NEW HAVEN, Conn. - - A record-tying six Wildcats were named All-Conference as the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference announced the awards on Tuesday, including a pair of Major Award winners after another successful 2024 regular season.
For the first time in program history, the Wildcats have a pair of CACC Major Award winners, as Ella Royer was named the CACC Player of the Year and Katie Vindigni was named the CACC Goalkeeper of the Year.
Royer and Vindigni were also voted First Team All-CACC by the league's head coaches while Alea Javorowsky, Amelie Gamache, Makenzie Stritzinger, and Zorah Perry were voted to the All-CACC Second Team.
Ella Royer (Sherwood Park, Alberta, Canada) becomes just the second-ever CACC Player of the Year for the Wildcats, joining Taylor Lambeth in 2022. Royer etched her name in the WilmU record book by scoring a single-season record 84 goals so far, adding 22 assists for 106 points. Her 84 goals rank third in all of NCAA DII while her 4.67 goals per game is fifth in the country. She is also sixth in the CACC with 87 draw controls, seventh in the league with 46 ground balls and ninth with 27 caused turnovers. She had a season's best 10 points with five goals and five assists at Pfeiffer and a season high seven goals twice, first at Converse and again against Bridgeport. It is the second year in a row that Royer has been named First Team All-CACC.
For the first time in program history, the Wildcats have the CACC Goalkeeper of the Year, as Katie Vindigni (Montvale, N.J.) earned the award through a vote of the league's head coaches. She actively leads the CACC with a .484 save percentage and an 8.15 goals against average, playing every minute in goal this season for the Wildcats. Her 14 wins this year a team record while her 27 career wins sets a new mark for the program as well. She is third in the CACC with 138 saved this year, making a season's best 21 at Frostburg State. Her .484 save percentage ranks 13th in all of NCAA DII. Vindigni was an All-CACC Second Team member in 2022.
The nation's assist leader, Alea Javorowsky (Macedon, N.Y.) earns a postseason accolade for the first time in her career. She leads all of NCAA DII with a WilmU single-season record 87 assists, adding 26 goals to be fourth in the country with 113 points. She set a new WilmU single-game record with 12 assists against Caldwell, tying the single-game record with 13 points.
Amelie Gamache (Stewartstown, Pa.) is a repeat All-CACC Second Team performer, earning the same accolade last season. She is third on the team and 10th in NCAA DII with 69 goals on the year, adding 25 assists to sit in 19th in the country with 94 points. She is also second on the team and fourth in the conference with 91 draws, seventh in the conference with 28 caused turnovers, and 10th in the conference with 42 ground balls.
It is the third year in a row that Mackenzie Stritzinger (Hummelstown, Pa.) has been named CACC. She is tied for second in the CACC with Gamache and 10th in NCAA DII with 69 goals on the year. She has added 15 assists as well, sitting in seventh in the CACC with 86 points, ranking 25th in NCAA DII. Her 115 draw controls are second in the CACC, ranking 15th in the country in averaging 6.39 draws per game.
Zorah Perry (Clermont, Fla.) missed six games to an injury but still picked up her second All-CACC honor of her career, as she was also an All-CACC Second Team defender in 2021. Her airtight defense led to 16 caused turnovers and 16 ground balls on the year. She had five caused turnovers at Frostburg State and a season's high three ground balls at Barton this year.
The six All-CACC performers ties the 2022 squad for the most in a single year.
Caldwell's Tiana Cipot was voted the CACC Rookie of the Year while Dominican's Erin Carr was voted the CACC Defensive Player of the Year. Her coach, Rob Grella, was voted the CACC Coach of the Year for the second year in a row, going undefeated in the regular season. Post picked up the CACC Team Sportsmanship Award this season as well.
The Wildcats are off to the CACC Tournament Semifinals for the fifth consecutive season, traveling to top-seeded Dominican on Thursday. The opening draw is set for 3:30 p.m. at O'Brien Field in Orangeburg, New York.
2024 CACC WOMEN'S LACROSSE ALL-CONFERENCE TEAMS
First Team:
A – Caitlin Costello (Dominican University)
A – Madelyn Grella (Dominican University)
A – Danielle Kreitler (University of Bridgeport)
A – Erica Ortiz (Dominican University)
M – Grace DeStasio (Dominican University)
M - Tara Dimaio (University of Bridgeport)
M – Remi Reinhardt (Georgian Court University)
M - Ella Royer (Wilmington University)
D - Erin Carr (Dominican University)
D - Faith Hardy (Thomas Jefferson University)
D - Payton Pugh (Holy Family University)
D - Jenna Rigo (Dominican University)
GK – Katie Vindigni (Wilmington University)
Second Team:
A – Erin Avanzato (Thomas Jefferson University)
A – Alea Javorowsky (Wilmington University)
A – Isabel Raimondi (Georgian Court University)
A – Rianna Shields (Holy Family University)
M – Amelie Gamache (Wilmington University)
M – Iris Gluck (Thomas Jefferson University)
M – Maura Kilkenny (Holy Family University)
M - Makenzie Stritzinger (Wilmington University)
D - Madison Battle (Georgian Court University)
D – Tereza Kreuzova (University of Bridgeport)
D – Kelsey Naclerio (Georgian Court University)
D - Zorah Perry (Wilmington University)
GK – Kalyn Ammerlaan (Thomas Jefferson University)
2024 CACC Player of the Year: Ella Royer (Wilmington University)
2024 CACC Rookie of the Year: Tiana Cipot (Caldwell University)
2024 CACC Defensive Player of the Year: Erin Carr (Dominican University)
2024 CACC Goalkeeper of the Year: Katie Vindigni (Wilmington University)
2024 CACC Coach of the Year: Rob Grella (Dominican University)
2024 CACC Team Sportsmanship Award: Post University