GORHAM, Maine – Graduate student Katelyn D'Appolonia (Yarmouth, Maine) of the University of Southern Maine women's lacrosse team has been chosen as the 2026 Little East Conference Midfielder of the Year. In addition to winning the award, which was added to the conference's awards slate this year, D'Appolonia earned First Team All-LEC honors. Seniors Cierra Hill (Pembroke, N.H./Pembroke Academy) and Britney Hill (Pembroke, N.H./Pembroke Academy) joined D'Appolonia as first team selections.
 
Graduate student Anna Byers, junior Eliza Pattershall (Readfield, Maine/Maranacook) and sophomore Calista Kinney (Topsham, Maine/Mt. Ararat) were named Second Team All-LEC, while freshman Mariam DeLisle (Whitefield, Maine/Lincoln Academy) and junior Maggie Jones (Marystown, Newfoundland/Mount Academy) were named to the honorable mention team.
 
D'Appolonia set a program record for assists in a season with 36 and tied the program record for points with 94. She also led the team in goals with 57, ground balls with 56 and draw controls with 104. Her draw control total ranks as the second-best in a season in program history and her 59 goals rank sixth. A two-year team captain, D'Appolonia recorded both her 100th career point and 100th career goal this season. In two seasons with the program, she has recorded 115 goals, 52 assists, 167 points, 186 draw controls, 99 ground balls and 56 caused turnovers. This is the second First Team All-LEC nod for D'Appolonia and her second major conference award as she was last season's LEC Rookie of the Year.
 
Cierra Hill, a midfielder and Second Team All-LEC pick in 2023, earned first team honors this season after another outstandings all-around season. She dished out a career-high 30 assists, the fourth highest total in a season in program history in addition to scoring 37 goals. Defensively, she ranked second in the team in caused turnovers with 37 and fourth in ground balls with 35. She also ranked second on the team in draw controls with 45. Hill recorded three major milestones this season with her 100th career goal, 100th career ground ball and 100th career caused turnover. She ended her career with 114 goals and 63 assists for 177 total points. She ranks third in career caused turnovers with 102 and seventh in career points and draw controls (150).
 
Britney Hill anchored a defense that ranked second in the conference in scoring defense by allowing just 7.47 goals per game to earn First Team All-LEC honors for the second season in a row. She ranked third on the team in ground balls with 50 and fourth in caused turnovers with 30. She matched her career-high for ground balls in a game in the Huskies' 12-8 win over Keene State on April 4 to reach 100 in her career. This season also saw her score the first goal of her career in a 22-1 win over Rhode Island College on April 18. She has played in 52 career games with 122 ground balls and 64 caused turnovers.
 
Byers had a career-best season with 35 goals, eight assists, 43 points, 27 ground balls and 14 caused turnovers to earn all-conference honors for the first time in her career. The attacker had goals in 18-of-19 games this season highlighted by a five-goal game in the win against Keene State. She recorded two goals and two assists in the regular season finale against UMass Dartmouth on April 25 to reach the 100-career points mark. Byers ends her career with 85 goals and 19 assists in addition to ranking eighth in program history in draw controls with 148.
 
Pattershall had a breakout season for the Huskies with impressive numbers both offensively and defensively as a midfielder. Her 47 caused turnovers led the team and rank as the second-most in a season in program history. She also finished second behind D'Appolonia in ground balls with 55. Pattershall scored a career-high 35 goals this season to tie with Byers for fourth on the team. Her 15 assists and 50 points are also career-highs. She recorded a season-high five goals and two assists in the win against UMass Dartmouth to end the regular season. With her three ground balls in the LEC Championship game against Western Connecticut State on May 2, she became the 25th player in program history to reach 100 career ground balls. In her three seasons with the team, Pattershall has recorded 82 points of 62 goals and 20 assists.
 
Kinney recorded 24 caused turnovers and 17 ground balls while starting in 17 games for the Huskies. A disruptive defender, Kinney set career-highs in ground balls in a game with four and caused turnovers in a game with five in an 18-5 win over UMaine Farmington on March 14. Kinney has been a consistent starter for the Huskies with 36 starts in 37 career games over the past two seasons.
 
DeLisle, a midfielder, finished a strong rookie campaign with 37 goals, 16 assists and 53 points. She tied for second on the team in goals and ranked third in both assists and points. DeLisle scored three or more times in five games this season, highlighted by a five-goal and three-assist game in Southern Maine's LEC Tournament Semifinal win against Eastern Connecticut on April 30. The rookie was also a strong defender with 28 caused turnovers and 34 ground balls.
 
Jones finished the season with a 9-2 record in goal after joining the team in March. In her first start as a Husky, Jones made five saves in a 14-5 win over Eastern Connecticut State on March 28. She recorded 10 or more saves in three games, including both LEC Tournament games for the Huskies. Jones finished the season with a 6.86 goals against average and a .500 save percentage.
 
Southern Maine finished the 2026 season with a program-record 14 wins before falling to WestConn 11-9 in the LEC Championship.
 

Offensive Player of the Year	Madison Ratchford	Western Connecticut
Midfielder of the Year	Katelyn D'Appolonia	Southern Maine
Defensive Player of the Year	Tess Brown	Keene State
Goalkeeper of the Year	Keira Bushey	UMass Dartmouth
Rookie of the Year	Evelyn Goudreau	Plymouth State
Coach of the Year	Hannah Khin	UMass Boston
First Team All-LEC
Madison Ratchford	Attack	Western Connecticut
Isabella Pota	Attack	Western Connecticut
Alexa Vizzini	Attack	Eastern Connecticut
Morgan Cunningham	Attack	Plymouth State
Katelyn D'Appolonia	Midfield	Southern Maine
Tess Brown	Midfield	Keene State
Cierra Hill	Midfield	Southern Maine
Lola Varricchione	Midfield	Keene State
Britney Hill	Defense	Southern Maine
Anneliese Reggio	Defense	Western Connecticut
Grace Saldana	Defense	Eastern Connecticut
Keira Bushey	Goalie	UMass Dartmouth
Second Team All-LEC
Hayden Smith	Attack	Keene State
Anna Byers	Attack	Southern Maine
Victoria Gracy	Attack	Western Connecticut
Emma Terino	Attack	UMass Dartmouth
Eliza Pattershall	Midfield	Southern Maine
Teresa Sheedy	Midfield	UMass Boston
Kyla Murnane	Midfield	Western Connecticut
Maddy Allen	Midfield	UMass Dartmouth
Brianna Hodgeman	Defense	Keene State
Paige Carrow	Defense	Plymouth State
Calista Kinney	Defense	Southern Maine
Katelyn Nicotera	Goalie	Keene State
Honorable Mention
Hannah Seltzer	Attack	Eastern Connecticut
Emma Oliano	Midfield	Eastern Connecticut
Riley Devine	Midfield	Keene State
Evelyn Goudreau	Attack	Plymouth State
Lily Nees	Midfield	Rhode Island College
Mariam DeLisle	Midfield	Southern Maine
Maggie Jones	Goalkeeper	Southern Maine
Morgan Holohan	Midfield	UMass Boston
Angelina Mazzone	Midfield	UMass Boston
Phoebe Loomis	Midfield	Vermont State Castleton
Madison Preston	Midfield	Western Connecticut
Gina Giambald	Attack	Western Connecticut