SJC Women’s Lacrosse Claims NCAA Statistical Award

Patchogue, NY| The St. Joseph’s College (L.I.) women’s lacrosse team was recently honored by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for finishing first in the nation in caused turnovers in 2015. The Golden Eagles, who finished second in the category in 2014, averaged 14.37 caused turnovers last season during a campaign that resulted in them reaching the second round of the Division III NCAA Tournament.

“We’ve focused on a very unique, high-pressure defense as a way to compete with teams that may have more talent and experience,” head coach Bob Vlahakis said of his team’s accolades. “It was especially rewarding to be recognized as the best out of over 250 schools in the country.”

“It’s quite fitting that the award was received just as Nicole Lyman, who has been the general of the defense for four years, finished up her career at St. Joseph’s.” Lyman, a West Babylon, NY native, was a four-time All-Skyline Conference First-Team honoree and an ECAC Mid-Athletic All-Star Team member in 2014 during her SJC tenure.

Although Lyman was the chief organizer of the defense, Vlahakis admits this honor is the result of his team’s strong work ethic.

“This award stands for every single defensive player who set foot on the field during the first four years since we’ve started this program from scratch. The commitment of the players to believe that we could achieve success by outworking teams on the defensive end of the field has proven true, and I am so happy for each of my student-athletes.”

As a team, the Golden Eagles had the best season in their short existence in 2015, as they claimed their first-ever Skyline Conference championship. In the NCAA tournament, St. Joseph’s knocked off Keene State 13-9 before falling to Trinity College (Conn.) 16-6 in the second round.