ANNVILLE, Pa. - Just one day prior to the start of the MAC Commonwealth Semifinals, the Middle Atlantic Conference announced the 2019 women's lacrosse All-MAC Commonwealth teams on Tuesday morning. Among the student-athlete honors were five Falcons with
Mckenna Edwards and
Annika Johnsen earning First Team accolades while
Jamie Bishop,
Eliza Lortie, and
Katie Stottlemyer claimed spots on the Second Team.
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The Falcons are slated to play in the MAC Commonwealth Semifinals on Wednesday evening against second-seeded Lebanon Valley at 7:00 p.m. in Annville, Pa.
Annika Johnsen claimed the second All-Conference honor of her career after she earned First Team accolades last season as a junior. The midfielder is currently second of the team with 26 goals, adding six assists for 32 total points. Johnsen has started 15 games this season, scoring at least one goal in 14 of her 15 appearances. She netted a single-game career-high five goals against Albright on Apr. 6 and on the season is second in the conference with a .529 free position percentage (9-17).
Joining Johnsen on the First Team was
Mckenna Edwards, who earned the first All-Conference nod of her career this season. Edwards is currently tied for the team lead in points with 36 after scoring 29 goals and assisting on seven others. She has started all 17 games for the Falcons this season, scoring multiple goals in eight different games. Late in the season, Edwards went on an impressive scoring run, notching 13 goals in a three-game span. Included in that stretch was a six-goal performance on the road against Arcadia on Apr. 10, a career-high for a single game.
Also earning the All-MAC Commonwealth nod on attack was senior
Jamie Bishop, who replicated last season's Second Team honor in 2019. Bishop was Messiah's third leading scoring with 23 goals while also dished out eight assists for 31 total points. After being held to two goals in the first four games of the season, Bishop tallied 21 goals in the final 13 games of the season, including a score in 12 different contests.
On the defensive side of the ball, Messiah had a pair named Second Team with
Katie Stottlemyer and
Eliza Lortie. In her senior season, Lortie earned the first All-Conference honor of her career after picking up 34 groundballs and forcing 15 turnovers. Stottlemyer claimed her second-straight All-Conference honor after picking up Honorable Mention accolades last season. During her sophomore season, Stottlemyer picked up 35 groundballs and caused 23 turnovers.
Lortie and Stottlemyer led a defensive unit that allowed just 77 goals in eight conference games this season. That 9.63 goals against average in conference games helped Messiah to a 6-2 record in the conference and the three seed this week in the Conference Tournament.
Johnsen, Edwards, Bishop, Stottlemyer, Lortie and the rest of the Falcons will be in action on Wednesday night when they travel to Lebanon Valley to take on the Dutchmen for a spot in the Conference Championship on Saturday.
