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LANCASTER, PA – Attackers Kelly Cassels (Jr., Downingtown, PA/Great Valley) and Jen Pritchard (Fr., Media, PA/Penncrest), midfielders Eileen Keever (Sr., Prospect Park, PA/Interboro) and Sarah Meisenberg (Fr., Severna Park, MD/Severn), defender Holly Rutherford (Sr., Rochester, NY/Brighton) and goalkeeper Kamissa Mort (Sr., Ashton, MD/Sandy Spring) have been named to the 2006 All-Centennial Conference women’s lacrosse team. The total ties the school record for the most All-Centennial Conference selections set last year as the Diplomats placed six players on the team. Franklin & Marshall garnered a school record four first team selections as Cassels, Keever, Rutherford and Mort were honored among the Conference’s top 13 players, while Pritchard earned second team honors and Meisenberg was recognized on the honorable mention squad. A 2005 first team and 2004 second team selection, Cassels repeated on the first team as she has 29 goals and 16 assists for 45 points this year to tie for second in goals with Meisenberg and Kiki Foster (Sr., Denver, CO/Kent Denver) and rank third in assists and points on the Diplomats this year. The team leader in free position goals with nine-on-19 attempts, she has scooped 40 ground balls, caused 14 turnovers and collected 33 draws this year while netting a pair of game-winning goals. She has been a force in Centennial Conference games this year tallying 19 goals and 12 assists for 31 points, including five free position goals, to rank second in free position goals, fifth in goals, fourth in assists and third in points. A 2005 second team selection to the Warrior/Inside Lacrosse and womenslacrosse.com All-America teams, Cassels led the team in goals and earned Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association All-Region first team honors as she finished with 47 goals and nine assists for 56 points last year. A 2004 All-Centennial Conference second team selection, she was named the Most Valuable Player of the 2005 ECAC Tournament as she scored three goals and assisted on another to lead the Diplomats to a 12-8 victory over McDaniel College in the ECAC Championship game hosted by the University of Scranton. Overall, she now has 109 goals and 29 assists for 138 points in her 51 game career at Franklin & Marshall as she is tied for 16th in goals, ranks 14th in assists and is tied for 20th in points in the history of the College. The eighth player in Centennial Conference history to earn first team honors three times, Rutherford repeated on the Conference’s top team after earning first team honors in 2004 and 2005. A 2005 All-Eastern College Athletic Conference South Region All-Star, Rutherford has 42 ground balls, 21 draw controls and 41 caused turnovers with one assist this year as she has raised her career scoring total to 29 goals and five assists for 34 points while anchoring an F&M defense which is allowing 7.53 goals per game. A 2004 All-Centennial Conference second team selection, Keever moved up to the first team as a senior as she has tallied seven goals and six assists for 13 points with 31 ground balls, nine draw controls and 11 caused turnovers to raise her career scoring total to 51 goals and 32 assists for 83 points.
The award marks the fifth All-Centennial Conference nod of her career as she was named to the 2004 and 2005 All-Centennial first team and 2003 second team in field hockey. A 2005 womensfieldhockey.com third team All-America and Dartfish/National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Division III All-South Region second team selection, she was named to the 2005 NFHCA Division III North/South Senior All-Star Game selection, 2004 All-Region first team and the 2004 STX/NFHCA All-America second team in field hockey as she concluded her career with 45-17-107 as to rank fourth in career goals at the College behind Laura Kramedas ’80 (53), Sue Bowen ’80 (52) and Brittany Croll (52).
The 2005 ECAC South Region Goaltender of the Year, Mort earned her second All-CC honor this year following an honorable mention selection last year. This year she has 94 saves and 101 goals against for a .482 save percentage, 7.49 goals against average and 11-3 record as she raised her career totals to 351 goals against, 338 saves in 2769 minutes for a .491 save percentage and 7.61 goals against average. Further, she is 24-4 over the last two seasons as her only losses have come to #3 Salisbury University and #12 Rowan University this year and to Gettysburg College last year in the Centennial Conference title game and this year in triple overtime. For her career, she is 25-5, including a win over Bryn Mawr College and a loss to William Smith College as a sophomore. On the second team, Pritchard has experienced a breakout freshman season as she leads the team in goals with 42 and is tied with Foster for the team lead in points at 49 as she has added seven assists this year. In addition, she has two game winning goals, and has chipped in 31 ground balls, six free position goals, 27 draw controls and seven caused turnovers. She is among the Conference leaders in goals (second, 2.80 gpg), points (seventh, 3.27 ppg) and shots (fifth, 5.47 spg) as she leads an offense that is averaging 14.27 goals, 6.87 assists and 21.13 points per game. Rounding out the Diplomats selections, Meisenberg ranks among the Conference leaders in goals (14th, 1.93 gpg), game-winning goals (fourth, three), draw controls (fifth, 2.73 dpg) and free position goals (fifth, seven) as she has 29 goals and eight assists for 37 points. Tied for the team lead in game-winning goals at three with Shannon Summers (Fr., North Wales, PA/Hill School), Meisenberg leads the team in ground balls (51) and draw controls (41), and ranks second in caused turnovers (26) and free position goals (seven). Ranked fourth in the April 24 NCAA Metro Region poll and eighth in the Laxpower.com, Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association and Inside Lacrosse national polls, the Diplomats finished the regular season 12-3, 8-1 in the Centennial Conference to clinch the #2 seed for the upcoming Centennial Conference playoffs on April 29-30 at Gettysburg College. On April 29, the Diplomats will take on #3 seed Dickinson College 45 minutes following the conclusion of the other semifinal between #1 seed Gettysburg College and #4 seed Ursinus College. The winners of the semifinals will clash at 1:00 p.m. on April 30 at Gettysburg in the Centennial Conference championship game with a berth in the NCAA playoffs on the line.
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