NORFOLK, Va. – The Atlantic Sun Conference has announced its 2015 Women’s Lacrosse Awards and Honors, and Old Dominion had six student-athletes honored, while Head Coach Heather Holt was named the Coach of the Year.
Ashmore Standing, Connor Carson and Morgan Gallagher were named to the first team, while Jessica Liberty earned second team accolades. Freshmen Cydney Tutchton and Jessi DeLuca were also named to the All-Freshmen Team.
In the program’s first season in the Atlantic-Sun Conference, Holt led ODU to a regular season runner-up title and its first conference tournament since 2009. The Monarchs went 13-4 overall, which marked the most wins in a season since ODU went 13-5 in 2002, and posted a 6-1 mark in league play. The Monarchs also tied the program record for goals in a game twice this season, scoring 24 against Gardner-Webb (24-1) and Howard (24-6). The Monarchs begin the Atlantic-Sun Tournament on Friday with a matchup against the winner of No. 3 Detroit vs. No. 6 Stetson.
Standing ranks in the top-five in the Atlantic-Sun in five different categories, including leading the league in goals with 49 and points (68). She also ranks fifth assists (19) and fourth in caused turnovers (24). She has also gone 10-for-20 on free-position shots to rank seventh in the conference and has scooped up 28 ground balls to rank 17th in the league. Standing also ranks 19th in the country in points per game (4.00), 18th in the country in goals (49) and 22nd in goals per game (2.88). Of the 17 games played, Standing has notched at least a point in 16 of them. She was named to the A-Sun Preseason Team and has been named the A-Sun Player of the Week after earning 8 points (6g, 2a) against Detroit.
Carson leads the league in caused turnovers with 27, which also ranks 29th in the nation. She has also scooped up 32 ground balls, good enough for 2nd on the team and 13th in the league. She is also a threat offensively and has recorded 37 goals and five assists to 42 total points. Carson has also corralled a team and conference-leading 56 draw controls, which is also good for 46th in the country. As a team, ODU ranks 26th in the NCAA with 12.71 draws per contest. During the season, she was named an Atlantic-Sun Player of the Week.
Gallagher has started in all 17 games this season as a defender. She has notched 41 ground balls and 24 caused turnovers, helping ODU to a No. 8 ranking in the nation with 10.06 caused turnovers per game and a No. 8 national ranking with 19.29 ground balls per game. Her 41 ground balls ranks first on the team and third in the A-Sun, while her 24 caused turnovers ranks second on the team and fourth in the conference. She has also corralled 22 draw controls, which is good for 4th on the team and 22nd in the league. During the season, she was named the A-Sun Defensive Player of the Week and was recently named to the A-Sun All-Academic Team.
Liberty has started in all 17 games this season. She has notched 57 points, which ranks fourth in the conference and second on the team, with 47 goals and 10 assists. Her 47 goals are also good for second on the team and second in the A-Sun, while her 10 assists ranks third on the team and 16th in the conference. She also ranks ninth in the conference with a 9-for-21 free-position shot margin. Liberty also chips in on defense, as she has recorded 27 ground balls and 13 caused turnovers, both of which rank in the top-16 of the league and top-5 on the team. She began the season with an Atlantic-Sun Preseason Team honor and has been named the A-Sun Player of the Week twice, only 1-of-3 A-Sun players to achieve that feat.
Tutchton has played in all 17 games, making nine starts as a midfielder. She has notched 14 points on 11 goals and three assists. She has also tallied 21 ground balls (6th on team, 32nd in A-Sun), 22 draw controls (3rd on team, 23rd in A-Sun) and 13 caused turnovers (4th on team, 13th in A-Sun). Amongst freshman in the conference, she ranks 4th in caused turnovers, 8th in draw controls, 13th in ground balls and 16th in goals.
DeLuca has played in all 17 games, making seven starts as a defender. She has helped the team post a 9.24 goals-against average that ranks second in the league and 33rd in the country. She ranks 35th in the league with 20 ground balls and 48th with seven caused turnovers. Among freshmen in the league, she ranks 15th in ground balls and her caused turnovers mark ranks 12th.
The Monarchs will be back in action on Friday, as they take on the winner of No. 3 Detroit vs. No. 6 Stetson in the semifinals of the 2015 Atlantic-Sun Tournament. Game time is set for 3:30 p.m. and will be streamed live on ESPN3 (watchespn.com).
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