University of Albany Places Four Players on 2009 America East All-Conference Women's Lacrosse Team - UAlbany Sports 2009

Courtesy: UAlbany Sports Information

Cambridge, Mass. – University at Albany’s Kayla Best leads a group of four players who have been chosen to the 2009 America East All-Conference Women’s Lacrosse Team, as announced on Wednesday, April 29 by the conference office. Best was voted all-conference for the third consecutive year, including her second straight first-team selection.

Best, a junior midfielder, ranks sixth among the America East leaders in scoring at 3.47 points per game. She has accounted for 40-plus points for the third year in a row with 41 goals and 11 assists. Best totaled four or more points against seven opponents this season, including a career-high seven (3 goals, 4 assists) against No. 13 New Hampshire. Best has scored at least one goal in 45 consecutive games, the nation’s second-longest streak. She joins Kate Fontana and Sarah Spillett as the only UAlbany players to be selected to the All-America East squad three times.

Nikki Branchini, a sophomore defender, earns first team all-conference recognition for the second consecutive season. Branchini, who was voted 2209 America East Fans’ Choice player of the year, is sixth among the NCAA Division I leaders in draw controls at 4.0 per game. She leads the Great Danes in ground balls (39) and caused turnovers (17), plus has scored four goals. Branchini, who was tabbed America East defender of the week on April 27, helped UAlbany record its first winning campaign since 2000.

A sophomore attacker, Jodi Battaglia makes her first appearance on the all-league unit as a first-team selection. She is third among the UAlbany scoring leaders with 37 goals and four assists. Battaglia scored four or more points on seven occasions this season, including a career-high eight (5 goals, 3 assists) in a league victory at Stony Brook on April 19. She has 60 goals in two seasons as a collegian.

Mel Rorie is a member of the all-conference second team for the first time. Rorie, a sophomore midfielder, is second on the Great Danes in scoring with 37 goals and seven assists, plus has 24 ground balls and 13 caused turnovers. Rorie ranks third among the America East leaders with four game-winning goals. She netted three or more goals against seven opponents.

Melanie Sosnowski and Jenn Primeau were voted to the America East All-Rookie Team. Sosnowski totaled 14 goals and five assists from her attack position. Primeau, a defensive midfielder, totaled 14 ground balls, five caused turnovers and one goal in 15 appearances.

Katie Neer, Rory Redmond, Julie Bush and Branchini were each selected to the America East all-academic team. Neer, a senior goalkeeper who has made 131 saves, owns a 3.63 cumulative GPA in political science with a dual minor in business administration and women’s studies. Redmond, who has a 3.62 GPA in communication with a dual minor in sociology and education, has 13 goals and four assists as a midfielder. Bush, who has 12 goals and a team-leading 19 assists, has a 3.69 GPA in communication with a minor in business administration. Branchini has earned a 3.83 GPA in history with a minor in education.

UAlbany has produced 29 all-conference players, including 17 first-team selections, since joining the America East Conference in 2002.

University of Albany Men's Lacrosse Places Seven Players on 2009 All-America East Conference Team - UAlbany Sports 2009

Courtesy: UAlbany Athletics

Cambridge, Mass. – University at Albany’s Brian Caufield leads a group of seven players who were voted to the 2009 America East All-Conference Men’s Lacrosse Team, as announced on Tuesday, April 28 by the conference office. Caufield was named to the all-league first team for the second consecutive year.

A sophomore attackman, Caufield ranks 11th among the NCAA Division I leaders in scoring at 3.54 points per game. He has totaled 45-plus points for the second year in a row with 24 goals and 22 assists. Caufield accounted for four or more points against six opponents this season, including a season-high seven (3 goals, 4 assists) in a victory over nationally-ranked Massachusetts. He also had six points, including a season-best five assists, against top-ranked Syracuse.

Joe Resetarits becomes the second freshman in the UAlbany program’s history to be chosen to the first team. Resetarits is the fourth-highest scoring freshman in Division I at 3.08 points per game. He has 31 goals, the most by a UAlbany freshman since 2004, and nine assists. Resetarits, whose brother was an All-American for the Great Danes, had three or more points in 10 of 13 games played this season. Garrett Pedley, a senior defenseman, makes his first appearance on the first team after earning a spot on the second team as a sophomore. Pedley, who has 28 ground balls this season, has started 42 of 60 games played as a collegian.

Corey Small, a senior attackman, and Chris Schongar, a long-stick midfielder, are on the America East second team for the second straight year. Small, who missed four games this season due to leg surgery, has 27 goals and five assists. He tied the program’s single-game record by scoring eight times against Delaware. Small, who has scored at least one point in 26 consecutive games played, is tied for sixth on UAlbany’s all-time chart with 105 career goals. Schongar leads the team in ground balls with 48, plus has two goals. The senior is second among the program’s all-time Division I leaders with 204 ground balls. He netted his seventh career goal at Stony Brook last Saturday.

John Alpizar and Mark Kelly are members of the all-conference second team for the first time. Alpizar, a senior midfielder, has four goals and seven assists with 30 ground balls. Alpizar, who scored the game-winning goal against league opponent Hartford on April 1, has 62 career points (19 goals, 43 assists). Kelly, a junior defenseman, picked up 29 ground balls and led a unit that allowed 9.8 goals against conference opponents.

Joining Resetarits on the America East all-rookie squad are midfielders Rocky Bonitatibus and Luke Cometti. Each freshman totaled eight points this season. Sophomore Joe Pompo and Pedley were each selected to the America East all-academic team. Pompo has a 3.54 cumulative GPA in accounting with a minor in business administration. Pedley has a 3.35 GPA in business administration with a minor in communication. He is a member of the school’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC).

UAlbany has produced 51 all-conference players, including 21 first-team selections, since joining the America East Conference in 2002.

University of Albany's Kayla Best & Nikki Branchini on America East All-Conference Women's Lacrosse Team

Courtesy: UAlbany Sports Information

Cambridge, Mass. – University at Albany’s Kayla Best and Nikki Branchini have been named to the 2008 America East All-Conference Women’s Lacrosse Team, as announced on Thursday, April 24 at the championship tournament banquet. Best and Branchini were first-team selections.

Best, a sophomore midfielder, makes her second consecutive appearance on the all-conference team after earning second-team recognition last year. She leads the team in scoring with 44 goals and seven assists. Her goal total ranks sixth on the program’s single-season chart.

Best has scored at least one goal in 29 consecutive games, the fifth-best streak among current Division I players. She netted four or more goals against seven opponents, including a career-high six against UMBC on March 26.

Branchini, a freshman midfielder/defender, was also chosen to the America East All-Rookie Team. She is fourth among the league leaders in both draw controls (2.75 pg) and ground balls (2.69 pg). Branchini, the Capital Region’s top defensive player on the high school level last year, added nine goals, two assists and 17 caused turnovers.

Rory Redmond and Katie Neer were voted to the America East women’s lacrosse all-academic team. Redmond, a junior midfielder with a 3.58 cumulative grade point average in communication, accounted for five goals, three assists, 28 draw controls and 26 ground balls as a starter in 14 of 16 games. Neer, a junior goalkeeper who has a 12.02 goals against average with 136 saves, posted a 3.61 GPA in political science.

UAlbany (8-8) begins America East postseason play on Friday, April 25. The Great Danes meet top-seed Boston University, the nation’s eighth-ranked team, in the semifinal round at 1:00 p.m. The winner advances to the championship on Sunday at 1:00 p.m.