All-Ivy Women's Lacrosse -- 2010

PRINCETON, N.J. — As a new, exciting page is about to be written in the storied history of Ivy League Women's Lacrosse, it seems that a familiar chapter is also being penned in the end of season awards. 

Out with the old is the regular season champion taking the automatic bid from the Ivy Group. In with the new is the inaugural Ivy League Women's Lacrosse Tournament to determine the automatic bid to the 2010 NCAA Tournament. Familiarly, however, Penn will be a key fixture in the new venture, as it was with the system from yesteryear.

Although the record would suggest otherwise, the Quakers (12-3) navigated through a difficult Ivy season with yet another unblemished record. Penn (7-0 in Ivy play), with a senior class that has yet to lose an Ivy League game, overcame a rash of injuries to take the regular season title. Unlike in year's past, however, the feat only earned the right to host the tournament as the No. 1 seed. Two more Ivy wins for the senior class would assure the automatic pass to the NCAAs once again.

Joining the Quakers in the Ivy Women's Tournament are No. 2 Dartmouth (5-2, Ivy), No. 3 Cornell (4-3) and Princeton (4-3), the No. 4 seed.

Not surprisingly, all four schools make up the majority of the All-Ivy first team this year. The Quakers lead the group with four selections, followed by the Big Green with three. Both the Big Red and the Tigers have two selections apiece. Brown and Harvard complete the squad as each school has one representative.

Ali DeLuca also continued a trend that has seen a Penn player earn at least one superlative award since the 2007 season. Fittingly, it was the then-freshman that burst onto the scene and took Rookie of the Year honors in unanimous fashion. The senior midfielder follows a recent Penn lineage that that started with Sarah Waxman in 2008 and teammate Emma Spiro in 2009 as Player of the Year. Wendy DiDomenico (1989) also received the honor, making DeLuca Penn's fourth recipient. A two-time Ivy Player of the Week, DeLuca continued to dominate the midfield as a senior. She led the team in goals, assists, draw controls and total points. The Tewaaraton nominee, and surefire All-America, is also second on the team in ground balls (24) and third on caused turnovers (16). She is Penn's all-time leading scorer.

As the incredibly athletic midfielder graduates, another gifted talent — Harvard's Jennifer VanderMeulen — emerges on the scene to take the Rookie of the Year award back to the shores of the Charles River. The freshman attacker also made an immediate impact on the stat sheets, scoring an outrageous 51 goals on the year for the Crimson, including 24 in League games.

In all, nearly half of the first-team selections were unanimous in a vote by the League coaches. Joining DeLuca and VanderMeulen as consensus unanimous first-team selections were attackers Jessi Steinberg (Cornell) and Greta Meyer (Dartmouth), along with Penn's Emma Spiro in the midfield and Princeton defender Lindsey deButts.

Steinberg had 38 goals on the year, including a League-leading 28 during Ivy play. A tenacious attacking force, Steinberg will be a fixture for the Big Red on offense for years to come as her speed and quickness are threatening in both transition and settled attack. She is also not afraid to challenge opponents, having picked up 11 ground balls and causing six turnovers in 2010.

Arguably the most complete attacker of the 2010 contingent, Meyer was more than just a prolific goalscorer (30 goals on the year). The selfless player also chipped in 22 assists for the Big Green. A clinical finisher, the Tewaaraton nominee shot an alarmingly high .577 on the year. An All-Ivy Honorable Mention selection as a midfielder in 2009, the junior transitioned into a new position in 2010. Meyer's 11 assists in League play tied her for second-place with Penn's Erin Brennan.

Coming off a junior season where she was the 2009 Ivy League Co-Player of the Year, Spiro's senior year was shortened as the injury bug hit early on. Spiro scored 21 goals and set up four additional for the Quakers in 2010, having only appeared in 10 games. She was especially potent in Ivy play, scoring 15 goals. Spiro also picked up 12 ground balls and controlled 14 draws on the year.

A prototypical defender, deButts led the Tigers in ground balls and draw controls, with 34 and 37 respectively. A natural competitor, deButts had an incredible season leading a very inexperienced defensive unit. The top overall defender and most reliable transition player, deButts has excellent awareness and game sense. The sophomore caused 19 turnovers in 2010.

Penn's Erin Brennan, the 2009 Rookie of the Year, continued to impose her will on Ivy defenses in 2010. A gifted attacker, the sophomore posted 41 points on the year. Brennan was third in the League in points per game (3.71) during Ivy play, just behind DeLuca (4.57) and Steinberg (4.43).

An honorable mention pick last season, Lizzy Drumm is Princeton's leading scorer with 30 goals and nine assist for 39 points. She adds 21 draw controls, 14 ground balls and five caused turnovers. A second-team all-region selection last season, Drumm is one of Princeton's team captains this year. Drumm has scored in 11 games this season and has posted 10 multiple-point games.

Brown's Paris Waterman gets the nod after a stellar year that saw 32 goals and 6 assists. The junior also picked up 33 ground balls and caused 16 turnovers for the Bears.

Dartmouth's Shannie MacKenzie is consistently assigned to defend the opposition’s leading scorer and has done so with great success this season. She is a tenacious and incredibly smart defender who pressures behind the goal well. She has 18 ground balls on the year and caused 16 turnovers.

A team captain and the vocal leader of the Cornell defense, Tissy O'Connor's fiery competitiveness gets her noticed. She gives consistent top speed effort and plays with tremendous passion. Tissy’s individual defensive skills are outstanding, and she leads the Big Red in caused turnovers (15) and is third on the team in ground balls (18).

Kaileigh Wright is Penn's top match-up defender. A great 1 v 1 defender as well as a team defender, the senior is quick, agile and strong at denying the ball or checking on the catch. A vital cog in the transition game for the Quakers, Wright is also a major factor as to why Karin Brower Corbett's stout defense is once again nationally ranked for goals against average.

Dartmouth's Julie Wadland once again patrols the nets for the top team in 2010. The senior co-captain, is the engine by which the Dartmouth machine goes. A two-time Tewaaraton Nominee, she has great athleticism, composure and leadership in the cage. Dartmouth has one of the nation’s top defenses and Wadland’s presence — saving 46.5 percent of shots faced — allows the defenders to be aggressive. She leads the Big Green in ground balls (33) and has 79 saves on the year.


2010 Women's Lacrosse Player Awards
*Unanimous selection 

Player of the Year:
*Ali DeLuca, Penn (Sr., Hillsborough, N.J.)

Rookie of the Year:
*Jennifer VanderMeulen, Harvard (Fr., Liverpool, N.Y.)

First Team (13)
*Attack - Jessi Steinberg, Cornell (So., Suffern, N.Y.)
*Attack - Greta Meyer, Dartmouth (Jr., Denver, Colo.)
*Attack - Jennifer VanderMeulen, Harvard (Fr., Liverpool, N.Y.)
Attack - Erin Brennan, Penn (So., Garden City, N.J.)
Attack - Lizzy Drumm, Princeton (Jr., Westbury, N.Y)
*Midfield - Ali DeLuca, Penn (Sr., Hillsborough, N.J.)
*Midfield - Emma Spiro, Penn (Sr., Wellesley, Mass.)
Midfield - Paris Waterman, Brown (Jr., Newark, Del.)
*Defense - Lindsey deButts, Princeton (So., Alexandria, Va.)
Defense - Shannie MacKenzie, Dartmouth (Jr., Riverside, Conn.)
Defense - Tissy O'Connor, Cornell (Sr., Winchester, Mass.)
Defense - Kaileigh Wright, Penn (Sr., Mendham, N.J.)
Goalkeeper - Julie Wadland, Dartmouth (Sr., Andover, Mass.)

Second Team (11) 
Attack - Libby Johnson, Cornell (Jr., Skaneateles, N.Y.)
Attack - Kaela McGilloway, Brown (So., Sea Cliff, N.Y.)
Attack - Brittany Shannon, Columbia (Jr. Garden City, N.Y.)
Midfield - Melanie Baskind, Harvard (So., Framingham, Mass.)
Midfield - Giulia Giordano, Penn (Jr., Moorestown, N.J.)
Midfield - Sarah Plumb, Dartmouth (So., Wellesley, Mass.)
Midfield - Devon Rhodes, Yale (Fr., East Northport, N.Y.)
Defense - Michele Fiorentino, Yale (Sr., Berwyn, Pa.)
Defense - Colleen Olsen, Dartmouth (Sr., Avon, Conn.)
Defense - Barb Seaman, Penn (Sr., Baltimore, Md.)
Goalkeeper - Erin Tochihara, Princeton (Jr., Englewood, Colo.)

Honorable Mention (9)
Micaela Cyr, Harvard (Fr., M, Lexington, Mass.)
Taylor Gattinella, Columbia (So., M, Greenwich, Conn.)
Kirsten Goldberg, Dartmouth (So., M, Cockeysville, Md.)
Amanda Goodheart, Columbia (So., D, Alexandria, Va.)
Caroline Helmer, Cornell (So., M, Manlius, N.Y.)
Courtney Lubbe, Penn (Sr., A, Newtown, Pa.)
Kristin Morrison, Princeton (Sr., A, Manhasset, N.Y.)
Sarah Parks, Dartmouth (So., A, Ellicott City, Md.)
Whitney Quackenbush, Yale (So., G, Manhasset, N.Y.)