NORTHBOROUGH, Mass. - On Monday afternoon, the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) announced the 57 student-athletes who were selected to their All-American teams for the 2021 season. Among the honorees were a pair of Messiah Falcons with
Rachel Delate earning First Team honors on attack and
Hope Flack, picking up Second Team accolades in the midfield.
Delate, Flack, and the rest of the Falcons finished a historic 2021 campaign in the Elite Eight with an overall record of 18-1. Their Elite Eight appearance set a new record for deepest NCAA Tournament run while also matching the single season record for wins in a year with 18.
Delate was one of seven attackers to be named a First Team All-American by the IWLCA and was the lone underclassman to pick up First Team honors on the 19-member listing. Earlier this awards season, Delate was named First Team All-Region, First Team All-MAC Commonwealth, as well as the MAC Commonwealth Rookie and Attacker of the Year. Delate finished her sophomore season with a new program record for points in a year with 123, netting 63 goals and adding 60 assists. In the national standings, Delate finished with the third most assists, 16th most goals, and second-most points in Division III women's lacrosse this season. On a dozen different occasions this year, Delate picked up at least seven points in a game, earning a career-high 10 against Stevens on Mar. 27 and Widener on Apr. 10.
Joining Delate with All-American honors was Messiah midfielder
Hope Flack on the IWLCA's Second Team. Flack did a little bit of everything for the Falcons this season, netting 44 goals and six assists offensively. She also picked up 27 ground balls and caused 15 turnovers, but where Flack was ultra-effective was on the draw. On the season, Flack snagged 93 draw controls, more than double any other Falcon on the season and in 16 of Messiah's 19 games this spring, Flack grabbed at least four draw controls
Delate and Flack become the 17th and 18th players honored in program history as All-American's by the IWLCA.
Of note,
Rachel Delate becomes just the second-ever player in Messiah women's lacrosse history to be named a First Team All-American by the IWLCA, joining Rachel Dirksen's 2012 honor.
