2009 PSAC Women's Lacrosse All-League Teams
LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – Senior midfielder Courtney Whiting was named the PSAC East athlete of the year as the 2009 All-PSAC Women’s Lacrosse team and major awards were announced earlier this week by the conference.
Whiting becomes the sixth straight West Chester University player to win the player of the year honors. Stephanie Kienle won the award in each of the past two seasons while Katelyn Martin, Kristin McGoldrick and Kathleen Sheehan preceded Kienle. A Golden Ram has now won the athlete of the year award in women’s lacrosse every season since 2004. Lock Haven’s Leigh Titus was the Western Division player of the year.
Whiting led West Chester (14-3, 10-0 PSAC East) to another undefeated season in league play and was one of four Golden Rams on the first team. She tied Jackie Baker for the team lead in goals scored this spring with 46 while placing third overall in the scoring with 59 points. Whiting potted five game-winning goals and ranked second on the team with 33 caused turnovers. The Golden Rams held a 285-149 advantage in draw controls thanks to the center-mid’s faceoff skills. Whiting grabbed 45 ground balls and led the squad with 74 draw controls.
Joining Whiting on the first team in the Eastern Division were Gina DiDomenicis, who is a four-time, first team all-league selection, 2008 All-American Katy Crouse and goalkeeper Mary Beth Green.
Baker and junior midfielder Chrissy Stokes were named to the second team all-league squad.
DiDomenicis is the only four-time, first-team all-leaguer on this year’s squad. She scored 18 goals and posted 22 points. But, her biggest contributions were in winning possessions with her stick skills. The graduating senior picked up 47 ground balls and 40 draw controls, each second on the team, while causing 27 turnovers, defensively.
Crouse and Green are both repeat first-team picks from 2008. Crouse was the defensive catalyst for the Golden Rams, leading the team in both caused turnovers (49) and ground balls (58). Green was the last line of defense in the cage for West Chester. She placed among the top 10 goalkeepers in the league in three different categories.
Baker led the Golden Rams in scoring with 76 points, adding one game-winner to her totals. She has 255 career goals scored in her four years of lacrosse. That stands second all-time behind Katelyn Martin’s career total of 299. The talented attacker, who orchestrated West Chester’s vaunted offense, is a two-time All-American as well as a four-time All-PSAC pick. She was a first-team selection in both 2007 and 2008 while earning second team accolades her freshman year.
Stokes makes her first appearance on an all-league team with her nomination to the second team. She finished fourth on the team in scoring with 55 points. She was third overall in goals scored with 43.
West Chester University will find out Sunday night, May 3 at 10 p.m. if the NCAA will give the Golden Rams an opportunity to defend their national championship when the 2009 NCAA Division II Women’s Lacrosse tournament bracket is revealed on CBS Sports Television.
