Maloney Nets ROY, Joins Cohen On NEAC All-Conference Squad
GANSEVOORT, N.Y. – Freshman Mackenzie Maloney (Huntington Station, N.Y.) of the Wells College women's lacrosse team was voted as the North Eastern Athletic Conference Women's Lacrosse Rookie of the Year, the league office announced on Wednesday.
Maloney becomes the first-ever Rookie of the Year award winner from Wells in women's lacrosse. She also earned a spot on the First Team All-Conference list while junior Lexi Cohen (Newtown, Pa.) was voted to the league's Second Team.
Leading all freshman NEAC women's lacrosse players in overall point scoring (50-10=60) and in-conference point scoring (30-6=36), Maloney had a stellar first-year campaign for the Express by scoring 50 goals (71st in NCAA Division III) and adding 10 assists. A leader on offense, she recorded at least one goal in each of her first eight career games and scored a season-best eight goals on two separate occasions, both against league foes.
Her 3.57 goals per game was the 53rd-best total in NCAA Division III while her 3.79 ground balls per game was the nation's 58th-highest mark. Within league play, her 56 ground balls was ranked third overall and her nine ground balls against Hilbert during the season was a season-high total.
In Wells history, Maloney recorded the second-best freshman campaign in team history, falling only four points shy of tying the first-year record of 64 total points set by Sarah Allen '13. Her career total of 60 points scored ranks her 18th in the team's history dating back to 1980.
A three-sport student-athlete at Wells (women's soccer, women's basketball, women's lacrosse), Maloney was also recognized with two Rookie of the Year awards (women's soccer, women's lacrosse) at Monday's Athletics Awards Banquet.
Cohen earned her first career NEAC All-Conference award, making 15 appearances for Wells on defense. Scoring three goals and adding one assist for four points (3-1=4), Cohen reeled in 32 ground balls and caused 14 turnovers for the Express in the backfield. She was part of a defense that recorded 134 caused turnovers on the year, setting the unofficial team record after eclipsing last season's total of 121.
For her career, Cohen has played in 38 career games and boasts 53 ground balls and 20 caused turnovers across her three seasons at Wells.
