Lacrosse Lands Five On NEWLA All-Conference List

Falcons earn one first team honor and four second team accolades

FITCHBURG, Mass. (May 4, 2011) – The Fitchburg State women’s lacrosse team landed five players on the New England Women’s Lacrosse Alliance (NEWLA) All-Conference team as announced by the conference office Wednesday afternoon.

Junior Amanda Burns (Weymouth, Mass./Weymouth) led the Falcons with the lone All-Conference first team honor, while classmate Kelly Finamore (Weymouth, Mass./Weymouth), senior Connie Perry (Reading, Mass./Reading Memorial), junior Carissa Kennedy (Somerset, Mass./Bishop Stang) and freshman Dylana Drolette (Burlington, Vt./Burlington) all notched second-team nominations.

Burns collects her third consecutive All-Conference honor after leading Fitchburg State offensively with a team-high 76 points this season. With 55 goals and 21 assists, Burns became the program’s all-time leading scorer, totaling 219 career points to date. She was active on both sides of the field, picking up 21 groundballs and 37 draw controls, while totaling two game-winning goals and nine free-position markers.

Perry and Kennedy earn their second consecutive All-Conference awards after sparking the Fitchburg State defense all-season. The duo combined for over 70 groundballs and 50 draw controls, while adding 27 points to the offensive end. Kennedy led the Falcons with 49 pickups and 39 draw controls, while Perry ranked second on the squad with 38 groundballs and third with 28 draw controls.   

Rounding out the list of award winners are first-year recipients Kelly Finamore and Dylana Drolette. Finamore recorded her first career, All-Conference accolade after witnessing a breakout season in 2011. The third-year attacker ranked second on the Falcons squad with 59 points, posting 41 goals and 18 assists. She added 29 groundballs and 17 DC’s to the mix as well, while posting one game-winning score.

Drolette was just as crucial to the Falcons success this season, totaling 12 victories in 14 appearances between the pipes. As a rookie, Drolette finished the regular season with a minimal 8.70 goals against average, totaling 86 saves in 807 minutes of work. She ranked second in the conference with a .857 win percentage, while ranking third in goals against average and minutes played.

The Fitchburg State women’s lacrosse team will be back in action tonight as it battles second-seeded Castleton State in the NEWLA tournament starting at 6:30 p.m. The Falcons claimed the third seed of the tournament, posting a 12-2 mark this season with a 5-2 record in the conference.