Six members of the William Smith College lacrosse team were recently named to the Liberty League All-Academic Team. Seniors
Torie Allen (Governor’s Academy/Dedham, Mass.),
Becky Josefiak (West Seneca East/West Seneca, N.Y.),
Karin LeBlanc (Conard/West Hartford, Conn.), and
Michaela Parnell (Guilford/Guilford, Conn.), as well as sophomores
Cassie Findlay (Episcopal/Riverside, Conn.) and
Kara Grogan (Gunnery School/West Simsbury, Conn.) all earned a spot on the team.
A biology major, Allen is a three-time Liberty League All-Academic selection and a two-time first team all-league pick. This spring, the defender collected a team-high 56 ground balls, won a team-high 51 draws, and registered a team-high 35 caused turnovers. A four-year starter, Allen finished her career ranked first in William Smith’s records book in career draw controls (124), second in caused turnovers (84), and eighth in ground balls (166). She also notched four goals and three assists.
Josefiak anchored the Heron defense in goal, finishing the season ranked first in the conference and 11th in the nation in save percentage (.532), and third in the league (20th in Division III) in goals against average (9.07). She posted an 11-4 record, collected 37 ground balls, and caused 14 turnovers. A political science major, Josefiak has been named to the Liberty League All-Academic Team all three years she was eligible, and was twice named to the All-Liberty League second team.
LeBlanc, a history major, is a two-time all-academic pick. This spring, she also earned All-Liberty League second team accolades after recording 32 ground balls, five draw controls, and 13 caused turnovers. A defender, LeBlanc also added to the offense this season. She scored her second career goal in the Herons’ season-opening win over Messiah, and notched an assist against Cortland. LeBlanc closed out her career with 108 ground balls, 10 draw controls, 39 caused turnovers, and four points (2g-2a) in 61 games.
An international relations and economics double major, Parnell has been one of William Smith’s leading scorers for the past four years. This season, she registered 25 goals and seven assists for 32 points, her highest scoring output as a Heron. This is Parnell’s third appearance on the Liberty League All-Academic Team. She was also voted All-Liberty League honorable mention for her efforts this year. Parnell wraps her career with 77 goals, 22 assists, 99 points, 70 ground balls, 43 draw controls, and 23 caused turnovers in 64 contests.
Findlay started all 15 games this season, netting 16 goals and five helpers. She recorded three hat tricks in a row this spring, in victories over Nazareth (3g-1a), Rochester (3g-1a), and Ithaca (3g), and notched two goals and an assist in William Smith’s win over Messiah.
Grogan started eight of the 14 games she played in this spring, posting eight goals, three assists, 11 ground balls, 11 draws, and five caused turnovers. She recorded a career-high four points on three goals and a helper in the Herons’ win over Clarkson, and provided an offensive spark off the bench with two goals in William Smith’s Liberty League Tournament semifinal game vs. Hamilton.
Allen, Josefiak, LeBlanc, and Parnell led William Smith to a 44-20 (.688) mark over the past four years. The Herons finished the season with an 11-4 overall record, and ranked 13th in the nation in the final coaches poll.
To earn a spot on the Liberty League All-Academic Team, a student-athlete must have a grade point average of 3.2 or higher, and must have completed a full academic year at their college or university.