NU lacrosse player wins rookie honors

Northwestern midfielder Alyssa Leonard has been voted the Rookie of the Year in the American Lacrosse Conference and four Wildcats landed on the first-team all-conference squad, the ALC announced on Tuesday.

Junior Shannon Smith drew first-team All-ALC accolades for the second straight year while Alex Frank, Colleen Magarity and Taylor Thornton each make their debuts on the first team.

Northwestern's four first-team honorees are the most of any ALC school.

A freshman from Bay Shore, N.Y., Leonard joins past NU greats Kristen Kjellman 2004) and Meredith Frank (2006) in becoming the third Wildcat to be named ALC Rookie of the Year.

Leonard has been among the nation's leaders in draw controls all season and currently ranks sixth in Division I with 4.06 per game. Against Navy, Leonard posted the third 10-draw control effort in a single game in NU history.

Leonard also has chipped in 7 goals and 11 ground balls.

The nation's most prolific scorer with 5.47 points per game, Smith is second in the ALC with 58 goals this year while her 35 assists represent the sixth-best single-season total in Northwestern history. With single-game outings that included 7 goals (vs. Stanford) and the sixth 10-point game by a Wildcat (vs. Georgetown), Smith has moved up to eighth all-time in points (233) and ninth in career goals (160).

Magarity, Frank and Thornton each joined the ranks of first-team All-ALC honorees after receiving second-team recognition in 2010.

A senior defender, Magarity started every game for NU for the second straight year and stuffed the stat sheet with 21 ground balls, 14 draw controls and 7 caused turnovers in 17 contests.

As a rock in the NU midfield, Frank scored 17 goals — including a last-minute game-winner vs. Stanford — and ranks in the top-20 nationally with 55 draw controls. The Westwood, Mass., native, who has scooped up 22 ground balls and caused 17 turnovers, currently stands sixth all-time at NU with 160 draw controls and seventh with 65 forced turnovers.

Thornton established herself as one of the most versatile players in the conference, scoring a career-best 13 goals while ranking second on NU with 39 draw controls and tied for third with 10 caused turnovers. Thornton also is invaluable in Northwestern's ability to successfully clear the backfield and set up the attack. Her 13 scores have come on only 17 shots and she is 8-for-12 on free position shot attempts.

Northwestern (15-2, 3-2 ALC) joins the rest of the conference at the 2011 ALC Tournament hosted by Vanderbilt this week. NU, the No. 2 seed and four-time champion of the event, earned a first-round bye and will open play at 5:30 p.m. Friday against the winner between third-seeded Penn State and sixth-seeded Johns Hopkins.

Here is a complete list of all-conference honorees:

Player of the Year: Kitty Cullen, Florida

Goalie of the Year: Dana Cahill, Penn State

Rookie of the Year: Alyssa Leonard, Northwestern

Coach of the Year: Amanda O'Leary, Florida

ALC First Team

Ashley Bruns, Florida

Dana Cahill, Penn State

Ally Carey, Vanderbilt

Kitty Cullen, Florida

Maggie Dunbar, Penn State

Sam Farrell, Florida

Alex Frank, Northwestern

Colleen Magarity, Northwestern

Alayna Markwordt, Ohio State

Colleen McCaffrey, Johns Hopkins

Shannon Smith, Northwestern

Taylor Thornton, Northwestern

ALC Second Team

Gabby Capuzzi, Ohio State

Taylor D'Amore, Johns Hopkins

Jackie Eastman, Penn State

Lindsey Gysin, Ohio State

Janine Hillier, Florida

Haydon Judge, Florida

Alyssa Kildare, Johns Hopkins

Courtney Kirk, Vanderbilt

Mikey Meagher, Florida

Candace Rossi, Johns Hopkins

Jen Steadman, Penn State

Brittney Zerhusen, Ohio State