Notre Dame dominated the Big East’s award ceremonies on Thursday night.
The No. 1 Irish women took three awards: Offensive Player of the Year (Kerri Hanks), Defensive Player of the Year (Carrie Dew) and Rookie of the Year (Michele Weissenhofer). Hanks, who has 15 goals and 11 assists, was the only unanimous women’s award winner.
Forward Joseph Lapira, who leads the NCAA Division I men’s ranks in scoring with 20 goals and 45 points, was the Men’s Offensive Player of the Year, while former U.S. U-20 captain Greg Dalby was tabbed as Midfielder of the Year.
Marlon LeBlanc, who took over as West Virginia coach at the start of preseason, was named Big East Men’s Coach of the Year for leading the Mountaineers to an unprecedented No. 2 ranking. West Virginia carries a nine-game winning streak into its Big East semifinal on Friday against host Rutgers.
Other men’s honorees: West Virginia senior Nick Noble (Goalkeeper of the Year), Connecticut defender Julius James (Defender of the Year for the second straight season) and UConn’s Finn Toni Stahl (Rookie of the Year). On the women’s side, UConn junior Meghan Schnur was named the Midfielder of the Year, while Villanova’s Jillian Loyden earned Goalkeeper of the Year honors for the second straight year.
ALL-BIG EAST MEN
Goalkeeper — Nick Noble (West Virginia); Defender — Julius James (Connecticut); Midfielders — Greg Dalby (Notre Dame), David Guzman (Louisville), Ryan Maduro (Providence), Andrew Wright (West Virginia); Forwards — Omar Cummings (Cincinnati), Eliseo Giusfredi (Seton Hall), Joseph Lapira (Notre Dame), Jarrod Smith (West Virginia), O’Brian White, (Connecticut).
ALL-BIG EAST WOMEN
Goalkeeper — Jillian Loyden (Villanova); Defenders — Carrie Dew (Notre Dame), Kelly Eagan (Villanova), Brittany Taylor (Connecticut); Midfielders — Jen Buczkowski (Notre Dame), Amanda Cicchini (West Virginia), Meghan Schnur (Connecticut); Forwards — Jamie Craft (Louisville), Deana Everrett (West Virginia), Kerri Hanks (Notre Dame), Michelle Weissenhofer (Notre Dame).