The annual BIG EAST women’s lacrosse awards were announced Wednesday, with four schools receiving the six major awards. Regular season champion and No. 1 seed Denver led the way with three major awards, Georgetown earned two and Connecticut and Marquette each earned one.
Denver senior Lauren Black was voted BIG EAST Attacker of the Year, while senior Emelia Bohi was named BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year. The Pioneers’ staff, led by head coach Liza Kelly, was honored as BIG EAST Co-Coaching Staff of the Year.
Georgetown’s Sophia Loschert was named BIG EAST Freshman of the Year while the Hoya staff, led by head coach Caitlyn Phipps in her first year, earned BIG EAST Co-Coaching Staff of the Year.
Rounding out the major awards, UConn sophomore Abby Beran was voted BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year and Hanna Bodner, a senior from Marquette, was named BIG EAST Midfielder of the Year. All-BIG EAST awards are selected via a vote of the league’s head coaches who are not allowed to vote for their own players.
Black is the sixth consecutive Pioneer to earn Attacker of the Year (Gilbert: 2024, 2023; Behrins: 2022, 2021; Quintin Hoch-Bullen: 2019). The senior finished the season with 49 goals during the regular season and finished tied for second in the conference for goals per game with 3.06. Black earned BIG EAST Attacker of the Week honors four times this season.
Denver’s Bohi finished the regular season with a 42.3% save percentage, leading her team to the highest save percentage and lowest goals against average in the conference. She rounded out her stat sheet with 17 ground balls and seven caused turnovers.
Loschert is the first Hoya since 2021 to win a BIG EAST end of season major award. The first-year attacker finished the regular season with 31 goals, the second most on the team. She played in all 16 games and had a season-high seven goals against Xavier on April 5.
Beran is the third ever Husky to win BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year. The last two honorees were Cassie Ekstrom in 2018 and Lauren Kwasnowski in 2015. Beran leads the BIG EAST in ground balls per game with an average of 2.94 and a total of 47 during the regular season. She is second in the conference for caused turnovers per game with an average of 1.88 and a total of 30.
Marquette’s Bodner is the third consecutive Golden Eagle to be named BIG EAST Midfielder of the Year. She follows Leigh Steiner (2024) and Lydia Foust (2023). Bodner finished the regular season with 45 goals, 12 assists, a team-high 39 ground balls, a team-high 22 caused turnovers and 52 draw controls.
Denver and Georgetown share the BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year title. Led by 19th-year head coach Liza Kelly, the Pioneers finished the regular season at 12-5, while going 5-1 in BIG EAST play. The 2025 season was highlighted by victories over No. 5 Michigan and No. 9 Stanford. The Pioneers rank 15th in the country for scoring margin with an average of 5.18 goals per game and seventh in the country for shot percentage at 48.1%. In her first season at Georgetown, head coach Caitlyn Phipps led her team to a 4-2 BIG EAST record. After a losing season in 2024, Phipps led her team to a 9-7 winning record. Her team ranks second in the conference for assists per game in BIG EAST play with an average of 8.83.
In addition to major awards, a 16-member All-BIG EAST First Team and 17-member Second Team were selected. Black, Bodner and Beran were three of six unanimous First Team selections. Additional unanimous selections include UConn senior defender Riley Daly, Denver senior defender Sarah Pokorny and Villanova draw control specialist Emma Verhoest.
BIG EAST Attacker of the Year
Lauren Black, Denver, Sr., A
BIG EAST Midfielder of the Year
Hanna Bodner, Marquette, Sr., M
BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year
Abby Beran, Connecticut, So., D
BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year
Emelia Bohi, Denver, Sr., GK
BIG EAST Freshman of the Year
Sophia Loschert, Georgetown, Fr., A
BIG EAST Co-Coaching Staff of the Year
Denver and Georgetown
All-BIG EAST First Team
Abby Beran, Connecticut, So., D*
Riley Daly, Connecticut, Sr., D*
Rayea Davis, Connecticut, R-Jr., A
Lauren Black, Denver, Sr., A*
Emelia Bohi, Denver, Sr., GK
Sarah Pokorny, Denver, Sr., D*
Olivia Ripple, Denver, So., A
Lily Athanas, Georgetown, Sr., D
Gracie Driggs, Georgetown, Jr., A
Maley Starr, Georgetown, Sr., M
Meg Bireley, Marquette, Sr., A
Hanna Bodner, Marquette, Sr., M*
Sami Carey, Villanova, Sr., A
Rose Christie, Villanova, So., M
Maddy Stoddard, Villanova, Sr., D
Emma Verhoest, Villanova, So., DC *
All-BIG EAST Second Team^
Tori Cini, Connecticut, Gr., GK
Jenna Giardina, Connecticut, Gr., A
Meghan Lane, Connecticut, Gr., D
Caroline Colimore, Denver, Sr., M
Alex Dorr, Denver, R-Fr., DC
Megan Klingenberg, Denver, Jr., D
Maddie Montgomery, Denver, Gr., D
Hanna Bishop, Georgetown, Gr., A
Lauren Grady, Marquette, So., M
Tess Osburn, Marquette, Jr., A
Mary Velner, Marquette, So., D
Cate Gallagher, Villanova, Sr., GK
Leslie Iorio, Villanova, Fr., M
Sydney Pappas, Villanova, Sr., A
Elena Torres, Villanova, R-So., A
Machaela Henry, Xavier, So., M
Lola Mancuso, Xavier, Jr., A
*denotes unanimous selection
^extra player added due to tie in voting