, Mass. – Four members of the Lasell University field hockey team were recognized Tuesday with selection to the 2019 All-Great Northeast Athletic Conference Team, as voted by the GNAC's head coaches. 

Senior back Mindy Esposito (Sunderland, Mass./Frontier Regional) earned the top honor for Lasell with selection as the GNAC Defensive Player of the Year and All-Conference First Team. She was joined on the First Team by senior forward Sam Taylor (Hanover, Mass./Hanover) and senior midfielder Brooke Landry (New Milford, Conn./New Milford), and senior back Grace Duguay (Watertown, Mass.) was an All-Conference Second Team choice.

Taylor becomes a four-time All-GNAC selection, including three straight on the First Team, while Esposito become a two-time First Team honoree. In addition, senior goalie Chloe Shugrue (Worcester, Mass./St. Peter Marian) was Lasell's representative on the GNAC All-Sportsmanship Team.

Esposito and Duguay anchored a Laser defense that posted four shutouts and finished with a 1.67 goals against average. Both Lasers standouts started all 20 games, and Esposito was regularly assigned to defend the left side against the opponents' top-scoring forwards. Esposito also contributed two goals to the team.

Taylor was again one of the top scoring forwards in the GNAC, finishing tied for third with 12 goals, tied for second with nine assists, and third with 33 points. She was second in the league with 83 shots, and tied for sixth with three game-winning goals. Taylor had three multi-goal games, and her nine assists this season is tied for sixth-best in program history.

Taylor started all 79 of her games in her career, and finished with 59 goals, 39 assists and 157 points. She ranks second in program history in all three offensive categories and owns the school standard with 15 game-winning goals. She will represent Lasell at the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Division III Senior Game on Saturday, November 23, in Manheim, Pennsylvania.

Landry started all 20 games for Lasell and finished with one goal and three assists. She has started all 60 games the past three seasons and was a solid contributor to the team, finishing with two goals and five assists.

Lasell completed the season with a 10-10 overall record under 10th-year head coach Cait Connolly. The Lasers finished runner-up in the GNAC regular season with a 5-3 record, and advanced to their third straight conference championship game before falling to Saint Joseph's College of Maine.

2019 All-GNAC Field Hockey Team

First Team
F – Alie Jones, Colby-Sawyer
F – Sam Taylor, Lasell
F – Jillian Miele, Johnson & Wales
F – Emma Rutledge, Saint Joseph's (Maine)
M – Brooke Landry, Lasell
M – Libby Pomerleau, Saint Joseph's (Maine)
M – Maggie Fuzak, Simmons
B – Mindy Esposito, Lasell
B – Alexandra Belaire, Saint Joseph's (Maine)
B – Abby Anderson, Simmons
GK – Lucy McNamara, Simmons

Second Team
F – Chayna Bingham-Hendricks, Anna Maria
F – Sheridan Blaha, Regis
F – Alexa Gutowski, Saint Joseph's (Maine)
F – Olivia Trull, Simmons
M – Julia Lanctot, Colby-Sawyer
M – Hunter Langley, Rivier
M – Maddy Beaulieu, Saint Joseph's (Maine)
B – Kailyn Lapham, Colby-Sawyer
B – Grace Duguay, Lasell
B – Kylee Veilleux, Saint Joseph's (Maine)
GK – Alexandria Simpson, Saint Joseph's (Maine)

GNAC Offensive Player of the Year – Emma Rutledge, Saint Joseph's (Maine)
GNAC Defensive Player of the Year – Mindy Esposito, Lasell
GNAC Goalkeeper of the Year – Lucy McNamara, Simmons
GNAC Rookie of the Year – Sheridan Blaha, Regis
GNAC Coach of the Year – Rupert Lewis, Saint Joseph's (Maine)
GNAC Institutional Sportsmanship Award – Albertus Magnus College

2019 GNAC All-Sportsmanship Team
Joselyn Streeto, Albertus Magnus
Abigayle Celata, Anna Maria
Whitney O'Brien, Colby-Sawyer
Kerrianne Fagan, Johnson & Wales
Chloe Shugrue, Lasell
Sidney Lowe , Regis
Jaclyn Fraser, Rivier
Alexandria Simpson, Saint Joseph's (Maine)
Megan Pereira, Simmons

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