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Bridgewater, NJ — The dust has settled on what has been a season for the recordbook in Northeast Conference (NEC) women's lacrosse. 
 
In a historic fight to the finish, three teams finished in a deadlock for first place for the first time in conference annals as Stonehill, LIU and Wagner each claimed a share of the regular-season crown. 
 
With the bracket set and the league's top four teams ready to duke it out for the NEC Tournament title, all eyes turned to the announcement of the NEC's coveted postseason awards, which featured another first for the sport. 
 
Mercyhurst junior attack Whitley Easton (Honeoye Falls, NY/Honeoye Falls-Lima) emerged as the NEC's most elite scorer in her team's NCAA Division I debut, and as a result, the defense shredder put a bow on the Lakers' inaugural season in the conference by pocketing the prestigious NEC Offensive Player of the Year award.
 
LIU's title drought came to a screeching halt last season, and it has only been an upward trajectory of success in Brooklyn since. The Sharks, who repeated as NEC Regular Season Co-Champs, were heavily rewarded for continuing their winning ways in 2025, claiming four of the league's six major awards.
 
Graduate student Ava Burns (Miller Place, NY/Miller Place (Syracuse)) was named the NEC Defensive Player of the Year, while junior Julia Trainor (Billerica, MA/Billerica Memorial) and senior Mylie Norton (Edgewater, MD/South River) also made debut appearances on the awards podium by earning NEC Midfielder of the Year and NEC Goalkeeper of the Year distinction, respectively. 
 
A familiar face rounded out the Sharks' postseason honorees, as head coach Meghan McNamara-Cafiero along with assistant coaches Meghan Els and Brianna Lamoureux made it an NEC Coaching Staff of the Year repeat in Brooklyn. 
 
After a one-year hiatus, the NEC Rookie of the Year award returns to Saint Francis U's trophy case this season, as first-year attack Samantha Hewitt (Devon, PA/Archbishop John Carroll) became the second Red Flash player since 2023 to bestow the honor. 
 
Easton took her scoring to an entirely different level in her NEC debut. Already establishing herself as a lethal scorer at the Division II level with team-best numbers in goals (44), assists (29) and points (73) in 2024, the attacker tickled the twine 19 more times than the next closest competitor in the league after netting a career-high 53 goals in her inaugural Division I campaign. In fact, Easton's numbers stack up among the best in the nation, as she is currently ranked 25th in assists per game (2.40), 20th in goals per game (3.53) and sixth in points per game (5.93). Goals did not come at a premium for the Laker, who arrived in Erie by way of the Empire State. Her explosiveness on the offensive end and ability to score in bundles resulted in her netting hat tricks in all but three of her appearances, a league-leading 12 times. In addition, Easton set the NEC's single-game standard in points, pouring in 11 on four goals and seven dimes in her squad's first-ever NEC contest, a 15-13 win against Howard on March 15. Behind her offensive prowess, Mercyhurst posted a 6-3 record in NEC play.
 
Easton's selection as the NEC's top offensive player is a historic one in more than one way. No other player in conference history has earned either the NEC Offensive Player of the Year or the NEC Defensive Player of the Year honor in their respective team's first year as a member of the league. Her major award was accompanied by a nod to the All-NEC First Team, making her the first-ever Laker to receive the distinction.
 
For the first time ever, the NEC Defensive Player of the Year award landed in Brooklyn with Burns' selection. The graduate student wreaked havoc on opposing offenses and was a key contributor to a Sharks' back line that limited fellow NEC squads to just 59 goals throughout the entire nine-game league slate. Consistency was the name of the game for Burns, a Miller Place, NY native who spent one season at Syracuse before heading to Brooklyn. She registered at least one ground ball in all but one game and gained multiple possessions for the Sharks in eight different games. Burns also forced 13 miscues, including a season-best four in a win over Iona back in March. Her NEC Defensive Player of the Year nod also solidified All-NEC First Team honors for the third-year Shark. 
 
Trainor's versatility on both ends of the ball made her a true "jill of all trades" this year. The experienced junior — who has started and played in 52 games since making her LIU debut in 2023 — is skilled in nearly every aspect of the game, and the season box score only validates that. The Billerica, MA native is LIU's top offensive threat, leading the way with 30 goals and 44 points. Racking up four hat tricks and 12 multi-goal outings while tallying three game winners, she rides a 39-game point-scoring streak into the postseason, a rally that dates back to a three-point performance against Stonehill during her rookie campaign, more than two years ago. Defensively, Trainor paces the Sharks with 22 caused turnovers, 46 ground balls and 68 draw controls, all of which rank within the conference's top 10 statistical leaders. Trainor, who also inked her name on the All-NEC First Team, becomes the first LIU player in program history to take home NEC Midfielder of the Year accolades since the award's introduction a decade ago
 
Norton hit her stride during LIU's run to the NEC title in 2024 and she has not looked back since. Named the NEC Tournament's Most Valuable Player after limiting Stonehill and top-seeded Sacred Heart to a combined 14 goals, the veteran netminder has been an impenetrable force for a Sharks' defense that conceded a league-low 140 goals, including just 59 scores against fellow conference competitors. In all but one of her team's 10 victories, Norton held the opposition to single-digit goal totals, including just one score in an 18-goal win against Delaware State (March 22) and two in a 14-goal defeat of Central Connecticut (April 9). The Edgewater, MD native holds a 9.15 goals-against average, the ninth-best clip in the nation, while her league-leading .470 save percentage is good for 21st among NCAA Division I goaltenders. Also named to the league's first team, she becomes the first-ever Shark to garner NEC Goalkeeper of the Year distinction since the award was first debuted in 2010 and made its return in 2022.
 
Hewitt immediately turned heads in the NEC. The attacker had a knack for coming up clutch in pivotal moments with game-changing plays, and Saint Francis U's "must win" regular season finale at Le Moyne was no exception. With each of her team-leading four points coming inside the final 23:39 of regulation, she helped the Red Flash claw back from a 7-3 deficit by assisting on the go-ahead tally and the game-winning tally with 8:05 remaining. That victory propelled Saint Francis U to the program's third-straight NEC Tournament appearance. She was also credited with the game-deciding strike three other times in her debut collegiate season against Duquesne (Feb. 22), Central Michigan (April 7) and Howard (April 9). Hewitt enters her first postseason with some serious momentum. Putting up multiple points in each of her past four games with four multi-goal outings in that stretch, she is second on Saint Francis U in goals (26) and points (41), while her 15 dimes are good for tops on the team. No other first-year player was recognized more by the NEC for her weekly performances than Hewitt. The Keystone State native took home a league-leading four NEC Rookie of the Week awards — one shy of the league benchmark — to join an exclusive class of nine freshmen that accumulated at least four top rookie nods in their debut campaigns. Hewitt is the second Saint Francis U frosh to walk away with the NEC Rookie of the Year award in the past three years, as Bella Fisher became the program's first-ever honoree in 2023.
 
Guiding LIU to uncharted waters in 2024 — a memorable year that yielded the program's first-ever NEC regular-season crown and NEC Tournament title — McNamara-Cafiero's Sharks made a splash in the circuit once again in 2025. Running it back as regular season co-champs after finishing in a three-way tie for first with an 8-1 record, LIU has reeled off 17 wins and an .895 winning percentage in the past two years. McNamara-Cafiero and her staff brings LIU back to the NEC Championship for the fifth consecutive season in impressive fashion, as the Sharks have been on an absolute tear with six-straight wins and an average margin of victory of 6.7 scores during that stretch. Under her direction, LIU's defensive unit has been one of the most destructive in the nation, ranking sixth after limiting the opposition to just 8.75 scores per game. The 18th-year head coach becomes the first-ever repeat honoree for LIU in any major award category, as she first added NEC Coaching Staff of the Year to her résumé for the first time in the program's 22 years as an NEC member in 2024.
 
In addition to the six major award winners, the league unveiled its All-NEC first and second teams and an All-Rookie squad on the eve of the NEC Tournament. All honorees were determined by a vote of the conference's head coaches.
 
AWARD WINNER HIGHLIGHTS
 
Co-regular season champ LIU led the way with seven All-Conference honorees, while Wagner, which also earned a share of the regular season crown, followed with six selections. Both Saint Francis U, which is postseason bound for a third-straight year, and the Seahawks had a league-leading four first team picks apiece.
 
Thirteen of the 15 first teamers — and 22 total All-NEC performers — will be looking to lead their respective squad to the 2025 NEC Tournament championship when they take the turf of W.B. Mason Stadium in Easton, MA for the start of postseason play on Thursday.
 
Trainor's versatility and impact during her time in an LIU uniform has not gone unnoticed. The Sharks' standout landed her third consecutive first-team nod and is currently the only player in the league that can make that claim. 
 
The All-NEC First Team also boasted another repeat honoree in Wagner graduate student Ryan Murphy (Syracuse, NY/Westhill). The former All-Rookie Team member (2021) and now two-time First Team selection (2024, 2025) anchored a stout Seahawks' defense that held five conference foes below the 10-goal threshold with 14 caused turnovers and 20 ground balls.
 
Six more familiar faces made it back-to-back appearances on the All-NEC list, but this time, three of those standouts made upgrades to their respective statuses. 
 
Stonehill junior attack Natalie Coutu (Brookline, NH/Bishop Guertin), Saint Francis U junior midfielder Julia Givens (Elverson, PA/Twin Valley) and LIU senior netminder Mylie Norton (Edgewater, MD/South River) each made the jump from second team in 2024 to first team in 2025.
 
Stonehill's Grace Murphy (Kearsage, NH/Holderness School), a junior attack, ran it back as a member of the second team, while FDU sophomore midfielder Nora Codianni (Long Beach, NY/Long Beach) and Le Moyne sophomore midfielder Maddi Barney (Lorraine, NY/South Jefferson) each landed on the All-NEC Second Team one year after they made the cut for the All-Rookie Team.
 
Murphy and Coutu formed a dynamic duo in the Commonwealth State that fueled the top-scoring squad in the NEC after combining for 77 goals, 20 assists and 97 points. They finished first and third, respectively, in the conference in goals per game. Their dangerous scoring ability helped lead the Skyhawks to their first-ever share of the NEC regular season crown and the top seed in the upcoming conference championship.
 
Givens enjoyed a stat-stuffer of a season after she posted 31 goals, 19 ground balls, 14 caused turnovers and 16 draw controls. Barney put up career-best numbers in nearly every statistical category in her second season as a Dolphin, including goals (22), assists (6), points (28), ground balls (14) and draw controls (22), while Codianni, who emerged from the pack as the Knights' leader in caused turnovers (22), was effective in nearly every facet of the game after racking up 23 goals, 43 draw controls and 27 ground balls.
 
Senior Katie Siverson (Morristown, NJ/Morriston) made her return to Wagner's midfield a triumphant one this season. Suffering a season-ending injury one game into last year's campaign, the 2023 All-NEC Second Team member put up career-best numbers across the board to earn a promotion to the league's First Team. With 2.21 goals and 2.43 points per contest, the Garden State product ranks fifth and 10th on the NEC leaderboard, respectively. 
 
Along with Murphy and Siverson, senior attack Ella Marino (Oreland, PA/Springfield Township), who netted 21 of her 24 scores against NEC competitors, and senior defender Angelina Skowronski (Millstone, NJ/Notre Dame HS), a senior who wreaked havoc by causing a team-leading 23 turnovers, also represented the Seahawks on the first team. 
 
Wagner's four All-NEC First Team selections doubled the program's total from the season before. 
 
Saint Francis U senior Chyler Espino's (San Franciso, CA/Saint Ignatius College Preparatory) storyline is similar to that of Siverson. After being sidelined for the entire 2024 season with an injury, the defender worked her way back to the NEC First Team for the second time in her career, having made her inaugural appearance back in 2023. Rounding out the Red Flash's first teamers were junior midfielder Brooke Lacey (Bethel, CT/Bethel) and sophomore Elizabeth Garcia (Kingsville, MD/Maryvale Preparatory), a two-time NEC Defensive Player of the Week who was the lone underclassman to make the cut. The pair combined for 48 caused turnovers, with Garcia's 33 total and 2.20 per contest leading the entire circuit.
 
Two years after she made history by becoming FDU's first-ever NEC all-star by earning Second Team recognition and All-Rookie Team distinction in 2023, junior midfielder Brielle McInaw (Kresgeville, PA/Pleasant Valley) blazed a new trail in the Knights' recordbook. She became the first Knight in program history to etch her name on the NEC's top team after she ranked among conference leaders in both goals per game (2.00 – 7th) and points per game (2.44 – 9th).
 
Stonehill senior Caroline Davey (Norwood, MA/Norwood), a local product from Norwood, MA, made it two first teamers for the Skyhawks. All but three of the defender's 13 caused turnovers came in conference play as she anchored a back line that conceded 67 goals during that nine-game stretch (7.4 per game), the second fewest behind LIU's 59 total (6.6 per game)
 
Howard, which joined the NEC four years ago in 2022, came away with the program's second All-NEC honoree. Putting together the most fruitful offensive campaign by a Bison since 2022, graduate attacker Sawyer Walker (Magnolia, DE/Cape Henlopen (Xavier)) inked her name on the league's second team. 
 
Reese Widrick (Adams, NY/South Jefferson), a sophomore defender, doubled Mercyhurst's All-NEC count by earning Second Team distinction. 
 
Six different institutions were represented on this season's All-Rookie Team, marking the first time since 2012 that the list did not include multiple selections from at least one school.
 
Four attackers comprised the list of top first-year standouts, highlighted by Hewitt and Stonehill's Meghan Fealy (Greenlawn, NY/Harborfields), a three-time NEC Rookie of the Week. Two-time Rookie of the Week winner Adriana Mavlios (Glen Head, NY/North Shore) and Catherine Batterberry (Sayville, NY/Sacred Heart Academy) represented FDU and LIU, respectively. 
 
Midfielder Leah Croom (Miami, FL/Cushing Academy) became the second Bison to garner All-Rookie Team distinction, while Mercyhurst netminder Maggie Allen (Victor, NY/Victor Senior) made history as the Lakers' first-ever freshman to earn a postseason award. 
 
About The Northeast Conference
Now in its 44th season, the Northeast Conference is an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic association consisting of nine institutions of higher learning located throughout six states. Media coverage of the NEC extends to a number of the largest markets in the United States including New York (#1), Chicago (#3), Boston (#8). Hartford/New Haven (#32) and Syracuse (#87). Founded in 1981 as the basketball-only ECAC Metro Conference, the NEC has grown to sponsor 25 championship sports for men and women and now enjoys automatic access to 16 different NCAA Championships. NEC full member institutions include Central Connecticut, Chicago State, FDU, Le Moyne, LIU, Mercyhurst, Saint Francis U, Stonehill and Wagner. For more information on the NEC, visit the league's official website (www.northeastconference.org) and digital network (www.necfrontrow.com), or follow the league on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and TikTok, all @NECsports.
 
 
2025 Northeast Conference Women's Lacrosse Award Winners

Offensive Player of the Year
Whitley Easton           Mercyhurst             A     Jr.      Honeoye Falls, NY/Honeoye Falls-Lima
 
Defensive Player of the Year
Ava Burns                LIU                    D     Gr.      Miller Place, NY/Miller Place (Syracuse)
 
Midfielder of the Year
Julia Trainor            LIU                    MF     Jr.     Billerica, MA/Billerica Memorial

Goalkeeper of the Year 
Kylie Norton             LIU                    GK     Sr.     Edgewater, MD/South River

Rookie of the Year
Samantha Hewitt          Saint Francis U        A      Fr.     Devon, PA/Archbishop John Carroll

Coaching Staff of the Year
Meghan McNamara-Cafiero  LIU                    18th season
Assistant Coaches: Meghan Els & Brianna Lamoureux
 
2025 Northeast Conference Women's Lacrosse First Team All-Conference

Name                     School                 Pos    Yr      Hometown/High School (Previous School)
Natalie Coutu            Stonehill              A      Jr.     Brookline, NH/Bishop Guertin
Whitley Easton           Mercyhurst             A      Jr.     Honeoye Falls, NY/Honeoye Falls-Lima
Ella Marino              Wagner                 A      Sr.     Oreland, PA/Springfield Township
Julia Givens             Saint Francis U        MF     Jr.     Elverson, PA/Twin Valley
Brooke Lacey             Saint Francis U        MF     Jr.     Bethel, CT/Bethel
Brielle McInaw           FDU                    MF     Jr.     Kresgeville, PA/Pleasant Valley
Katie Siverson           Wagner                 MF     Sr.     Morristown, NJ/Morristown
Julia Trainor            LIU                    MF     Jr.     Billerica, MA/Billerica Memorial
Ava Burns                LIU                    D      Gr.     Miller Place, NY/Miller Place (Syracuse)
Caroline Davey           Stonehill              D      Sr.     Norwood, MA/Norwood
Chyler Espino            Saint Francis U        D      Sr.     San Francisco, CA/Saint Ignatius College Prep
Elizabeth Garcia         Saint Francis U        D      So.     Kingsville, MD/Maryvale Preparatory
Ryan Murphy              Wagner                 D      Gr.     Syracuse, NY/Westhill
Angelina Skowronski      Wagner                 D      Sr.     Millstone, NJ/Notre Dame HS
Mylie Norton             LIU                    GK     Sr.     Edgewater, MD/South River
    
2025 Northeast Conference Women's Lacrosse Second Team All-Conference

Name                     School                 Pos    Yr      Hometown/High School (Previous School)
Kendra Hall              Wagner                 A      Sr.     Liverpool, NY/Liverpool
Lindsey Lucia            LIU                    A      Jr.     Rocky Point, NY/Rocky Point
Selia Lyons              LIU                    A      Jr.     Miller Place, NY/Miller Place
Grace Murphy             Stonehill              A      Jr.     Kearsarge, NH/Holderness School
Bella Sampo              Le Moyne               A      Jr.     Syracuse, NY/Westhill
Sawyer Walker            Howard                 A      Gr.     Magnolia, DE/Cape Henlopen (Xavier)
Maddi Barney             Le Moyne               MF     So.     Lorraine, NY/South Jefferson
Nora Codianni            FDU                    MF     So.     Long Beach, NY/Long Beach
Erin Harkins             LIU                    MF     Jr.     Floral Park, NY/Floral Park Memorial
Ava Taylor               LIU                    MF     Sr.     Medforrd, NJ/Holy Cross Prep
Grace Brinza             Le Moyne               D      Sr.     Canandaigua, NY/Canandaigua Academy
Julia Kogan              Stonehill              D      Jr.     Elmhurst, IL/York
Erin Rooney              Wagner                 D      Jr.     Arthur, Ontario/Wellington Heights Secondary
Reese Widrick            Mercyhurst             D      So.     Adams, NY/South Jefferson
Taylor Coughlin          Saint Francis U        GK     Sr.     Hespeler, Ontario/The Hill Academy

2025 Northeast Conference Women's Lacrosse All-Rookie Team

Name                     School                 Pos    Yr      Hometown/High School (Previous School)
Maggie Allen             Mercyhurst             GK     Fr.     Victor, NY/Victor Senior
Catherine Batterberry    LIU                    A      Fr.     Sayville, NY/Sacred Heart Academy
Leah Croom               Howard                 MF     Fr.     Miami, FL/Cushing Academy
Meaghan Fealy            Stonehill              A      Fr.     Greenlawn, NY/Harborfields
Samantha Hewitt          Saint Francis U        A      Fr.     Devon, PA/Archbishop John Carroll
Adriana Mavlios          FDU                    A      Fr.     Glen Head, NY/North Shore