Messiah Women's Lacrosse All-Time Conference Honors

Annville, PA – Just hours before No. 1-seeded Messiah College hosts No. 4-seeded Arcadia in the Commonwealth Semifinal, the conference honored the Falcons with eight All-Commonwealth honors. Brooke Gamble was named the Defensive Player of the Year and Heather Greer was named Coach of the Year to lead the way.
 
Gamble was also named to the First Team and was joined by Claire Stikleather, Molly Devilbiss, and Alexa Dipeso. Three Falcons were named to the Second Team: Stephanie Athens, Madi Brunk, and Carly Bajus.
 
After earning the conference's Rookie of the Year award last season, Brooke Gamble has quickly become one of the Region's most skilled defenders. She is tied with Devilbiss for second on the team with 16 caused turnovers for Messiah, though her impact on the game is hardly found in stats alone. Gamble is a technical and disciplined one-on-one defender, and routinely draws the mark of the opponent's top scorer. Along with her teammates, Gamble has been a big reason Messiah has allowed just 116 goals this season, the lowest in the Commonwealth.
 
Stikeleather joined Gamble on the First Team after leading Messiah in goals (37) and points (52) through 16 games. A former Rookie of the Year herself, this is her third-straight season on the First Team. Stikeleather is not always called upon to score in volume, but nevertheless is well-regarded as one of the best two-way midfielders in the Region and can impact a game in a variety of ways. Thus far she is third on the team with 27 draw controls, t-third with 14 caused turnovers, and fourth with 27 groundballs groundballs.
 
Molly Devilbiss lands on the First Team after a Second Team nod last season. She led the team with 32 GB and, as mentioned, is tied with Gamble with 16 caused turnovers. Devilbiss and Becky Ely are the lone seniors of an impressive defensive unit that stands in front of goalie Alexa Dipeso.
 
Dipeso leads the Commonwealth with a 7.68 goals against average (GAA) and is third with a .491 save percentage. In six of her first eight games this season she collected 10-plus saves, and she's currently riding a seven-game streak of allowing no more than eight goals.
 
Like Dipeso, Stephanie Athens is in her first year with Messiah. She was elected to Second Team after scoring 30 goals and collecting 12 assists. She is second on team with an impressive .875 shot on goal percentage (min. 12 games) and she's second on the team in both groundballs (31) and draw controls (35). She's also tied for third on the team with 14 caused turnovers.
 
Madi Brunk lands on the First Team after collecting a Second Team honor last season. She leasd Messiah with 27 assists, a mark good enough for second in the conference. She's also second on the team with 45 points overall.
 
Carly Bajus' Second Team honor is her first All-Commonwealth award since an Honorable Mention honor in 2013. The dynamic attack is fourth on the team with 33 points, and she's come on late to the tune of 12 goals and 10 assists in her past eight games.
 
Coach Heather Greer's Coach of the Year award is the fourth of her career and second in as many seasons. She's guided Messiah to a 12-4 record thus far, the program's most wins since 16 in 2012. Messiah went 8-0 in the Commonwealth this season, and Greer collected her 100th career win early in April.
 
Greer and the nationally No. 16-ranked Falcons are looking for their first NCAA Tournament appearance since that 2012 season, and they will be on step closer if they can earn a win this afternoon against Arcadia. The Semifinal will start at 4:00 p.m. and will be streamed live on GoMessiah.tv.
 
A complete listing of the All-Commonwealth honors is below:
 

Offensive Player of the Year: Kathryn Merrick, Stevenson (Sr.) Defensive Player of the Year: Brooke Gamble, Messiah (So.) Rookie of the Year: Nicole Hutson, Arcadia (Fr.) Coach of the Year: Heather Greer, Messiah
First Team All-Commonwealth
Attack	Sam Boyce	Lebanon Valley	Junior
Attack	Erin Farrell	Albright	Junior
Attack	Kathryn Merrick	Stevenson	Senior
Midfield	Carli Bafford	Stevenson	Junior
Midfield	Bailey Benz	Lebanon Valley	Senior
Midfield	Erin Misner	Arcadia	Sophomore
Midfield	Amanda Smith	Albright	Junior
Midfield	Claire Stikeleather	Messiah	Junior
Defender	Molly Devilbiss	Messiah	Senior
Defender	Brooke Gamble	Messiah	Sophomore
Defender	Meg Gill	Stevenson	Senior
Goalie	Alexa Dipeso	Messiah	Sophomore
Goalie	Lauren Couch	Hood	Junior
Second Team All-Commonwealth
Attack	Carly Bajus	Messiah	Senior
Attack	Madi Brunk	Messiah	Senior
Attack	Olivia Monteiro	Stevenson	Sophomore
Midfield	Stephanie Athens	Messiah	Sophomore
Midfield	Meghan Garvey	Widener	Junior
Midfield	Meghenn Jackson	Lycoming	Junior
Midfield	Tori Kuntz	Lebanon Valley	Junior
Midfield	Meghan Wilson	Albright	Senior
Defender	Aled Leddy	Alvernia	Senior
Defender	Emily Moatz	Lebanon Valley	Junior
Defender	Sarah Nale	Albright	Senior
Defender	Dana Roessler	Arcadia	Senior
Goalie	Megan Dunn	Widener	Senior
Honorable Mention All-Commonwealth
Goalie	Leanne Bittner	Stevenson	Senior
Goalie	Jordyn Dunacusky	Arcadia	Junior
Attack	Dawn Faranetta	Arcadia	Junior
Midfield	Nicole Hutson	Arcadia	Freshman
Midfield	Jordan Lazarich	Lycoming	Freshman
Defender	Brooke Stoltzfus	Lebanon Valley	Sophomore
Defender	Bailey Stover	Alvernia	Sophomore
Attack	Jackie Strange	Alvernia	Senior

 

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