Alexa Mellis

Megan Healy

Five student-athletes of The College of Wooster women's lacrosse team were named All-North Coast Athletic Conference while first-year Alexa Mellis and head coach Elizabeth Ford came away with top yearly awards, the league announced Tuesday.

Mellis was named NCAC Newcomer of the Year after posting a team-high 37 goals, including 14 in league play. The Wexford, Pa. native became the first Fighting Scot newcomer to lead the team in goals since Ellie Hudson-Heck in 2013 and tallied at least two points in 13 of 16 games, led by a season-high six points in Wooster's record-setting 27-9 win over Whittier College (March 17). Mellis ended her first season with five goals in the NCAC Tournament, including a pair in Wooster's semifinal win over Oberlin College (May 2).

Ford, who led the Scots to their highest win total and final conference standing since 2015, earned NCAC Coach of the Year honors for the second time in her 13-year career. With a 144-66-1 career record and 12-4 overall record this season, she led the Scots to their first championship appearance since 2013 as Wooster aimed for its first NCAA Tournament berth since 2010. Ford is only the second head coach in program history to win the yearly award twice after Liz Grote won it in back-to-back seasons in 2001-02. Additionally, Ford has coached the Scots to double-digit wins in 12 of the last 13 seasons and has never finished lower than a tie for fourth in the final conference standings while holding a .500 record or better in conference play each year.

Representing Wooster on the first team for the second consecutive year was junior midfielder Megan Healy, who set new single-season program records for draw controls (99) and groundballs (72) while adding career highs in caused turnovers (42), goals (17), and assists (8). Healy, a native of Ottawa Hills, Ohio, led the league in groundballs and caused turnovers, and moved into the program's top-five all-time in career draw controls (160) and groundballs (158). Healy logged five or more caused turnovers in four games and recorded eight or more draw controls on six different occasions, led by a career-high 11 in Wooster's 19-14 win over Allegheny College (April 25).

Junior Emma Lawrence earned her third career all-conference mention and second as a second-teamer with 16 goals and six assists in league play while, overall, leading the squad with 48 points on 35 goals and 13 assists. After shifting into a larger offensive role in 2018, Lawrence posted career-highs in all three aforementioned offensive categories to go along with a career-best 26 caused turnovers, 47 draw controls and 29 groundballs. A consistent threat all season, Lawrence ended the year on a high point, noted by five groundballs, four caused turnovers, three points and two draw controls in Wooster's 14-11 win over Oberlin in the conference semifinals.

Keeping with second-team nominations, junior Megan Myers earned her first career all-conference selection after starting all 16 games as a defender en route to 35 groundballs and 12 caused turnovers. In conference play, Myers ranked second on the team and top-10 in the league with 22 groundballs, led by a pair of six-groundball games in Wooster's wins over Wittenberg University (March 31) and Kenyon College (April 11). The Columbus, Ohio native logged two caused turnovers three separate times, including a three groundball-two caused turnover performance in the NCAC Tournament semifinal.

Senior Helena Enders capped her time as a Scot with 30 goals and 17 goals en route to her first career all-conference selection as an honorable mention pick. Enders led the team with nine assists in NCAC play, a top-10 mark league-wide, to wrap up her career with 39 assists and 105 goals. The attacker out of Lake Oswego, Ore. recorded four or more points in six games and tallied at least one point in all but one game.

In the midfield, senior Michaela Lawrence, who also hails from the Pacific Northwest in Portland, Ore., earned honorable mention honors as part of her second career all-league nomination. Lawrence ended the season averaging 2.4 points per game in league play with 15 goals and four assists. On the year, Lawrence turned in a career-high 15 caused turnovers in addition to tying her previous career-best with 34 groundballs. At the draw, Lawrence ended with 32, including 28 in the final eight games. Overall, the senior captain finished with 21 goals and eight assists on the year. 

Note: All-NCAC Team based upon NCAC stats only