Four Falcons Earn All-Conference Honors

Burns headlines All-Conference nominees with NEWLA Rookie of the Year honors 

FITCHBURG, Mass. (April 29, 2009) - The Fitchburg State women's lacrosse team named four student-athletes to the New England Women's Lacrosse Alliance All-Conference teams as announced by the conference office this afternoon.

Freshman Amanda Burns (Weymouth, Mass./Weymouth) headlined the list of Falcon honorees, earning All-Conference first team honors while being named the conference Rookie of the Year. Classmate Carissa Kennedy (Somerset, Mass./Bishop Stang) joins Burns on the All-Conference first team, while junior Emily Swan (Franklin, Mass./Franklin) and sophomore Connie Perry (Reading, Mass./Reading Memorial) earned All-Conference second team nominations.

Burns made an immediate impact in her first collegiate season, leading Fitchburg State to a program record, six wins. She ranked second on the team in scoring with a team-high 58 goals and 12 assists, while notching a team-best 66 groundballs and 36 draw controls.  Burns also put Fitchburg State women's lacrosse on the map nationally, ranking 12th in the country with 4.40 groundballs per contest. She ranked among conference leaders in most offensive categories, including goals scored (5th), groundballs (2nd) and caused turnover (2nd).

Kennedy was also a solid force for the Falcons in her first season at the collegiate level. She ranked among team leaders in caused turnovers (25), groundballs (42) and draw controls (24), while posting 12 points on six goals and six assists. Kennedy was just as dominant within the NEWLA, ranking first overall with 1.92 caused turnovers per game and fifth in groundballs with 3.23 per game.

Swan earns her first post season nomination after being named to the All-Conference second team. Swan was a sure-fire leader for the Falcons registering a team-high 74 points with 34 goals and 40 assists. She ranked second in the NEWLA  with 2.67 assists per game , while ranking ninth overall among Division III players.

Perry, a very versatile player for Fitchburg State, collects her first collegiate All-Conference award after earning All-NEWLA second team accolades. In the midfield, Perry recorded career highs in groundballs (41), draw controls (20) and caused turnovers (16), while adding six goals to the Falcons offensive mix. She also appeared in three games between the pipes for the Falcons, posting a 1-1 record with 22 saves and a minimal 6.00 goals against average.

The Fitchburg State women's lacrosse team concluded its 2009 campaign with a 6-9 record overall and a 3-4 mark in the NEWLA.