Four student-athletes from the Marian University women’s lacrosse program have been named All-NACC, as announced by the conference Thursday.
Freshman Talia Bellotti (Kaukauna, Wis.) made an immediate impact for the Sabres earning a spot on the All-NACC Second Team. Bellotti scored 15 goals with three assists for a total of 18 points. Away from scoring is where her impact was especially felt as she ranked third in the NACC with 2.71 caused turnovers per game and also third in the conference for ground balls per game at 4.36. Bellotti had a pair of four-goal games coming at Beloit and at home against Concordia Wisconsin. She ended the season with at least five ground balls in six games with a season-best of 10 coming in the win at Beloit. She also caused at least four turnovers in five games with her top performance of six coming against Cornell and at Augustana (Ill.). In the circle, Bellotti led the Sabres with her 55 draw controls recording 32 of those over the final seven games of the season.
Freshman Haylie Ochoa (La Verne, Calif.) was an anchor on the Sabre defense earning All-NACC Honorable Mention recognition. Ochoa ranked second on the team for ground balls and caused turnovers with her 3.57 ground balls per game ranking ninth in the NACC. She finished the season with at least five ground balls in five games with a season-high of eight coming against Cornell and Grove City. She had multiple caused turnovers in six games with her season-best of three coming in four separate games. Ochoa is also a member of the Marian field hockey program.
Sophomore Justice Cole (Yorkville, Ill.) found her offensive stride at the end of the season earning a spot on the All-NACC Honorable Mention team. Cole finished the season with 12 goals and five assists for 17 total points. She had 11 of her 12 goals come over the final six games of the season posting four multi-goal games and a pair of hat tricks. Cole capped off a six-goal week with a hat trick adn an assist in a win over Beloit. She also had 34 ground balls and ranked thrid on the team with 18 caused turnovers.
Freshman Elizabeth Van Ryzin (Appleton, Wis.) was the top scorer for the Sabres earning herself an All-NACC Honorable Mention pick. Van Ryzin scored 25 goals to go with one assist for 26 total points. She posted multi-goal performances eight times and was held scoreless in only five games. The end of the season saw her score multiple goals in six of the final seven games, including a season-best six goals at Illinois Tech. Over the final seven games of the year, she scored 18 of her goals. Van Ryzin also finished the season with 28 ground balls, 22 draw controls, and 18 caused turnovers.
The full release and all-conference lists from the NACC can be found at https://naccsports.org/sports/wlax
