MANSFIELD, Mass. – Senior
Elizabeth Driscoll (Marblehead, Mass.) and freshman
Ayla McDermod (Hanover, Mass.) of the nationally ranked No. 25 Saint Anselm College women's lacrosse team took home major end-of-season awards from the Northeast-10 Conference (NE10) on Tuesday. Driscoll was named the NE10 Goalkeeper of the Year for the second time in the last three seasons, while McDermod received NE10 Rookie of the Year honors. For the second straight year, seven student-athletes received All-Conference recognition for the Hawks, who clinched their third-straight winning season and the No. 5 seed in the NE10 Women's Lacrosse Championship.
Driscoll is the first two-time recipient of the NE10 Goalkeeper of the Year award in Saint Anselm women's lacrosse program history. She also won the award as a sophomore back in 2023, when she joined Allie DiRico (2007) as the only other Hawks student-athlete to claim the honor. Driscoll is the fourth player in conference history to win Goalkeeper of the Year multiple times, joining Bentley's Eliza Bresler (2019, 2021), Le Moyne's Hannah George (2017, 2018), and Stonehill's Lauren Stone (2004, 2006).
Driscoll, who also took a spot on this year's All-NE10 First Team, has had a superb season in the cage for Saint Anselm. This season, the senior leads the NE10 and is second in all of NCAA Division II with a .541 save percentage (among goalies with at least 10 games played). She ranks second in the conference with 10.06 saves per game and is one of 21 goalies in the country to stop at least 10 shots per contest. Additionally, her 9.38 goals against average is third-best in the league (min. 10 games played).
Starting all 17 games for the Hawks this spring, Driscoll has logged over 927 minutes in the crease. The
USA Lacrosse Magazine Preseason All-American leads the team with 40 ground balls and has caused 13 turnovers, the most in any season in her career. The three-time NE10 Goalkeeper of the Week and now three-time All-Conference recipient also reached two major milestones this season, surpassing 500 career saves (now second-most all-time) and setting a new program record with 36 goaltending victories, four more than the previous record.
McDermod is Saint Anselm's first NE10 Rookie of the Year in 13 years. She joined Marissa Daly (2012) and Lauren Glancy (2004) as the only student-athletes in program history to win the award. McDermod, who was also named to the All-NE10 Third Team and the All-Rookie Team, has had a stellar debut season for the Hawks, leading the team and ranking ninth in the conference wth 44 goals.
Additionally, the midfielder leads the team with 13 free-position goals and is tied for the team lead with three game-winners. The four-time NE10 Rookie of the Week has recorded four assists, six caused turnovers, 10 ground balls, and 38 draw controls during her first season on the Hilltop. Starting all 17 games this spring, McDermod has scored multiple goals in 13 contests, including eight with three or more scores.
In addition to the pair of major award winners, five other student-athletes from Saint Anselm earned spots on the various NE10 All-Conference teams. Senior
Abigail Christmas (Elmira, N.Y.), junior
Elyse Scales (Walpole, Mass.), and sophomores
Alyssa Hill (Brookline, N.H.) and
Lucy Mawn (Harwich, Mass.) were selected to the All-NE10 Second Team, while senior
Samantha Rivet (Sudbury, Mass.) joined McDermod as a Third Team pick.
New Haven and Pace tied for a league-best eight All-Conference selections, including four each on the First Team. Adelphi and Saint Anselm were right behind with seven total selections, with the Panthers also having four players earn First Team honors. The First Team and Second Team are each made up of 16 student-athletes, while the Third Team contains 17 names. The All-Rookie Team has 18 players recognized.
Christmas was named to an All-Conference team for the first time in her career. A member of the All-NE10 Second Team, Christmas has had a career year for the Hawks. The midfielder is second on the team and tied for 11th in the conference with 36 goals while also dishing out six assists for 42 points, all of which are career-bests for a single campaign. Additionally, Christmas is tied for second on the squad with six free-position goals and has two game-winners to her credit. The senior has got it done defensively for Saint Anselm as well with 14 caused turnovers and 22 ground balls across 17 starts.
Another All-NE10 Second Team selection, Hill has been a key cog to the Hawks' offense this spring. A member of the All-Rookie Team a season ago, Hill has elevated her game for Saint Anselm in 2025. This year, she leads the team and is tied for third in the conference with 34 assists. She has also scored 27 goals (tied for third-most on the squad) for a team-high 61 points, which is ninth-most in the league. All of her offensive numbers are career-highs, as too are her 19 ground balls and 22 caused turnovers. In 17 starts this season, Hill has logged 13 games with three or more points. The sophomore attacker is currently riding a hot streak that has seen her notch at least five points in five of her last six games.
Mawn was chosen as an All-NE10 Second Team pick for the Hawks as well. After earning All-Rookie Team honors as a freshman last year, Mawn has also stepped up her game for Saint Anselm this year. The midfielder leads the team and ranks third in the conference with 82 draw controls. Additionally, she has scored 20 times (one of seven Hawks with at least 20 goals) and dished out eight assists for a career-best 28 points. Mawn's six free-position scores are tied for second on the team, and she has recorded eight caused turnovers and 17 ground balls as well.
Joining her teammates on the All-NE10 Second Team was Scales, who claimed her first career All-Conference recognition. The junior has anchored the Hawks' defense this season, collecting 25 ground balls and forcing 22 turnovers, the latter of which is tied for the most on the team. The defensive unit has been a huge strength for Saint Anselm this season; they rank second in the conference in both goals-against average (9.05) and caused turnovers per game (10.76). The Hawks have also conceded the second-fewest goals in the NE10 (154) and are tied for second in total caused turnovers (183). Scales has contributed with her first two career assists and eight draw controls on the year while starting in all 17 games on the back line.
Rivet was another student-athlete for Saint Anselm to receive All-Conference recognition for the first time in her career, doing so as a member of the Third Team. In 17 starts on the season, Rivet has scored 20 goals and added 13 assists for 33 points, tied for the most in any season of her career. The midfielder is tied for the team lead with 22 caused turnovers and is tied for second on the squad with 26 ground balls. She has contributed in the center circle as well with 53 draw controls, a figure that is tied for 12th-most in the league.
Saint Anselm concluded the regular season with an overall record of 11-5, including a 6-4 mark in NE10 play. The Hawks clinched their third straight winning season, a feat that has never before been achieved in the 25-year history of the program.
The Hawks earned the No. 5 seed ahead of the NE10 Women's Lacrosse Championship and
upset No. 4 seed and nationally ranked No. 20 Bentley in the Quarterfinals, 10-9. As a result, Saint Anselm was ranked as the No. 25 team in Division II according to this week's installment of the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) national poll, marking the seventh week they have been ranked this season.
Saint Anselm now heads to Pleasantville, N.Y. to take on No. 1 seed and nationally ranked No. 8 Pace on Wednesday, April 30th
in the NE10 Semifinals. The game is set for 6:00 p.m.
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