TOWSON, Md. – Junior attacker Ashleigh Rohrback was named as the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Co-Player of the Year on Thursday night at the banquet to kick off the CAA Women's Lacrosse Championship Tournament in Towson. Senior defender Alexa Demski was named as the CAA Co-Defensive Player of the Year at the event. In addition, head coach Sonia LaMonica was named the CAA Coach of the Year, for the third straight year.
Rohrback and Demski were joined on the All-CAA first team by junior midfielder Rhiannon Coogle. Sophomore attacker Paige Duncan, sophomore defender Michelle Dufault and sophomore goalkeeper Kelsea Donnelly all earned second team All-CAA accolades. Freshman midfielder Breanna Hamm was named to the CAA All-Rookie squad.
Rohrback became only the second Tiger to earn CAA Player of the Year honors (Hillary Fratzke-2008, 2010), as she shared the honor with Casey Ancarrow of James Madison. She earned All-CAA honors for the first time in her career with her first team selection. Despite missing the first six games of the year due to injury, Rohrback ranks second on the team with 41 points. She has 18 goals and a team-high 23 assists in 10 games. Rohrback enters the CAA Tournament leading the CAA in assists per game (2.30) and points per game (4.10). Earlier this season she had a career-high nine points in the win over James Madison after posting four goals and five assists in the game.
Demski is the second Tiger to earn the CAA Defensive Player of the Year award (Julie Ondrako-2009). She shared the award with April Iannetta of Hofstra. She was a first team All-CAA selection for the third straight season. One of the Tigers' tri-captains, she has started all 16 games. Demski is often given the task of guarding the opponents' top scorer. She leads the team in ground balls (32) and caused turnovers (19). Earlier this season against Drexel, she had a career-high six caused turnovers and now ranks second in school history with 96 career caused turnovers.
After challenging her team with the toughest schedule in program history, LaMonica earned CAA Coach of the Year honors for the third straight year. The non-conference schedule saw the Tigers face six teams ranked in the top 20 and prepared LaMonica and the Tigers for the rigors of CAA play. The Tigers are now 19-2 in the last three years against CAA schools under LaMonica. Towson won the CAA regular season title for the third year in a row under LaMonica and earned the right to host the CAA Tournament.
Coogle earned All-CAA honors for the second time in her career. She was an all-rookie pick during the 2011 season. She had a breakout season for the Tigers and enters the CAA Tournament with a team-best 44 points and 40 goals scored. A two-time CAA Player of the Week, Coogle scored a career-high six goals in a game twice. She leads the CAA in goals scored during conference play with 27. Coogle has scored 13 free position goals this season to rank among the league leaders in that category.
Duncan picked up all-conference honors for the first time in her career after a solid sophomore campaign. She has started all 16 games and ranks third on the team with 30 points. Her 18 goals and 12 assists are both career-highs. Duncan is second on the team with 34 draw controls, including a career-high five draws in the win over Delaware.
Dufault was named all-conference for the second time in her career. A CAA all-rookie team pick last year, she is a tough defender who usually marks one of the opponents' top scoring threats. She has 19 ground balls and 13 caused turnovers. Dufault is one of five Tigers to record at least 10 caused turnovers this season.
Donnelly was named all-conference in her first full season in goal for the Tigers. She has made 108 saves on the season including a career-high 13 saves at Hofstra. Donnelly enters the CAA Tournament with the third best goals against average (8.88) in the CAA and the second best save percentage (.450). She allowed a season low four goals in the win at George Mason and has held nine opponents to single digit goals.
Hamm has proven to be a valuable asset for the Tigers with this season with her ability to play on both ends of the field. She scored her first career goal against Syracuse and also tallied a goal in the win at American. Hamm ranks third on the team with 25 draw controls with a career-high six draws in the win over Drexel.
The Tigers are back in action on Friday, May 3 when they host Drexel in the first semifinal of the CAA Tournament. First draw from the Tiger Soccer Complex is set for 1 p.m. In the second semi-final game, James Madison faces Hofstra. Towson is seeking its second straight CAA Championship.
