via ASun Conference press release/website

Posted: Jun 06, 2023

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2023 Championship | Record Book

ATLANTA – With the completion of the 10th full season of play for ASUN Conference Women’s Lacrosse in the books, we take a look back at the highlights and accomplishments from the eight league squads following the 2023 campaign. The Jacksonville Dolphins captured their sixth consecutive ASUN Championship title while the Liberty Flames earned their program’s first ASUN regular season crown after going undefeated in league play.

The season included a pair of beginnings and an end as Queens and Lindenwood not only both made their debuts in ASUN Women’s Lacrosse but also began their Division I eras. Meanwhile, Delaware State concluded its time in the ASUN with the Hornets set to begin play in the Northeast Conference in 2024.

Coastal Carolina had a pair of performers capture season superlatives with Kayla Downey earning the Player of the Year award while teammate Avery McIlwaine was tabbed the Midfielder of the Year. Downey set a CCU program record with 98 points, finishing the season with 56 goals and 42 assists in 19 games. The Babylon, N.Y., native was the ASUN leader in points and ranked second for assists while her goal total ranked third. McIlwaine, who also earned the ASUN Scholar-Athlete of the Year honor, ranked second for CCU with 35 goals scored, including one game-winner and 54 total points.

Liberty’s Grace Loughery garnered the Defensive Player of the Year nod in helping the Flames to their historic finish and was a key part of a sturdy Flames defensive unit that topped the league and was third nationally in caused turnovers and second in the ASUN for ground balls. The graduate defender paced the Liberty squad in both ground balls (45) and caused turnovers (30) for the season. Kennesaw State’s Shannon Harrington was selected as the Freshman of the Year following her standout rookie campaign where she paced the Owl offense with a team-best 37 goals, ranking 10th in the ASUN. She topped the KSU squad with 42 total points and capped off the regular season by scoring the Owls’ last two goals, including the game-winner in the final seconds against Lindenwood to claim the No. 5 seed in the ASUN Championship. 

Jacksonville’s first-year Head Coach Tara Singleton was named the Coach of the Year after guiding the Dolphins to their ninth all-time ASUN trophy after the team rallied for a 14-13 overtime victory against Liberty in a fourth straight meeting in the championship match with the Flames. She guided JAX to a final 12-8 overall record, including a 6-1 mark in ASUN play. The Dolphins, who were ranked or received votes in every top 25 poll of the season, led the league in ground balls (384) and draw controls (311) and ranked second with 281 goals scored. Jacksonville met No. 6 seed Florida in the opening round of the NCAA Championship and fell to the Gators for the third consecutive postseason.

Coastal Carolina (12-7 | 4-3 ASUN)
– The Chanticleers earned the No. 3 seed in the ASUN Championship after going 4-3 in conference action as part of a 12-7 overall performance; CCU led the league in scoring with 290 goals and were listed ninth nationally netting 15.26 goals per game highlighted by five contests scoring 20+ goals while also listed seventh nationally with 23.21 points a game
– Kayla Downey (Player of the Year) and Avery McIlwaine (Midfielder of the Year & Scholar-Athlete of the Year) raised the Chants all-time total of ASUN superlative selections with McIlwaine’s selection as the midfield honoree marking the first in program history
– Coastal Carolina produced a total of eight postseason recognitions including three All-Conference First Team selections, three members of the All-Academic Team and two All-Freshman squad honorees 

Delaware State (2-14 | 0-7 ASUN)
– 2023 marked the final season of play for Delaware State in the ASUN in 2023 as DSU is slated to begin competing in the Northeast Conference (NEC) in 2024; DSU finished with a 2-14 overall record and started the season with back-to-back victories over Howard and Akron
– Zahra Smith was named to the ASUN All-Freshman Team becoming the program’s first player recognized on a conference postseason list; goalkeeper Yeda Couto-Erickson collected consecutive ASUN Defensive Player of the Week honors to open the year marking the first weekly awards in Hornets history
– Ebony Reddick (24 goals) and Gwenna Gentle (23 goals, 59 draw controls) paced the DSU offense while Couto-Erickson (79 saves) and Moe Brown (47 saves) split the netminding duties for the Hornets

Jacksonville (12-8 | 6-1 ASUN)
– Jacksonville won its sixth consecutive ASUN Championship and ninth overall title with a thrilling OT win over Liberty; the squad finished 12-8 overall (6-1 ASUN) earning the No. 2 seed in ASUN Championship
– The Dolphins saw first-year Head Coach Tara Singleton garner the ASUN Coach of the Year accolade; JAX was ranked or received votes in the top 25 in every week of the 2023 season 
– Four JAX players were named ASUN First Team All-Conference, led by four-time All-Conference attacker Sarah Elms, along with Molly Brock, Lauren Ellis and Maddie Sturgell; another four Dolphins were selected to the Second Team list along with two All-Freshman and three All-Academic honorees

Kennesaw State (4-13 | 3-4 ASUN)
– Despite a 4-13 overall finish, Kennesaw State collected three wins in ASUN Conference play and claimed the No. 5 seed in the ASUN Championship marking their fifth straight postseason appearance  
– Rookie sensation Shannon Harrington was named the ASUN Freshman of the Year after pacing the Owl offense with a team-best 37 goals, ranking 10th in the ASUN, and 42 points for the season
– KSU tallied a total of six postseason honors with Lauren Dobbs joining Harrington on the All-Freshman list while Bailey Wilson (First Team) and Hannah Davis (Second Team) were named to the All-Conference lists along with a pair of Academic All-Conference selections; Wilson also collected multiple honorable mention All-American distinctions and ranked second in the nation for draw controls per game at 9.59

Liberty (12-7 | 7-0 ASUN)
– Liberty captured its first ASUN Regular Season crown highlighted by an undefeated 7-0 mark in conference play and finished its campaign in the championship final for the fourth-straight season
– The Flames disruptive defense topped the league and ranked third in the nation forcing 12.47 caused turnovers per contest; ASUN Defensive Player of the Year Grace Loughery was a key member of the defensive unit and led the squad with 30 caused turnovers and 45 ground balls 
– Nine Liberty players secured All-Conference honors including four First-Team, three Second-Team and a pair of All-Freshman Team selections; Lizzie Ferguson earned multiple honorable mention All-American nods and finished the season ranked third nationally in draw controls per game at 9.58

Lindenwood (8-10 | 3-4 ASUN)
– Lindenwood, in its debut season at the DI level, built on its historic success at the DII level that featured a National Championship in 2021 by posting an 8-10 overall record (3-4 in ASUN) and qualifying for the ASUN Championship as the No. 6 seed
– Second-Team All-ASUN honoree Logann Eldredge proved to be one of the league’s top offensive weapons and finished the season as co-leader in goals scored with 68 tallies 
– Lexy Biller another Second-Team All-ASUN performer for the Lions was listed third in the league with 128 draw controls

Queens (10-8 | 4-3 ASUN)
– Queens, playing its first season in Division I, opened ASUN Conference play winning four of their first five games and secured the No. 4 seed in the ASUN Championship in their inaugural campaign in the conference
– Grace Guglielmo was a stalwart for the Royals’ defense as the Second-Team All-ASUN honoree finished as the league leader in caused turnovers (46) and fourth for ground balls (41)
– The Queens’ offense featured several threats including All-Freshman selection Kayleen Favreau (47 goals), ranking fifth in the ASUN, along with a pair of Second Team All-Conference honorees Shannon Donovan (32 goals) and Shannon Kingston (29 goals)

Stetson (8-9 | 1-6 ASUN)
– The Hatters boasted a trio of Second Team All-ASUN honorees including Sydney Heimann (GK), Mia Judd (D) and Kaitlin Pani (A); Josie Young also nabbed an All-Freshman selection
– Pani ranked fourth in the ASUN with 51 goals and 66 points scored; Heimann topped the league with 67 ground balls
– Stetson posted a five-game win streak to wrap up the month of March and finished the year with a 7-3 mark against non-conference opponents 

ASUN Conference, Atlanta – the only DI conference headquartered in the ATL, our footprint’s primary media, sports, business, transportation and cultural hub
The ASUN, a Division I conference member of the NCAA, boasts a membership of institutions that share visionary leadership, bold ambition and creative innovation. As a nimble adaptive conference, unafraid to blaze a national pathway for better service to our student-athletes, teams, and institutions, the ASUN has a proud history of firsts, national academic and athletic achievements and a conference culture that walks the walk with its four ASUN Beams. Students First! Rise. Connect. Impact. #ASUNBuilt by Austin Peay (Clarksville, Tenn.), Bellarmine (Louisville, Ky.), Central Arkansas (Conway, Ark.), Eastern Kentucky (Richmond, Ky.), FGCU (Fort Myers, Fla.), Jacksonville (Fla.), Jacksonville State (Jacksonville, Ala.), Kennesaw State (Ga.), Liberty (Lynchburg, Va.), Lipscomb (Nashville, Tenn.), North Alabama (Florence, Ala.), North Florida (Jacksonville, Fla.), Queens (Charlotte, N.C.) and Stetson (DeLand, Fla.).