Teams: Women's Lacrosse: Press Releases

Thursday, May 25, 2006

FOUR FROM WOMEN'S LACROSSE ON IWLCA ALL-REGION TEAMS

MEDFORD -- The Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) announced its Division III All-Region Teams on Wednesday and four Tufts University Jumbos were named to the Pilgrim Region teams.

Senior tri-captain Dena Miller (Denver, CO/East) was one of 16 players on the First Team, and sophomore midfielder Alyssa Corbett (Malvern, PA/Great Valley), junior midfielder Lauren Murphy (Hingham, MA/Hingham) and junior defender Jackie Thomas (Needham, MA/Needham) are on the Second Team. Miller, Murphy and Thomas were all voted to the All-NESCAC team earlier this month. Corbett earned the first collegiate post-season honor of her career.

Miller led the Jumbos in scoring with 39 goals and 14 assists for 53 points in 15 games, including 23 goals and seven assists for 30 points in nine NESCAC games. She scored five goals with two assists in a win over Connecticut College on April 15 and had the critical game-winner in an important 9-8 victory against Wesleyan on April 19. Miller finished her career with 118 goals and 47 assists for 165 points, eighth all-time at Tufts.

After a productive rookie season, Corbett was second on the Jumbos with 26 goals this spring. She added seven assists for 33 points and was also second on the team with 61 shots. She added strong ground ball (23) and draw control (21) numbers as well. Three of her goals were game-winners and 16 came in conference play. She had a huge game in a win over Bates on April 1, scoring five goals with two assists. She also scored three goals in a loss at Williams on April 29.

One of the best two-way players in the region, Murphy finished '06 with 19 goals and a team-high 16 assists for 35 points. She also led the Jumbos with 29 draw controls, turned the ball over just six times all season and caused 19 turnovers. She had six ground balls, three draw controls and two assists in the win over Wesleyan. Her two goals and an assist helped the team's clutch 9-8 victory at Bowdoin April 4. She was an All-New England First Team selection last spring.

Thomas was a stalwart on defense who led the Jumbos with 33 ground balls and 23 caused turnovers. Tufts was one of five teams in NESCAC that has allowed less than 10 goals per game with their 9.93 goals against average. Thomas' great speed was key to the team's clears and transition game. She also contributed five goals and an assist in 15 starts. She caused four turnovers in the win at Bowdoin, had six ground balls against Colby and scored a goal against #6 in the nation Amherst.

The Jumbos were charging towards their first NCAA Tournament berth before they lost their last two games of the regular season to Amherst and #12 Williams, then lost a rematch to #7 Bowdoin in the first round of the NESCAC Tournament. Tufts' season finished with its most wins overall since 2001 and its most wins in the league (five) since NESCAC became a playing conference that same year.

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